Joe, No! Biden Asks Americans, Israelis to ‘Keep Alive the Truth and Honor of the Holocaust’
16:48 GMT 13.07.2022 (Updated: 17:26 GMT 15.01.2023)
© AP Photo / Ariel SchalitPresident Joe Biden adjusts his glasses during a welcoming ceremony upon his arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, Israel Wednesday, July 13, 2022. Biden arrives in Israel on Wednesday for a three-day visit, his first as president.
© AP Photo / Ariel Schalit
Subscribe
The president touched down in Israel on Wednesday as part of a four-day mini regional tour, which will also take him to the occupied West Bank and Saudi Arabia in the coming days.
President Joe Biden’s trip to Israel got off to a bit of a rocky start after he accidentally substituted the word ‘honor’ for ‘horror’ while talking about the Nazi plot to exterminate Europe’s Jews during the Second World War.
“Later today, I will once more return to the hallowed ground of Yad Sh-Vashem [Yad Vashem, Israel’s official Holocaust memorial, ed.] to honor the 6 million Jewish lives that were stolen in a genocide and continue – which we must do every, every day – continue to bear witness, to keep alive the truth and honor of the Holocaust- horror of the Holocaust, honor those we lost…” Biden said in a speech after arriving at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday.
Joe Biden, as delivered from Israel: "...to keep alive the truth and HONOR of the Holocaust — horror of the Holocaust" pic.twitter.com/7v4E4OrlvX
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) July 13, 2022
Biden’s remarks were immediately clipped and spread online, with Twitter users collectively cringing and facepalming over the gaffe. “Honor the Holocaust? Get this guy away from the mic. He’ll plunge us into war with Israel,” one user quipped. “Kinda makes you want to crawl under a rock until 2024,” another person suggested.
— Tim the Libertarian (@TMLibertarian) July 13, 2022
I love BB. He knows. 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/APVNlPQlEz
— Racheal (@Racheal_Eli) July 13, 2022
Wednesday’s trip is Biden’s tenth visit to Israel, but his first as president. Elsewhere in his remarks, Biden said he was “proud to say that our relationship with the state of Israel is deeper and stronger in my view than its ever been,” and emphasized that “with this visit, we’re strengthening our connection even further.”
“We have reaffirmed the unshakable commitment of the United States to Israel’s security, including partnering with Israel on the most cutting-edge defense systems in the world,” Biden said. “From here, I’m going straight to a briefing on Israeli missiles and rocket defense capability, including the US support for the Iron Dome and Israel’s new laser-enabled system called the Iron Beam.”