Obama Decries Rise of Anti-Semitism in Jewish Heritage Month Message
Image by White House
WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Barack Obama decried the “rise of anti-Semitism” in his annual proclamation of May as Jewish American Heritage Month.
“We cannot pay proper respect to the legacy of Jewish Americans without also reflecting on the rise of anti-Semitism in many parts of the world, and in remembering the lessons of the Holocaust, we recognize the imperative need to root out prejudice,” he wrote in the proclamation, released April 28.
“That is why the United States is leading the international effort to combat anti-Semitism — we helped organize the first United Nations General Assembly meeting on anti-Semitism last year, and we are asking countries around the world to join us in giving this challenge the focus it demands,” he said.
Much of the declaration was devoted to Jewish contributions to the civil rights struggle, something Obama has emphasized in proclamations in previous years, and reaffirmed “our unshakeable commitment to Israel’s security.”
Also on April 28, Obama hosted a seder at the White House. The first president to host seders, this is the first one he hosted during Passover week instead of the traditional first night or second night of the holiday. Obama was in the Middle East and Europe during those two nights.
To mark the seder, the White House posted on its website photos of seders over the years of Obama’s two terms.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
