House unanimously condemns anti-Semitic attack on Pittsburgh synagogue
November 14, 2018 6:53pm
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday unanimously approved a bipartisan resolution condemning the “anti-Semitic attack” on a synagogue in Pittsburgh that left 11 worshippers dead.
The resolution honors “the memory of the victims of the attack, and offering condolences to and expressing support for their families, friends, and community.” A gunman shouting anti-Semitic epithets raided a synagogue complex and killed the worshippers on Oct. 27 before police subdued and arrested him.
Rep. Mike Doyle, the Pennsylvania Democrat who represents the Squirrel Hill neighborhood that is home to the Tree of Life synagogue complex, introduced the resolution last week. He was joined by the co-chairs of the House of Representatives Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Anti-Semitism: Reps Nita Lowey and Eliot Engel, both D-N.Y.; Chris Smith, R-N.J.; Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla.; Ted Deutch, D-Fla.; Kay Granger, R-Texas; Marc Veasey, D-Texas; and Peter Roskam, R-Ill.
“We will carry the memory of those lost in the Tree of Life synagogue building attack, the deadliest anti-Semitic incident in U.S. history, and work to ensure that all Americans are free to worship in peace and security,” the task force said in a statement.
The resolution, which says it “stands with the Jewish community in Pittsburgh, the United States, and across the world,” also “condemns rising anti-Semitism in the United States and around the world”; “reaffirms the commitment of the United States and its allies to defeat anti-Semitism in all its forms throughout the world”; and “supports the right of Americans to freely exercise their religious beliefs and rejects all forms of terror and hate.”