Statement by the Vice President Three Years After the Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting

In our country, everyone has the right to go to work, to go to school, to walk down the street, to pray – not as the other, not as them, but as us. When a white supremacist murdered and injured innocent people at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, a harm was committed against all of us. It was an unspeakable act fueled by antisemitic hate, the deadliest attack on the American Jewish community in our Nation's history. As we remember the victims, we also honor the courage of the first responders.

Today, we know that silence is not an option. More hate crimes were committed in the U.S. last year than at any point in the last 20 years. Our Administration has laid out a comprehensive strategy to address domestic terrorism, and we are working to reduce gun violence. President Joe Biden has taken executive action to protect houses of worship, and he has signed legislation to bolster our capacity to counter unlawful acts of hate.

We stand in solidarity with the Squirrel Hill community and the entire Jewish community. We will never forget those lives that were taken. And we recommit to combat antisemitism wherever it exists.