The United States government and Jewish organizations throughout North America and Europe have sharply condemned Wednesday’s deadly terrorist attack against Israeli tourists in Burgas, Bulgaria. The statements released from a number of groups expressed their solidarity with Jewish communities in Israel and around the world.
White House press secretary Jay Carney stated that the US government “condemns such attacks on innocent people, especially children, in the strongest possible terms.” Carney added that President Barack Obama’s “thoughts and prayers are with the families of those killed and injured.” Finally, Carney affirmed that the United States’ “commitment to Israel’s security remains unshakeable” and that the U.S. will continue to support the State of Israel and its citizens.
Comparisons to the 1994 deadly bombing in Buenos Aires’s Jewish community center that killed eighty-five people were also mentioned on Wednesday. “The very fact that Jews were targeted on the 18th anniversary of the AMIA bombing should be enough to give everyone in the international community pause,” said the Anti-Defamation League’s Abraham H. Foxman and Robert G. Sugarman in a statement. “At a time when Israel’s enemies have heightened their belligerence toward the Jewish state, every act of violence or attempted attack against Israelis should be investigated seriously as an act of international terrorism.”
“We express our condolences to the families of those killed and a speedy recovery to those injured,” said Richard Stone and Malcolm Hoenlein of the Conference of Presidents. “It is imperative that the entire international community mobilize against such barbaric acts of terrorism and hold to account not only those who execute such attacks but also those who give the orders and aid and abet them. Those countries or groups that provide financial support and engage in the incitement that motivates such wonton murder must also bear the responsibility and the consequences.”
Canada’s Jewish organizations also laid blame of the attack on Hezbollah and countries that sponsor terror activity.
“Today’s terror attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria acts as yet one more reminder of the deadly intentions of international terror groups, such as Hezbollah and their state sponsors, which target the Jewish State and Jewish communities worldwide as part of their deadly agenda,” said Frank Dimant, CEO of B’nai Brith Canada.
Dimant, however, stated that it is not only the Jewish community currently in danger of terrorism, but Western civilization as a whole. “It is not just Jews and Israel that are the targets of such groups,” he said. ” The world continues to be threatened by the same forces that seek the destruction of the Western world.”
The European Jewish Parliament in Brussels also denounced the attack and stated that the EJP will join in “solidarity with the families of the victims and prays for the full and rapid recovery of those who have been injured in this atrocious attack.” The EJP also said that the bombing “illustrates the constant threat posed by terrorist organizations to Israelis and Jews alike, wherever they may be, just because of their origin.”
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