The Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur begins at sundown this evening. Last Wednesday, President Biden spoke for over ten minutes (full text of remarks) during a White House Call with Jewish Faith Leaders for High Holidays. The President said in part:
In the last three years, it’s been the honor to do this High Holiday with all of you from the White House in a season of joy and a season of pain....
... I know this year’s call is very different, and it’s a ... difficult time for the Jewish community and for Jews around the world. In the midst of the High Holidays, two days ago, we commemorated the first anniversary of October 7th, the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust....
I also want you to know that I see you, I hear you, I see your pain from the ferocious surge of antisemitism in America and, quite frankly, around the world — absolutely despicable. And I hope ... we learned a lesson from our parents’ generation. We have to stand up. We have to call it out. It has to be stopped....
My administration is calling on the social media companies to adopt a zero-tolerance policy toward antisemitism and other hateful content, including the vile antisemitic attacks online that we’ve seen in recent days against public officials leading responses to recovery efforts to Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton....
Let me close with this. I think about the wisdom I’ve learned from Jewish communities in Delaware and across the country that I’ve gotten to know over the years. It seems to me there is a delicate yet profound balance between joy and pain to the High Holidays....
From my perspective, Jewish people have embodied this duality of pain and joy for generations. It’s your strength. The Jewish people have always chosen to find joy and happiness and light, despite centuries of suffering, persecution, and pain.
... [I]t’s an enduring lesson and legacy for the Jewish people and for all of America to understand.
Let me close with this. I think about the wisdom I’ve learned from Jewish communities in Delaware and across the country that I’ve gotten to know over the years. It seems to me there is a delicate yet profound balance between joy and pain to the High Holidays.
