A memorial service for murdered journalist Steven Sotloff

Temple Beth Am, Florida remembers Jewish journalist who was both an American and Israeli citizen in memorial service.

By REUTERS
Memorial service for slain US journalist Steven Sotloff was heldoutside at Temple Beth Am, Florida (photo credit: REUTERS)
Memorial service for slain US journalist Steven Sotloff was heldoutside at Temple Beth Am, Florida
(photo credit: REUTERS)
A memorial service for slain Jewish American journalist Steven Sotloff was held at Pinecrest Florida's Temple Beth Am synagogue, on Friday.
Students also light candles during a vigil honoring Sotloff at the Reflection Pool on the campus of the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida where he was a former student.
On Thursday, Israel said it had previously prevented local media from reporting that Sotloff was also an Israeli citizen, in a bid to reduce the risk to him after he was seized by Islamist insurgents in Syria last year.

Islamic State, a militant group which has overrun large areas of Syria and Iraq, recently released a video of Sotloff being beheaded, calling the execution retaliation for US airstrikes. His Israeli dual nationality was made public after the White House authenticated the footage. The grandson of Holocaust survivors, Sotloff came to Israel in 2005 and studied at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya until 2008, later taking on Israeli citizenship and eventually becoming a contributor to The Jerusalem Report, a sister-publication to The Jerusalem Post.