AS DELIVERED
Thank you for coming together to remember the six million Jews who perished during the Holocaust – and the millions more murdered by the Nazis.
Thank you for keeping their stories alive – stories of suffering and persistence, stories that teach us about the strength and dignity of those who had to endure this dark chapter in human history.
This past fall, I had the honor of rekindling the eternal flame in the Hall of Remembrance at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. It was a moment that moved me beyond words. And it was a reminder of the awesome responsibility that we have to live up to a sacred promise: “Never Again.”
In this spirit, it is incumbent on all of us to do everything in our power to confront and push back against the alarming spikes in anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial around the world – including sadly here in the United States.
That same commitment to embody the words “Never Again,” necessitates a powerful response to the unspeakable brutality and violence currently taking place in Ukraine – where shelling by Putin’s forces have killed thousands of civilians, including a 96-year-old Holocaust survivor. And in other conflicts and regions across the globe – from Burma’s genocide against Rohingya Muslims to China’s ongoing genocide against Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
I want to leave with you one final thought.
In December, I had the chance to come to the Museum of Jewish Heritage to dedicate the Children’s Tree, which is a descendant of a tree that a Jewish teacher – imprisoned in a concentration camp – planted and nurtured with the help of a group of Jewish children. After liberation, the survivors placed these words under the tree: “As the branches of this tree, so the branches of our people.”
I know the Jewish people will continue to branch out and thrive for generations to come.
Original source can be found here.
