WJC President Ronald S. Lauder: “We stand in Solidarity with France and Catholic Church Amid devastating Notre Dame fire”

The World Jewish Congress stands in solidarity with the people of France and the Catholic Church amidst the fire that has engulfed the nearly 1,000-year-old Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral, WJC President Ronald S. Lauder said Monday.

“The World Jewish Congress and our affiliated communities in more than 100 countries stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the people of France and the Catholic Church in the face of the unimaginable devastation of the Notre Dame Cathedral, a blow that has struck straight to the heart of Paris,” Lauder said. “Notre Dame has for centuries stood proud and tall as an inimitable icon, a symbol of the country’s great culture and history. We pray that there are no injuries or loss of life in this tragedy, and that the destruction can be restored to allow this unparalleled structure to return to its position of symbolic majesty on the Parisian skyline.”