The Rabbinical Alliance of America — Igud HaRabbonim, representing over 950 American rabbis — applauds President Joe Biden’s stance against anti-Semitism and calls him to fill the role of Special Envoy for Anti-Semitism. In a May 28, 2021 statement, President Biden denounced the avalanche of anti-Semitic attacks on the American Jewish community and demanded that they stop.
President Biden stated, “In the last weeks, our nation has seen a series of anti-Semitic attacks, targeting and terrorizing American Jews. President Biden named a few of the attacks. “We have seen a brick thrown through window of a Jewish-owned business in Manhattan, a swastika carved into the door of a synagogue in Salt Lake City, families threatened outside a restaurant in Los Angeles, and museums in Florida and Alaska, dedicated to celebrating Jewish life and culture and remembering the Holocaust, vandalized with anti-Jewish messages… These attacks are despicable, unconscionable, un-American, and they must stop.”
Rabbi Mendy Mirocznik, Executive Vice-President of the Rabbinical Alliance of America stated, “President Biden’s condemnation of Anti-Semitism was delivered at the start of the Memorial Day weekend. Memorial Day is a national American holiday dedicated to honoring and remembering our American service members who gave the supreme sacrifice in defending the great American values of freedom, liberty and democracy. President Biden’s powerful statement, which coincides with this important American day of remembrance, resonates well with all Americans and with the American Jews who cherish, appreciate and value the liberty, freedom and opportunity to practice our sacred faith, customs and traditions.
“As Jews we have a proud and rich history and in that history sadly we have experienced anti-Semitism, pogroms, the Holocaust and terror in Israel. As such, we as rabbis thank President Biden’s sensitive and sensible statement attacking anti-Semitism and hate. Pragmatically speaking, the only way we can eradicate anti-Semitism is when we as a society rally together and declare that we will not tolerate hate in any form in our society, and that hate against one community is hate against all Americans. Therefore, the Rabbinical Alliance of America applauds President Biden’s statement on anti-Semitism. We pray that our nation heeds the President’s call and takes a serious look at the causes and manifestations of anti-Semitism, in order to weed it out and to expunge it from society.
“To truly combat anti-Semitism, we must commit to tackle it as Americans and not as political partisans. This must be a concerted effort by all Americans, because all Americans are entitled to live in peace and security. It truly is un-American for hooligans to attack their fellow Americans simply because they look different, talk different or hold different political views. To that end, we call upon our civic and communal leadership, clergy of all faiths, and elected representatives at all levels of governments and political persuasions to heed President Biden’s call to stop the anti-Semitic terror wave that American Jews are currently facing.”
The Rabbinical Alliance of America recommends that, in order to achieve his vision of ending anti-Semitism, President Biden appoint a non-partisan, special envoy to address this serous matter of anti-Semitism. The Global Anti-Semitism Review Act of 2004 created the Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism and the position of Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating anti-Semitism. This office currently remains open. In this time of urgent need, the office must be filled by someone who can reach across parties and faiths in order to unite this country in striving for domestic peace and safety. Only through education, awareness and holding the perpetrators of anti-Semitism accountable will we as a country be able to eradicate anti-Semitism and hate. We must strengthen our commitment to end anti-Semitism by implementing appropriate actions and consequences, if need be.
Our prayer is that all those who harbor hate in their hearts see the error in their ways and channel their negative energy into a positive force to help make this world a better place for all its inhabitants.