October 27, 2018

The International Rabbinic Fellowship, together with the whole house of Israel and all decent people throughout our country and beyond, expresses our outrage, pain and grief at the murder of eleven of our brothers and sisters at the Tree of Life-Or Simcha synagogue in Pittsburgh as they stood before God in prayer on Shabbat and welcomed a new life into the Jewish community.

The noxious ideologies of hate, anti-semitism, racism and xenophobia have reared their ugly heads once more in our beloved country. We must as a nation find the strength and leadership to combat these phenomena, bring people together, and create a truly tolerant society. 

We thank law enforcement and the first responders for their heroic efforts to save lives this morning under difficult and dangerous circumstances. We wish those injured a full and speedy recovery. Our hearts go out to all the families and loved ones of those murdered and extend our hand in solidarity and traditional wishes of comfort. 

May God comfort you all among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.