The Rabbinical Alliance of America Joins America in Mourning the Victims of the Buffalo Supermarket Massacre
Edited by: TJVNews.com
The Rabbinical Alliance of America—Igud HaRabbonim, representing over 950 American rabbis—joins America in mourning 10 people and 3 others who were severely injured by a gunman motivated by hate on May 14, 2022, at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket.
The 18-year-old suspected of opening fire on innocent victims reportedly told authorities he was targeting the Black community. The alleged gunman reportedly made disturbing statements filled with hate toward the Black community. He published a white supremacist manifesto online and traveled a great distance in order to accomplish his hateful plan. Investigators also uncovered other information indicating he had studied previous hate attacks and shootings in order to prepare with great forethought his own hateful attack on innocents.
“The evidence that we have uncovered so far makes no mistake that this is an absolute racist hate crime. It will be prosecuted as a hate crime,” Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said. “This is someone who has hate in their heart, soul and mind.” The Buffalo attack was the deadliest US mass shooting of the year. There have been at least 198 mass shootings so far in 2022.
Rabbi Mendy Mirocznik, executive vice-president of the Rabbinical Alliance of America stated, “words cannot express our outrage at this senseless, hateful, racist act of pure evil and cold-blooded murder. As Jews, we have been victims of antisemitism and the target of hateful attacks throughout the ages. We have witnessed hate and terror in Israel and we relate to the pain of the victims’ families and those who were wounded in this vicious assault against mankind. The victims and their families are in our prayers.
“We firmly preach that a hateful attack on innocent victims of any group – in this case, African American people – is an attack on all Americans. We at the Rabbinical Alliance of America call upon all peaceful Americans to protest this vile act of racism and to condemn it in the strongest possible terms. What started as an ordinary Saturday should not have ended in tragedy for the decent, peace-loving victims and their families. We must be proactive in teaching respect and civility and that each human life is precious. We must constantly stress that there is no room for hate in America. The fact that an 18 year old can be so depraved and disturbed shocks the conscience of our country and requires us as a nation to engage in self-reflection with a brutally honest eye to understand how such a disconnect from reality can occur in the first place.
“We, as Americans, cannot allow the memory of these martyrs to go in vain. Therefore, the Rabbinical Alliance of America encourages all Americans to engage in acts of kindness and charity in their memory. We encourage our fellow Americans to exit their comfort zones and to reach out in love and friendship to build bridges with people of differing persuasions. We must combat the hate and polarization of our moment with love and friendship, with hope and prayer. We firmly believe that through building a foundation of unity and friendship, we will fortify our society so that such tragedies shall be no more.”
