Amb. David Friedman to Jews: Stop fighting over Pittsburgh massacre

“We can never allow ourselves to be divided over the pointless exercise of assigning blame to anyone but the killer himself. It plays right into his sick and demented mind.”

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Updated: NOVEMBER 1, 2018 00:40
U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman speaks at a memorial event hosted by the Anti-Defamation League paying homage to the victims of the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, this evening [October 31] in Tel Aviv. (photo credit: MATTY STERN/US EMBASSY TEL AVIV)
U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman speaks at a memorial event hosted by the Anti-Defamation League paying homage to the victims of the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, this evening [October 31] in Tel Aviv.
(photo credit: MATTY STERN/US EMBASSY TEL AVIV)
The Jewish people cannot allow the synagogue massacre in Pittsburgh to divide it, US Ambassador David Friedman said Wednesday amid ongoing strife within the Jewish community over the cause of the tragic shooting last Saturday.
“The monster who killed 11 precious souls in Pittsburgh  must also be denied a victory,” Friedman said at a solidarity event the Anti-Defamation League hosted Wednesday night at Beit Hatfutsot – The Museum of the Jewish People, in Tel Aviv. “As he sits in his cell, and as he rots in hell in the future, we must never allow him the satisfaction that he so craves of inflicting lasting damage upon the Jewish people.”
Friedman continued: “We can never allow ourselves to be divided over the pointless exercise of assigning blame to anyone but the killer himself. It plays right into his sick and demented mind.”
Friedman said that Israel, where arguments tend to stop for a period of time after terrorist attacks and especially around Remembrance Day, is an example worth studying.
“We must unite around this tragedy – it is the response that the victims deserve and the only response that will assure the killer’s ultimate failure,” he said.
“We all know in our hearts what is right and what we must do. To honor the memory of the victims, let us redouble our resolve to love each other, to respect each other and, most importantly, to unite against the true forces of hatred and evil, and eradicate them forever,” he said.