Statement from the Capital District Jewish Holocaust Memorial Board regarding the attack on Jewish people in Washington, DC
The Capital District Jewish Holocaust Memorial, Inc. is outraged and deeply concerned about the tragic murder of two innocent Jewish individuals who were gunned down as they exited an event and the Jewish Museum in Washington, DC last night.
We are heartbroken and send our sincere condolences to the families and friends of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim who were targeted solely because they were Jewish.
This was a horrific act of antisemitic violence, pure and simple. This attack was more than an attack on two more Jewish innocents. This violence is an assault on all Jewish people and all people who believe in and cherish freedom and oppose terrorism.
This type of terror is a devasting attempt to instill fear and silence us. But we will not be silenced! These senseless deaths only increase our unwavering resolve to ensure that the lessons of the past are not forgotten. Prejudice, extremism, and terror cannot be tolerated anywhere – – here on the streets of America or elsewhere in the world.
The Holocaust did not begin with concentration camps. Nazism did not emerge from out of the blue, nor did it begin with concentration camps or ghettos, or deportations. It started because of deep-seated antisemitism and persecution of Jewish and other people and a society that allowed hate and prejudice to be left unchecked.
May Yaron’s and Sarah’s memory be for a blessing, and may they rest in peace.