NEW YORK - World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder has condemned the desecration of a Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia as a “despicable and cowardly act of hatred” and urged citizens and local authorities across the United States to be vigilant against all signs of anti-Semitism.
“In recent weeks and months we have witnessed an unprecedented and inconceivable escalation of anti-Semitic acts in the United States, and unbelievably, they are continuing to occur. This is an attack not just on the Jewish community but on the very values of liberty and fraternity that America stands for. All Americans must treat these acts with utmost severity, and know that when hatred rears its ugly head, anyone can be a target.
“The desecration of the cemetery in Philadelphia today, and in St. Louis last week, are chillingly reminiscent of the pogroms the Jewish people suffered for centuries in Eastern Europe, and in the years of the Nazi rise to power. We must never be complacent in the face of such anti-Semitism, or any forms of hatred and bigotry, because even seemingly innocuous threats can all too quickly end in unspeakable horror.
“As President Donald Trump said last week, the anti-Semitic threats against our Jewish communities are ‘a very sad reminder of the work that still must be done to root out hate and prejudice and evil.’ We must all work together to stem this hatred once and for all,” Lauder said.
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