At Holocaust event, Obama casts himself as defender of the Tribe
WASHINGTON – US President Barack Obama joined members of the American Jewish community Wednesday night for a ceremony honoring four individuals who were recognized as Righteous Among the Nations, an honorific bestowed by the State of Israel on non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews in the Holocaust.
The ceremony at the Israeli Embassy in Washington was the first of its kind to be held in the United States, and thus the first to be addressed by a sitting US president. Held on International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 71st anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, Obama said the unusual gathering was to “make real the call to ‘never forget.'”
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“When voices around the world veer from criticism of a particular Israeli policy to an unjust denial of Israel’s right to exist, when Israel faces terrorism,” he said, “we stand up forcefully and proudly in defense of our ally, in defense of our friend, in defense of the Jewish state of Israel.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/at-holocaust-event-obama-casts-himself-as-defender-of-the-tribe
