In response to mounting hate incidents across the United States, including mass shooting and soaring incidents of antisemitism and other forms of discrimination, the White House on Thursday hosted the United We Stand Summit.
“When we cannot settle our differences of opinion peacefully, and when ordinary Americans cannot participate in the basic activities of everyday life — like shopping at the grocery store, praying at their house of worship, or casting a ballot — without the fear of being targeted and killed for who they are, our democracy is at risk,” White House Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice said.
President Joe Biden hosted the summit to “counter the corrosive effects of hate-fueled violence on our democracy and public safety, highlight the response of the Biden-Harris Administration and communities nationwide to these dangers, and put forward a shared, bipartisan vision for a more united America.”
Rice added: “Since taking office, [the Biden] administration has consistently taken steps to counter hate-motivated violence – from signing the bipartisan COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, to releasing the first-ever National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism, to signing the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the most significant legislation in three decades to reduce gun violence.”
The Summit included survivors of hate-filed violence, bipartisan federal, state and local officials, civil rights groups, faith and community leaders, technology and business leaders, law enforcement officials, gun violence activists, and cultural figures.
The event featured a keynote speech from Biden along with panels discussing ways to counter hate and radicalization and fostering unity.
"We need to say clearly and forcefully, white supremacy, all forms of hate... have no place in America," Biden said. "As to those who say, we bring this up, we just divide the country – bring it up, we silence it, instead of remaining silenced. For in silence, wounds deepen."
The president also said that for too long hate has been allowed to flourish in politics, the media and online.
"It's about power and profit. Too much hate that's extremist violence has been allowed to fester and grow," he said,
He added that intelligence agencies have concluded that white supremacists are the greatest domestic terrorist threat.
Biden also announced new initiatives by federal agencies to expand the federal government’s community engagement to prevent and respond to hate incidents.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)