The US President Joe Biden warmly greeted and spoke to Holocaust survivors Gita Cycowicz (center) and Rena Quint
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13 July 2022
The President met two Holocaust survivors who immigrated to the US after the war, and received a Token of Remembrance created by a Holocaust survivor in the US-liberated Dachau concentration camp
The President of the United States of America Joe Biden visited Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, today, 13 July 2022. Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan and Holocaust survivor and Chairman of the Yad Vashem Council Rabbi Israel Meir Lau greeted President Biden upon arrival. President Biden participated in a Memorial Ceremony in the Hall of Remembrance together with President of the State of Israel Isaac Herzog, Israel's Prime Minister Yair Lapid, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Israel's Defense Minister Benny Ganz, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and newly appointed US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Amb. Prof. Deborah Lipstadt.
While in the Hall of Remembrance, the President greeted and spoke at length to two Holocaust survivors, Rena Quint and Giselle (Gita) Cycowicz, who immigrated to the United States after World War II, where they rebuilt their lives. They both now reside in Israel.
During the visit, President Biden received a Token of Remembrance, a replica of a Holocaust-era drawing created by Holocaust survivor Moshe Perl.
At the visit's conclusion, the President signed the Yad Vashem Guest Book:
"It is a great honor to be back – back to my emotional home," he wrote.
"We must never, ever forget, because hate is never defeated. It only hides. We must teach every successive generation that it can happen again unless we remember. That is what I teach my children and grandchildren. Never forget."
Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan remarked:
"President Biden's visit to Yad Vashem was very significant. He had a warm and emotional conversation with the two Holocaust survivors in attendance. He was extremely interested in both of their stories and even shared his own personal pain which he experienced during his life. The President admired and identified with their choice to rebuild their lives in spite of what they experienced and lost."
Dayan continued:
“A high-profile visit by the American President adds to the public's interest in the Holocaust and exposes new audiences in the United States and around the world to the subject matter. In light of the expressions of antisemitism we are witnessing around the world, the importance of world leaders' commitment to the memory of the Holocaust and the war on antisemitism is only growing."
President Biden last visited Yad Vashem in 2010 as US Vice President.
Yad Vashem / Jorge Novominsky
Yad Vashem / Jorge Novominsky
Yad Vashem / Jorge Novominsky
Yad Vashem / Jorge Novominsky
Yad Vashem
