The Jewish Community Relations Council of St. Louis (JCRC) and the Jewish Federation of St. Louis are outraged at the wave of terrorist attacks that engulfed Israel on Tuesday, leaving one person killed and at least 13 wounded. The attacks ranged from Jerusalem to Jaffa and Petah Tikva. Four of the attackers were killed.
Included among the victims of these indiscriminate attacks were a pregnant woman, a Russian tourist, an Arab Israeli, and a Palestinian man who was residing in Israel illegally. The man stabbed to death in Jaffa was an American tourist, Taylor Force, a graduate student at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management on a school trip to Tel Aviv.
The ongoing terrorism campaign being waged across Israel is intolerable. In the past 6 months alone, 34 people have been killed in terrorist attacks and 390 people have been injured. There is no rationale to justify these brutal assaults. To the contrary, such violence does nothing to advance the Palestinian cause and has only served to harden positions among the Israeli leadership and the public.
We unequivocally condemn these attacks on innocent people. We mourn for those who were killed. We hope for the recovery of the injured and for the solace of their loved ones and their communities. We send our deepest condolences to all those impacted by these heinous crimes. We pray for an immediate end to this terrible violence.
The Jewish Agency for Israel, through The Fund for Victims of Terror, provides Israel’s terror victims with direct, immediate financial assistance after an attack, complementing governmental relief and easing recovery. For those of you wishing to support victims of terror, donate here today.
Jewish Community Relations Council
Robert Millstone, Board President
Rori Picker Neiss, Executive Director
Jewish Federation of St. Louis
Harvey N. Wallace, Board Chair
Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D., President & CEO