Obama: Paris terror attacks are painful reminder of need to fight anti-Semitism

"Today we come together and commit, to the millions of murdered souls and all survivors, that it must never happen again."

By JPOST.COM STAFF
US President Barack Obama (photo credit: REUTERS)
US President Barack Obama
(photo credit: REUTERS)
US President Barack Obama lamented the continued need to fight anti-Semitism in our days, on the 70th anniversary Tuesday of  the Auschwitz concentration camp liberation.
Obama said, in a statement Tuesday, that the recent Paris terror attacks are "a painful reminder of our obligation to condemn and combat rising anti-Semitism in all its forms, including the denial or trivialization of the Holocaust."
"Honoring the victims and survivors begins with our renewed recognition of the value and dignity of each person," he said. "It demands from us the courage to protect the persecuted and speak out against bigotry and hatred."
A presidential delegation was sent to the ceremony in Poland, joining Holocaust survivors and dignitaries while in the US, "the American people pay tribute to the six million Jews and millions of others murdered by the Nazi regime."
He said the nation also honors those who survived the Shoah, "while recognizing the scars and burdens that many have carried ever since."
Obama highlighted the US's commitment to Holocaust education, noting that the US is a founding member of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and joins 30 other nations in upholding the 2000 Stockholm Declaration dedicated to upholding Holocaust remembrance and education.
"Today we come together and commit, to the millions of murdered souls and all survivors, that it must never happen again."
Due to the anticipation of a major blizzard in New York and the US east coast, the ceremony at the United Nations General Assembly to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day was canceled, along with all other New York UN events scheduled for.
President Reuven Rivlin, who is in New York to address the UNGA, is now expected to speak on Wednesday.