Friedman calls on Jews to stop fighting over Pittsburgh
Synagogue massacre monster must be denied a victory, says US ambassador at memorial event
The Jewish people cannot allow the synagogue massacre in Pittsburgh to divide it, US Ambassador David Friedman said Wednesday amid ongoing strife within the Jewish community over the cause of the tragic shooting last Saturday.
“The monster who killed 11 precious souls in Pittsburgh must also be denied a victory,” Friedman said at a solidarity event the Anti-Defamation League hosted Wednesday night at Beit Hatfutsot – The Museum of the Jewish People, in Tel Aviv. “As he sits in his cell, and as he rots in hell in the future, we must never allow him the satisfaction that he so craves of inflicting lasting damage upon the Jewish people.”
Friedman continued: “We can never allow ourselves to be divided over the pointless exercise of assigning blame to anyone but the killer himself. It plays right into his sick and demented mind.”
Friedman said that Israel,
where arguments tend to stop for a period of time after terrorist attacks and especially around Remembrance Day, is an example worth studying.
“We must unite around this tragedy – it is the response that the victims deserve and the only response that will assure the killer’s ultimate failure,” he said.
“We all know in our hearts what is right and what we must do. To honor the memory of the victims, let us redouble our resolve to love each other, to respect each other and, most importantly, to unite against the true forces of hatred and evil, and eradicate them forever,” he said. •