President Joe Biden on Tuesday said “people are already forgetting” about Hamas’ October 7th terrorist attacks on Israel.
“Here we are, not 75 years later, but just seven-and-a-half months later, and people are already forgetting,” Biden said while delivering remarks at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s “Days of Remembrance” annual ceremony. “They're already forgetting that Hamas unleashed this terror. It was Hamas that brutalized Israelis. It was Hamas who took and continues to hold hostages. I have not forgotten, nor have you, and we will not forget.”
Biden’s speech comes as progressives have criticized him for his approach to the Israel-Hamas war and the subsequent humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and progressives and conservatives lambast his handling of pro-Palestinian protests at college campuses around the country.
Under pressure, Biden last week condemned violence and antisemitism that critics allege are present at protests, and followed it up in the speech Tuesday:
“I understand people have strong beliefs and deep convictions about the world,” Biden said, “but there is no place on any campus in America, any place in America, for antisemitism or hate speech or threats of violence of any kind.”
He also repeated rhetoric from people critical of the protests, arguing “too many people” are “denying” and “downplaying” Hamas’ attacks.
