Our hearts are filled with sadness

We are devastated and horrified by the news of the brutal terror attack in Pittsburgh against our brothers and sisters. Innocents who were murdered for one reason only: because of their faith.

Our hearts are with the families who lost their loved ones, and we send our deepest sympathies and condolences during this difficult time. We are grateful to the first responders and members of the Pittsburgh Police Department who put their own lives on the line to protect our community.

We saw yesterday the most chilling of many recent reminders that the world has not rid itself of the oldest hatred, anti-Semitism. Instead, it is more dangerous today than it has been in decades. The civil and human rights of Jews are being attacked throughout Europe and North America. In the United States, anti-Semitic incidents increased by 60 percent from 2016 to 2017. The demonization of Israel—the Jewish state whose existence is the only assurance that a Holocaust will never happen again—is rampant in the media and on college campuses. And today, Iranian-sponsored bombs fly from Gaza, shot by the designated terrorist group Hamas and aimed at killing more innocent civilians.

We pray this brutal crime in Pittsburgh leads to a renewed global commitment to fight the scourge of anti-Semitism in all its forms.

Indeed, the entire world is mourning this tragedy. We mourn with them, with our country, and with the wonderful Jewish community of Pittsburgh, which lost eleven members yesterday:

Joyce Fienberg, 75
Richard Gottfried, 65
Rose Mallinger, 97
Jerry Rabinowitz, 66
Cecil Rosenthal, 59
David Rosenthal, 54
Bernice Simon, 84
Sylvan Simon, 86
Daniel Stein, 71
Melvin Wax, 88
Irving Younger, 69

May their memories be a blessing.