Congressman Eliot Engel, the leading Democrat on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, made the following statement regarding the November 18th terrorist attack in a Jerusalem synagogue:
“I’m outraged by today’s brutal terrorist attack in Jerusalem, which took the lives of four people including three Americans. My heart goes out to their families.
“Once again, an act of terrorism hits home for our community; one of the victims had family in Riverdale. They are my constituents and my friends, and they have been forced to bury a lost loved one. No family anywhere should have to endure such a tragedy.
“Murdering innocents and using terrorism as a political tool will never succeed in bringing about a Palestinian state. Killing worshippers at prayer is an inhuman act for which there can never be a justification.
“This attack underscores the grave challenges to the peace process. How can Israel make peace when its citizens are slaughtered in holy places? How can Israel negotiate with a partner whose leaders incite this sort of violence? When Palestinian leaders should be denouncing violence, we hear instead calls for ‘days of rage.’ Rather than condemning these cowardly acts, Hamas leaders are celebrating in the streets.
This must stop.
“A Palestinian state will never be born on the backs of terror victims.”
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said, “I am deeply saddened to learn of this morning’s horrific terror attack at a synagogue in Jerusalem. This attack was a deplorable act of evil that should be denounced as such by all – regardless of their political or religious beliefs. I want to reiterate that friends stand together in times of crisis. Today New York joins with all of Israel as they mourn those that were lost. We stand shoulder to shoulder with our Israeli friends.”
Westchester County Executive Robert Astorino also released a statement condemning the attack: “The murder of four rabbis, three of them U.S. born, in a Jerusalem synagogue is a cowardly act that must be condemned by the world. I join good people from every continent in mourning these deaths and standing up for all those who fall victim to anti-Semitism in all its forms.”