Today, President Joe Biden and the First Lady will mark one year since Hamas’ brutal Oct. 7 terrorist attack when militants killed 1,200 people in Israel during a music festival. They’ll be joined by a rabbi and participate in a candle-lighting ceremony.
In a statement, Biden reaffirmed U.S. support for Israel’s right to defend itself and condemned the rise in anti-Semitism. He noted the war’s toll on Palestinians, with over 41,000 deaths, many of them women and children, and said efforts for a ceasefire must continue.
Meanwhile, Justice Democrats criticized the U.S. government’s handling of the conflict, calling it a genocidal campaign against Palestinians. The group renewed calls for a ceasefire and urged Biden to stop sending weapons to Israel, advocating for peace and de-escalation of the region and accusing the U.S. of succumbing to political pressure from Israel’s leadership.
