ABCNews.com(WASHINGTON) — President Trump vowed Tuesday to crack down on anti-Semitism during a speech on Capitol Hill as part of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s National Days of Remembrance.
“This is my pledge to you: We will confront anti-Semitism,” he said. “We will stamp out prejudice. We will condemn hatred. We will bear witness and we will act.”
Trump’s strongly worded speech comes nearly two months after a series of threats against Jewish community centers across the country and questions about rising anti-Semitism during the course of the election and the new administration.
Trump has previously pointed to his personal ties to Judaism — including his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, who practices Orthodox Judaism, and his daughter Ivanka Trump, who converted before her marriage to Jared — when asked about the issue. He did not mention either of them during his speech this morning.
He told the story of Elie Wiesel, the deceased Holocaust survivor and political activist, and slammed Holocaust deniers.
“Those who deny the Holocaust are an accomplice to this horrible evil and we will never be silent; we just won’t. We will never ever be silent in the face of evil again,” Trump said.
“Denying the Holocaust is only one of many forms of dangerous anti-Semitism that continues around the world,” he said.
He also reiterated his support of Israel, which was on display earlier in his term when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the White House.
“The state of Israel is an eternal monument to the undying strength of the Jewish people,” Trump said.
He later said, “I will always stand with our great friend and partner: the state of Israel.”
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