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April 25 (UPI) -- A "deeply moved" President Donald Trump remembered the 6 million Jews killed during World War II at a U.S. Capitol ceremony and pledged he will confront anti-Semitism. "I am deeply moved to stand beside people who survived history's darkest hour. Your cherished presence transforms this place into a sacred gathering," Trump said, reading from prepared remarks at the Days of Remembrance ceremony hosted by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.
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"Today, we remember the 6 million Jewish men, women and children whose lives and dreams were stolen from this Earth."
The U.S. Congress established the Days of Remembrance as the nation's annual commemoration of the Holocaust. During the ceremony, a Holocaust survivor lit six candles with a member of Congress.
Ceremonies took place around the world. On Monday, Israel came to a 2-minute halt as sirens across the country marked Holocaust Remembrance Day.
"The state of Israel is an eternal monument to the undying strength of the Jewish people," Trump said. "The fervent dream that burned in the hearts of the oppressed is now filled with the breath of life, and the Star of David waves atop a great nation arisen from the desert."
He added "We will never, ever be silent in the face of evil again."
"As president of the United States, I will always stand with the Jewish people. And I will always stand with our great friend and partner the state of Israel," Trump said.
The number of anti-Semitic incidents in the United States increased 86 percent in the first three months of the year, according to a new report released Monday by the anti-Defamation League. It counted 541 anti-Semitic attacks and threats against Americans in the first quarter of the year.
Trump said "dangerous anti-Semitism continues" but added: "This is my pledge to you: We will confront anti-Semitism."
He also called out Holocaust deniers, saying: "We must never, ever shrink away from the truth."
Trump's administration has been plagued by missteps involving Jews.
On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the president's official statement on Jan. 27 did not mention Jewish people specifically, instead referring to the victims of the Holocaust only as "innocent people."
On April 11, White House press secretary Sean Spicer apologized after he said Hitler "didn't even sink to using chemical weapons" during World War II and called concentration camps "Holocaust centers."
When asked about the rise of anti-Semitism since his election, Trump told a Jewish reporter on Feb. 16 to "sit down." He defended himself as "the least anti-Semitic person that you've ever seen in your entire life."
