Victims of antisemitic attacks in synagogues in the United States are at the center of this year's memorial ceremony. Attendees included Greater Pittsburgh Jewish Federation director Jeff Finkelstein, Marnie Feinberg, the daughter-in-law of the late Joyce Feinberg who was murdered in the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh and Jewish Agency chairman Isaac Herzog. Speaking at the event Herzog said that "on this day, the Jews of the Diaspora unite in grief with all the residents of the State of Israel.""Here, too, in Israel, we are united in grief with the Jewish families in the Diaspora, those who lost loved ones in terrorist acts and those whose children chose to wear their olive uniforms and gave their lives, protecting Israel,” said Herzog. “Zionism and our shared fate have been sanctified with their blood. Lone soldiers, Jewish volunteers from all over the world and new immigrants who sacrificed their lives and fought shoulder to shoulder since the beginning of Israel's independence.""Their beating heart is in each and every one of us, whether a citizen of the state or a Jew in the Diaspora," he added.
All four attendees lit a memorial beacon together. Both Feinberg and Finkelstein keynoted the event.
In the last six months, 12 Jews have been murdered in antisemitic incidents in the United States, including the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in October 2018, and at the Chabad synagogue in Poway in April 2019.
The victims of the two shooting attacks were at the forefront of the Jewish Agency's Memorial Day, as well as Jews murdered in acts of terrorism in Israel and in the Diaspora.
Finkelstein told attendees that “the antisemites don’t care about our labels [Reconstructionist, Chabad, Conservative], to them, we’re all Jews.”“And to all of us, the work we do with the Jewish Agency and Federations has to be focused on building Jewish unity, because together we can defeat evil. Am Yisrael Chai,” he said.Following his address, Feinberg recalled that "during this tragedy [the Tree of Life synagogue shooting], during these awful times, something amazing has happened.""At our lowest point, we weren’t alone," she explained. "There was support, love, and strength from all over the world, not just from our friends, from Jews everywhere... we felt that love, and love is what gets us through every single day."She went on to say that they "are inspired by you Israelis – proud Israeli soldiers and citizens. You never back away from a fight and we aren’t going to either. We are stronger together, in Pittsburgh, in the United States and here in Israel."According to the Jewish Agency, since the establishment of the State of Israel, some 200 Jews have been murdered in antisemitic and terrorist attacks throughout the world.
"The names of the victims will be engraved on a memorial wall that will be placed at the center of the ceremony. This year, the names of the 12 victims killed in the two shooting attacks in synagogues in the United States were added," the Jewish Agency said in a statement.
Other attendees include Zionist Organization chairman Avraham Duvdevani, director of the Jewish Federations of North America in Israel Rebecca Caspi, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Canada Yossi Tanuri, Keren Hayesod representative Danny Viterbo and JNF deputy chairman Yair Lootstein.