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Andrew Feinberg
White Home Correspondent
President Joe Biden on Monday marked the grim anniversary of the October 7 assaults on Israel in a small White Home ceremony accompanied by a prayer and a memorial candle.
Biden stood within the Blue Room of the White Home alongside First Girl Jill Biden and Rabbi Aaron Alexander, the pinnacle rabbi at Washington’s Adas Israel Congregation, as Alexander supplied a prayer in each Hebrew and English. The somber ceremony was to recollect the 1,200 killed and 250 hostages taken when Hamas militants invaded Israel. The assault sparked a battle within the space that continues to develop.
The prayer, often known as “El Malei Rachamim” — or “God of Mercy:” in English — is a prayer for the soul of an individual who has died that’s recited throughout burial and memorial providers.
After Alexander completed the prayer, Biden lit a Yahrzeit candle, a memorial candle that’s lit on the anniversary of an individual’s dying, at which level the ceremony ended with a second of silence.
Biden didn’t ship any remarks through the ceremony, which lasted just some minutes. However in a press release launched earlier within the day, the president stated Monday’s anniversary “marks one 12 months of mourning for the greater than 1,200 harmless individuals of all ages, together with 46 Individuals, massacred in southern Israel by the terrorist group Hamas.”
“One 12 months since Hamas dedicated horrific acts of sexual violence. One 12 months since greater than 250 innocents had been taken hostage, together with 12 Individuals. One 12 months for the survivors carrying wounds, seen and unseen, who won’t ever be the identical. And one 12 months of a devastating conflict,” Biden stated.
He added that he and Vice President Kamala Harris “stay totally dedicated to the security of the Jewish individuals, the safety of Israel, and its proper to exist” and stated the US helps “Israel’s proper to defend itself towards assaults from Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and Iran.”
Persevering with, Biden stated he’s pondering of these hostages taken by Hamas who’re nonetheless being held one 12 months after the assaults, and vowed that his administration “won’t ever surrender till we deliver the entire remaining hostages house safely.”
The president additionally stated the October 7 assaults shall be remembered by historical past “as a darkish day for the Palestinian individuals due to the battle that Hamas unleashed that day” and lamented how too many civilians have suffered through the “12 months of battle” that adopted.
“We is not going to cease working to realize a ceasefire deal in Gaza that brings the hostages house, permits for a surge in humanitarian assist to ease the struggling on the bottom, assures Israel’s safety, and ends this conflict. Israelis and Palestinians alike need to dwell in safety, dignity, and peace,” he stated.
