Since 1982, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has organized and led the national Days of Remembrance ceremony in the US Capitol with Holocaust survivors, liberators, members of Congress, White House officials, the diplomatic corps, and community leaders in attendance. Every president since the Museum opened in 1993 has delivered the keynote address at a Days of Remembrance ceremony. The ceremony remembers the six million Jews who were murdered during the Holocaust and the other victims of Nazi persecution.
President Joe Biden spoke eloquently at the 2024 ceremony on May 7th:
To the Jewish community, I want you to know I see your fear, your hurt, and your pain.
President Joe Biden
Let me reassure you, as your President, you are not alone. You belong. You always have, and you always will.
And 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, even when we disagree.
The Museum’s annual dinner was held on the evening of May 7, 2024 at The Anthem (shown above) at The Wharf in Washington, DC. Michael Herzog, Israel’s Ambassador to the United States spoke at the event along with David Petraeus, former CIA Director. Petraeus resigned from that position in 2012 after a distinguished national security career. Petraeus had served over 37 years in the U.S. military, which included six consecutive commands as a general officer, five of which were in combat, including command of the Surge in Iraq, command of U.S. Central Command, and command of coalition forces in Afghanistan.