Jewish American Heritage Month, 2024, 36655-36656 [2024-09813]

Agencies

• Executive Office of the President

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 87 (Friday, May 3, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 36655-36656]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-09813]




                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 87 / Friday, May 3, 2024 / 
Presidential Documents

[[Page 36655]]


                Proclamation 10736 of April 30, 2024

                
Jewish American Heritage Month, 2024

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                For centuries, the perseverance, hope, and unshakeable 
                faith of the Jewish people have inspired people around 
                the world. During Jewish American Heritage Month, we 
                celebrate the immeasurable impact of Jewish values, 
                contributions, and culture on our Nation's character 
                and recommit to realizing the promise of America for 
                all Jewish Americans.

                In 1654, a small band of 23 Jewish refugees fled 
                persecution abroad and sailed into the port of modern-
                day New York City. They fought for religious freedom, 
                helping define one of the bedrock principles upon which 
                our Nation was built. Jewish American culture has been 
                inextricably woven into the fabric of our country. 
                Jewish American suffragists, activists, and leaders 
                marched for civil rights, women's rights, and voting 
                rights. Jewish American scientists, doctors, and 
                engineers have made scientific breakthroughs that 
                define America as a land of possibilities. They have 
                served our Nation in uniform, on the Nation's highest 
                courts, and at the highest levels of my Administration. 
                As public servants, artists, entertainers, journalists, 
                and poets, they have helped write the story of America, 
                making it--as Emma Lazarus' poem on the Statue of 
                Liberty states--a home for the ``huddled masses 
                yearning to breathe free.''

                As we celebrate the Jewish American community's 
                contributions this month, we also honor their 
                resilience in the face of a long and painful history of 
                persecution. Hamas' brutal terrorist attack on October 
                7th against Israel marked the deadliest day for Jews 
                since the Holocaust, resurfacing, including here in the 
                United States, painful scars from millennia of 
                antisemitism and genocide of Jewish people. Jews across 
                the country and around the world are still coping with 
                the trauma and horror of that day and the months since. 
                Our hearts are with all the victims, survivors, 
                families, and friends whose loved ones were killed, 
                wounded, displaced, or taken hostage--including women 
                and girls whom Hamas has subjected to appalling acts of 
                rape and sexual violence.

                As I said after Hamas' terror attack, my commitment to 
                the safety of the Jewish people, the security of 
                Israel, and its right to exist as an independent Jewish 
                state is ironclad. The recent attack by Iran, firing a 
                barrage of hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel, 
                reminds us of the existential threats that Israel faces 
                by adversaries that want nothing less than to wipe it 
                off the map. Together with our allies and partners, the 
                United States defended Israel, and we helped defeat 
                this attack.

                At the same time, my Administration is working around 
                the clock to free the hostages who have been held by 
                Hamas for over half a year; as I have said to their 
                families, we will not rest until we bring them home. We 
                are also leading international efforts to deliver 
                urgently needed humanitarian aid to Gaza and an 
                immediate ceasefire as part of a deal that releases 
                hostages and lays the groundwork for an enduring two-
                state solution.

                Here at home, too many Jews live with deep pain and 
                fear from the ferocious surge of antisemitism--in our 
                communities; at schools, places of worship, and 
                colleges; and across social media. These acts are 
                despicable and echo the worst chapters of human 
                history. They remind us that hate never goes

[[Page 36656]]

                away--it only hides until it is given oxygen. It is our 
                shared moral responsibility to forcefully stand up to 
                antisemitism and to make clear that hate can have no 
                safe harbor in America.

                That is why I released the first-ever United States 
                National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism and clarified 
                the civil rights protections for Jews under Title VI of 
                the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In addition, the 
                Department of Education has launched investigations 
                into antisemitism on college campuses, the Department 
                of Justice is investigating and prosecuting hate 
                crimes, and the Department of Homeland Security and the 
                Federal Bureau of Investigation are focused on 
                enhancing security in Jewish communities. We also 
                secured the largest increase in funding ever for the 
                physical security of nonprofits like synagogues, Jewish 
                Community Centers, and Jewish schools. I appointed 
                Deborah Lipstadt, a Holocaust expert, as the first-ever 
                Ambassador-level Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat 
                Antisemitism. Together, we are sending the message 
                that, in America, evil will not win. Hate will not 
                prevail. The venom and violence of antisemitism will 
                not be the story of our time.

                This Jewish American Heritage Month, we honor Jewish 
                Americans, who have never given up on the promise of 
                our Nation. We celebrate the contributions, culture, 
                and values that they have passed down from generation 
                to generation and that have shaped who we are as 
                Americans. We remember that the power lies within each 
                of us to rise together against hate, to see each other 
                as fellow human beings, and to ensure that the Jewish 
                community is afforded the safety, security, and dignity 
                they deserve as they continue to shine their light in 
                America and around the world.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of 
                the United States of America, by virtue of the 
                authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws 
                of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 2024 as 
                Jewish American Heritage Month. I call upon all 
                Americans to learn more about the heritage and 
                contributions of Jewish Americans and to observe this 
                month with appropriate programs, activities, and 
                ceremonies.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                eighth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2024-09813
Filed 5-2-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P