Calling attacks on Jews “unconscionable and despicable,” President Joe Biden wrote in an op-ed Wednesday that he is committed to protecting the safety of Jewish people and urged Americans to help fight bigotry.

Biden made the remarks in an article published on CNN’s website to coincide with the start of Passover on Wednesday evening.

“But Passover is more than just a recounting of the past. It is also a cautionary tale of the present and our future as a democracy. As Jews read from the Haggadah about how evil in every generation has tried to destroy them, antisemitism is rising to record levels today,” Biden wrote, citing recent data from the FBI and Anti-Defamation League.

The president listed examples, including terrorist attacks being launched against synagogues, celebrities expressing hate toward Jews, antisemitic graffiti being scrawled on cars, on school campuses and at cemeteries, and Jews wearing religious attire being beaten or shot on streets.

“These acts are unconscionable and despicable,” Biden wrote. “They carry in them terrifying echoes of the worst chapters in human history. And they’re not only a strike against Jews, they’re also a threat to other minority communities and a stain on the soul of our nation.

“To the Jewish community, I want you to know that I see your fear, your hurt and your concern that this venom is being normalized,” he continued.

Biden again said he chose to run for president in 2020 after white supremacists, some of whom engaged in anti-Jewish chants, marched in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.

The president said he stands with Jewish people and will continue to condemn antisemitism. He listed a number of steps he’s taken as president to show his support, including:

• Visiting Israel last year “to reaffirm America’s unshakeable commitment to its security.”
  
• Appointing Deborah Lipstadt, a Holocaust expert, as the first ambassador-level special envoy to combat antisemitism around the world.
  
• Hosting the first United We Stand Summit at the White House, in which government and nongovernment leaders declared that “hate-fueled violence can have no safe harbor in America.”
  
• Signing a bipartisan bill to help state and local law enforcement better identify and respond to hate crimes.
  
• Securing additional funding to help increase security at nonprofits, including synagogues, Jewish community centers and Jewish day schools.

Biden also said his administration is developing the nation’s first-ever strategy to counter antisemitism.

But the president said “government cannot alone root out antisemitism and hate.”

“All Americans, including businesses and community leaders, educators, students, athletes, entertainers and influencers must help confront bigotry in all its forms,” Biden wrote. “We must each do our part to create a culture of respect in our workplaces, in our schools, on our social media and in our homes.

“Because hate never goes away, it only hides until it is given just a little oxygen. And it is our obligation to ensure that hate doesn’t grow or become normalized.”

Last week, the Anti-Defamation League released its annual report on antisemitism, finding that there were 2,717 incidents targeting Jews in 2022, up 36% from the prior year.

The number is the highest since the ADL began tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979, and it’s the third time in the last five years the number reached a new record high.

Antisemitic harassment increased 29%, vandalism was up 51%, and assaults were 26% higher than in 2021, according to the report. There was one death.

The group said the rise in incidents could not be attributed to a single cause or ideology.  

Among the high-profile incidents in 2022, a gunman took four people hostage at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, in January; a New Jersey man was arrested and charged with posting a manifesto online in which he allegedly threatened to attack a synagogue and Jewish people; and Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, made a series of public antisemitic comments.

The ADL report said 59 antisemitic incidents from October 11 to the end of the year directly referenced Ye, including someone who allegedly yelled “Kanye 2024” before assaulting a Jewish individual in New York and “Kanye West is right” being written alongside swastikas on the wall of a school bathroom in Newport Beach, California.

Last month, the FBI released a supplement to its report on 2021 hate crime statistics. The agency found that hate crime incidents increased 11.6% compared to 2020. About 18% of all hate crimes were related to religion, and more than half of those targeted Jews, according to the report.