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'Hateful stereotypes.' Obama
Photo: AP
Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum
Photo: AP

Obama: We must never tolerate anti-Semitism

On Holocaust Remembrance Day, US president issues statement saying memories of victims serve 'as a constant reminder to honor their legacy by renewing our commitment to prevent genocide'

In a special statement issued on the occasion of Holocaust Remembrance Day, US President Barack Obama, "This year, on the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps, we must recommit ourselves to honoring the memories of all the victims and ensuring that they remain a part of our collective memory.

 

"On my visit to Buchenwald last year – and during my visit to Yad Vashem in 2008 – I bore witness to the horrors of anti-Semitism and the capacity for evil represented by the Nazis’ campaign to annihilate the Jewish people and so many others. But even at places like Buchenwald, the dignity and courage of those who endured the horrors of the Holocaust remind us of humanity’s capacity for decency and compassion," read the statement, published Sunday.

 

The American leader said the memories of the victims "serve as a constant reminder to honor their legacy by renewing our commitment to prevent genocide, and to confront anti-Semitism and prejudice in all of its forms.

 

"We must never tolerate the hateful stereotypes and prejudice against the Jewish people that tragically continues to this day. We must work, instead, on behalf of a world of justice and peace, in which all nations and peoples value the humanity that we share, and the dignity inherent in every human being," he said.

 

During the main Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at Yad Vashem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "We are witness today to the new-old fire of hate, hatred of Jews inflamed by organizations and regimes of extremist Islam, most of all Iran and its satellites. Iran's leaders are scurrying to develop nuclear weapons and freely announce their desire to destroy Israel, but before these repeated declarations to wipe the Jewish state from the face of the earth, at best we hear faint protest, and even this is fading."

 

President Shimon Peres, for his part, recalled the lessons of the Shoah. He too emphasized that we must not be indifferent to Iranian threats.

 

"Israel will never forget two commands from the Holocaust," the president said. "The strong command to maintain an independent Jewish state, whose security is in its own hands, and with peace in its heart, and the command to take seriously threats of annihilation, Holocaust denial, and incitement to terror," he added. 

 


פרסום ראשון: 04.11.10, 22:51
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