In The News Popular Categories

Print

Statement of Representative Danny K. Davis on the Synagogue Massacre

10/29/18

Statement on the Synagogue Massacre

Our nation has suffered another grievous wound with the anti-Semitic attack on the Tree of Life Congregation Synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh.  Daniel Stein, Joyce Feinberg, Richard Gottfried, Rose Mallinger, Jerry Rabinowitz, brothers Cecil Rosenthal, and David Rosenthal, husband and wife Bernice Simon, and Sylvan Simon, Melvin Wax, and Irving Younger became became the latest victims of violent hate crimes in the midst of an atmosphere of intolerance and demonstrably false assertions designed to divide the American people for political advantage stoked by some political leaders, our President in the first place.  My heart goes out to the families of these stalwarts of the historic Tree of Life Congregation Synagogue and we join them in mourning their loss.  The eleven who died were apparently victimized not only for practicing their religion but because their religious values called on them to reach out in support of the work of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, a Jewish group that helps resettle refugees in the United States -- values which most Americans would assert are fundamental to who we are as a nation. 

The congregation which sought to protect others from terrorism became victims of terrorism themselves.  The racist hoax perpetrated by those who used false and exaggerated claims of danger to the United States and the American people from the so-called "caravan" of those seeking asylum from incipient danger to their families was apparently the spark which motivated the ultra-right fanatic to turn the weapons of war on a peaceful congregation.  Perhaps this fanatic would have carried out this attack regardless, and it is undeniably true that political leaders did not pull the trigger on the weapons. But those who use these hateful methods for political advantage must acknowledge and repudiate the effect of their words in the murder of these gentle people of Squirrel Hill. Their deaths remind us of, demand of us that we recognize, the ties which bind us together as a nation.  This horrific mass murder instructs us once again that the insidious, persistent and malignant poison of  hatred: anti-Semitism, racism, misogyny, homophobia, Islamophobia are inconsistent with democracy and simple human decency.

  • Office Locations

    Office Name Location Image Map URL
    Washington DC 2159 Rayburn House Office Building
    Washington, DC 20515
    p. (202) 225-5006
    f. (202) 225-5641    		 https://goo.gl/maps/69TjH
    Chicago Office 2815 W. Fifth Avenue
    Chicago, Illinois 60612
    p. (773) 533-7520
    f. (844) 274-0426    		 https://goo.gl/maps/24smXeMjD2D2
           
           
           

  • HIDDEN_WEBSITE_VARIABLES

    How to use: Insert <span class="EXACT_VALUE_LABEL_AS_ENTERED_BELOW">&nbsp;</span> where you'd like the value to be populated.

    Non-breaking space within span tags - &nbsp; - is required for WYSIWYG.

    Label
    (no spaces or special characters)

    Value

    		 Comments (optional)
    repName Danny K. Davis  
    helpWithFedAgencyAddress Chicago District Office
    2813-15 W. Fifth Avenue
    Chicago, Illinois 60612    		  
    district 7th District of Illinois  
    academyUSCitizenDate July 1, 2017  
    academyAgeDate July 1, 2017  
    academyApplicationDueDate October 20, 2017  
    repStateABBR Il  
    repDistrict 7  
    repState Illinois  
    repDistrictText 7th  
    repPhoto  
    SponsoredBills Sponsored Bills  
    CoSponsoredBills Co-Sponsored Bills