ORTHODOX UNION MESSAGE TO RABBIS OF RIVERDALE SYNAGOGUES THREATENED WITH ATTACK

ORTHODOX UNION MESSAGE TO RABBIS OF RIVERDALE SYNAGOGUES THREATENED WITH ATTACK

Orthodox Union President Stephen J. Savitsky and Executive Vice President Rabbi Steven Weil today sent the following message to Rabbi Jonathan I. Rosenblatt of the Riverdale Jewish Center and Rabbi Judith S. Lewis of the Riverdale Temple, the two synagogues that were the targets of the planned terrorist attack:

Dear Rabbi Rosenblatt and Rabbi Lewis;
It is with gratitude to God that we express our solidarity with the Riverdale Jewish Center, an Orthodox Union member synagogue, and to its neighbor, the Riverdale Temple, in this time of potential tragedy, that you have received deliverance and that disaster has been averted.
We also express our deepest feelings of pride in the work of the FBI, the NYPD and the New York State Police, which so magnificently monitored the suspects and prevented them from carrying out their nefarious plans.
All Jewish institutions must remain on guard against such hatred and such murderous activities. The OU will continue to work diligently to seek ways of improving security at Jewish houses of worship, schools and other communal organizations, and will continue our efforts to secure Jewish lives and Jewish institutions.
The leadership and professional staff of the OU join us in expressing the profound wish from the Psalms that is often repeated in the synagogue service, “May the Lord give strength to his people, may the Lord bless his people with peace.”

Sincerely,
Stephen J. Savitsky, President
Rabbi Steven Weil, Executive Vice President
Orthodox Union
www.ou.org