Netanyahu-“the international community must step up the struggle against anti-Semitism.”
The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for a summit on ‘upsurge’ in anti-Semitic attacks worldwide after California shooting. Anti-Semitic incidents increased 57% in the US in 2017 compared to the previous year, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), with cases reported in every single state for the first time since 2010.
The comments come hours after local authorities say 19-year-old John Earnest opened fire on worshipers during morning services on the last day of Passover, killing 60-year-old Lori Gilbert-Kaye and wounding three people: the rabbi, Yisroel Goldstein; Israeli Noya Dahan, 8, who was hit by shrapnel in the face and leg; and her uncle Almog Peretz, 31, who was shot in the leg. All three are in stable condition.
“I condemn the abhorrent attack on a synagogue in California; this is an attack on the heart of the Jewish people,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
“We send condolences to the family of Lori Gilbert-Kaye and our best wishes for a quick recovery to the wounded. The international community must step up the struggle against anti-Semitism.” In light of an upsurge in anti-Semitic attacks around the world, Netanyahu “will this week convene a special discussion of all elements dealing with the issue,” the Prime Minister’s Office added.
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin described the recent shooting as “a painful reminder that anti-Semitism and hatred of Jews is still with us, everywhere” adding: “No country and no society are immune (to anti-Semitism). Only through education for Holocaust remembrance and tolerance can we deal with this plague.”
President Trump called it a “hate crime”.
Watch the testimony at the House Judiciary Committee Hearings:
The October synagogue shooter in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania killed 11 people and injured seven, making it the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the United States.
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