STATEMENT OF AGUDATH ISRAEL OF AMERICA ON MURDER DURING A SHABBOS SERVICE IN A PITTSBURGH SYNAGOGUE
The murder of eleven people during a Shabbos service this morning in a Pittsburgh synagogue is a horrific tragedy and an outrage. Our deepest sympathies go out to the mourning families and friends of the victims who were targeted because they were Jews. We extend our deepest gratitude to the law enforcement personnel who arrived at the scene and captured the murderer. We also thank law enforcement across the country who are ramping up security measures around houses of worship.
`There are simply no words of condemnation that can truly express our anguish and disgust at the perpetrator of this hate-fueled act or others like it. Any platform or group, including those on social media, that serves to stir up and metastasize bigotry and anti-Semitic hatred, needs to be called out and shut down for incitement of violence. Until all Americans confront the horror of anti-Semitism head on, our great Democracy will not have achieved its promise.
May those who were injured in today’s senseless violence have a speedy and complete recovery from their wounds.