(JTA) — The American Jewish Committee has partnered with the New Zealand Jewish Council to provide financial support for the victims of attacks on two mosques in New Zealand and for the Muslim community.
“We are moved as Jews, as human beings, to respond with heartfelt compassion for the families of the victims, for all in New Zealand’s Muslim community hurting in the wake of this unspeakable terrorist assault,” American Jewish Committee CEO David Harris said in a statement issued Tuesday.
There was no word on how much money would be going to the victims and the community. The Jewish Council said it would find the appropriate agency to receive and dispense the assistance.
Fifty Muslim worshippers were killed and at least 20 injured following shootings at the Al Noor and Linwood mosques in Christchurch on March 15.
“The answer to those who traffic in hate, who perpetrate violence against houses of worship, must be unity, solidarity, and linked arms against evil.”
The Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh has raised more than $58,800 to support the victims and their families of the shootings via a GoFundMe page set up the day after the attacks.
“We feel compelled to come to the aid of those communities, just as our Jewish community was so compassionately supported only a few short months ago by people around the world of many faiths,” the synagogue wrote on the crowdfunding page. “We recall with love the immediate, overwhelming support Tree of Life received from our Muslim brothers and sisters in Pittsburgh.”
