The Jewish community of New York held a memorial gathering at the Lincoln Square synagogue last Sunday to honor and mourn the seventeen victims of the terrorist attacks in Paris that took place at the Charlie Hebdo magazine and the Hyper Cacher kosher supermarket last week.
The memorial service, held at the Lincoln Square Synagogue, was co-sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, Lincoln Square Synagogue, and the West Side Sephardic Synagogue. Nearly 1,000 participants attended inside, with an overflow crowd that gathered outside in the cold to listen. Noted rabbis, dignitaries and elected officials recited Psalms and lit candles in memory of the seventeen victims of terror.
Stella Amar, a young leader of the World Jewish Congress American Section, served as one of the masters of ceremonies of the event, and spoke movingly about the deep connection between the Jewish community and the people of France, as well as the necessity for world leaders to unite in order to combat terrorism.
Among the dignitaries who addressed the gathering were Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Ambassador Francois Delattre, ambassador of France to the United Nations, French Consul-General Bertrand Lortholary, and Consul-General of Israel Ido Aharoni. Other dignitaries in attendance were Ambassador Ron Prosor, ambassador of Israel to the UN, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito, UJA-Federation CEO Eric Goldstein, and special guest Chelsea Clinton, joined by Rabbi Yehuda Sarna and Imam Khalid Latif, who lit a candle together.
Members of the French Jewish community in New York led the participants in a heartfelt rendition of the French national anthem, followed by the American and Israeli anthems and a Kel Maleh Rachamim.
