• “I will not be silent, and neither will America” says Joe Biden.
• Celebration held at the White House to mark the second day of Hanukkah.
• In the UK last year, antisemitic incidents likewise peaked at a record high.

At a celebration held at the White House to mark the second day of Hanukkah, the Jewish holiday of lights, US Vice President Joe Biden denounced antisemitism.

The joyous occasion, which is celebrated by eating fatty foods and lighting candles, occurs in the midst of reports of an increase in antisemitic speech on a national and international level.

The second Catholic president of the United States, Mr. Biden, declared: “I will not be silent, and neither will America.”

Hate speech and misinformation spread online are to blame, according to anti-hate organisations.

Speaking to the crowd on Tuesday night, Mr. Biden said that antisemitism was becoming more emboldened both domestically and, quite frankly, globally.

“I understand your fear. You’re in pain. You’re concerned that this poison is becoming too commonplace “He went on.

“Silence is complicity. We cannot keep quiet.”

There were 2,717 antisemitic incidents in the US last year, up 34% from 2020 and the highest amount since the Anti-Defamation League started keeping track of such occurrences in 1979, according to a report released in April by the Jewish anti-hate organisation Anti-Defamation League.

In the UK last year, antisemitic incidents likewise peaked at a record high.

According to Mr. Biden, this year marks the first time the White House has displayed its own own menorah, the candle holder that Jews light for eight nights straight.

Additionally, every year, the National Menorah is lit outside the White House.

The nation’s top law enforcement official, US Attorney General Merrick Garland, said in a speech at the National Menorah lighting on Sunday night that his grandmother would have been murdered by the Nazis if she had not been able to flee to the US.

Mr. Garland, a Jew, added, “May we never cease striving to ensure that Americans will always be able to congregate to light the menorah.”

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