US President Joe Biden departed after attending a mass at St. Joseph on the Brandywine Roman Catholic Church in Wilmington, Delaware, on Saturday. REUTERS
On Sunday, US President Joe Biden marked six years since the tragic synagogue attack in Pittsburgh by expressing deep concern over the 'appalling surge' of anti-Semitism that has followed the start of the war in Gaza. In 2018, a right-wing extremist perpetrated the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in America, killing 11 Jewish worshippers at a synagogue in the former Pennsylvania steel hub. This year's commemoration coincides with the Hebrew calendar anniversary of the Hamas attack on October 7 last year, which ignited the war in Gaza.
'One year later, the trauma and losses from that day and its aftermath are not only raw, but exacerbated by the appalling surge of anti-Semitism against Jews in America and around the world,' Biden stated in a recent release. Biden, whose administration has supported Israel since the conflict began, mentioned that he had initiated the country's first National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism prior to October 7.
'We are aggressively implementing it,' he noted, adding that his administration had secured $1.2 billion to enhance the physical security of synagogues, Jewish schools, and other non-profit organizations. The Department of Justice is also actively investigating and prosecuting anti-Semitic hate crimes, according to Biden.
Earlier this year, US university campuses were disrupted by protests against the war in Gaza. The October 7 Hamas attack led to the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures. Since then, at least 42,924 Palestinians, the majority of whom are civilians, have been killed in the Israeli offensive on Gaza, according to figures from the Hamas-ruled territory's health ministry, which the UN deems reliable.
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