Muslim, Jewish leaders in Europe and Middle East together condemn terror attack

 

On Sunday Muslim and Jewish leaders in Paris together paid their respects to the victims of the terror attack carried out by operatives of the Islamic State, the Guardian has reported.

 

Leaders of the two communities gathered outside the Bataclan concert hall, where 89 people died during a concert featuring the American band Eagles of Death Metal. Five other attacks killed dozens more, bringing the death toll in the deadliest attacks in France's history to 132.

 

Standing before the makeshift shrine outside the theater and carrying white roses, the faith leaders began singing the French national anthem, La Marseillaise, the paper said.

 

According to the London-based Jewish Chronicle, France's Representative Council of Jewish Institutions said "jihadist fanaticism" must be confronted by all democratic nations.

 

"We must fight it without mercy, without relenting, in order to vanquish it," the statement said.

 

France's Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Haim Korsia, also instructed Jews to undertake a three-day period of mourning for those who lost their lives in the attack.

 

Korsia said France must "heal its wounds, recover and move forward in a united way in order to fight against terrorism and all those who exploit and lead astray religion to kill in the name of God."

 

Ronald S. Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress (WJC), said in a letter to French President Francois Hollande that the attacks represented "one of the most sickening forms of human violence one can imagine."

 

He added : "For centuries, the citizens of this great city have been at the forefront of the fight for freedom and democracy, against slavery and fanaticism. Paris has always been, and will always be, one of the symbols for the freedoms we can enjoy today."

 

"This is the time for the world to stand united against this common enemy, in grief and in resolve. Leaders of all creeds, political colors and nationalities must now come together and act. Just as you spoke out earlier today, the world too must not be silent in the face of this threat. We must all denounce this threat loudly and clearly, and confront it," Lauder wrote... Read more.