Biden calls Tree of Life attack ‘an assault on our country’
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Three years to the day after a lone gunman killed 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill, President Biden acknowledged the “indelible scars of grief” in a brief statement from the White House Wednesday.
Biden referred to the deadliest act of antisemitism in American history as “an assault on members of the Tree of Life, New Light, and Dor Hadash congregations, the American Jewish community, and our country. And it was a reminder that hate never goes away, it only hides, and if we give hate oxygen, it can consume.”
Biden went on to praise the resiliency and “unyielding character” of Pittsburgh and how the community responded in the days and months following the deadly attack.
“The first responders who rushed into harm’s way. The teenagers who organized a Havdalah vigil for a neighborhood in need,” he said. “The art teacher who painted hearts and Stars of David in the windows of a local coffee shop. The designer who formed an iconic image that defined a city and inspired a nation with three simple words: stronger than hate.”
Along with the admiration the president expressed for the people of Squirrel Hill and Pittsburgh, came a call to action.
“We must always stand up and speak out against antisemitism with clarity and conviction, and rally against the forces of hate in all its forms, because silence is complicity.”
Biden dovetailed those remarks by pointing to the work he says his administration is doing to address domestic terrorism.
“Signing legislation aimed at strengthening our efforts to counter unlawful acts of hate, taking executive actions to protect houses of worship, and pressing forward with executive and legislative action to reduce all forms of gun violence,” he said.
Biden closed his remarks offering comfort to the survivors and relatives of those who died in the attack.
“As we mark three years since this heinous attack, we resolve to remember the lives lost and commit to protecting a future worthy of their memories,” said the president. “May the survivors and the families of the victims hold fast to the teachings of their faith and find comfort in the embrace of their community and their country.”