National Urban League President Marc H. Morial and Esther L. Bush, President and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh, condemned this morning's mass shooting in a Pittsburgh synagogue and said recent violence points to a desperate need for a national movement of unity and healing.
"Our hearts are with the Tree of Life community in Pittsburgh, the police officers who were shot in the line of duty, and all those who have been targeted in this spate of bigotry and violence," Bush said.
Morial has reached out to the Anti-Defamation League to offer solidarity and support.
Over the last three years, the nation has seen a rising tide of hate crimes which seems to have crested this week with the attempted bombings of at least a dozen prominent political leaders, the apparent racially-motivated murders in a Kentucky grocery store, and now the shootings in Pittsburgh by a gunman who reportedly shouted, "All Jews must die" before opening fire.
"We need national leadership who can unequivocally condemn bigotry and hate-motivated violence and make it perfectly clear that white supremacists, anti-semites and violent political extremists do not have a champion in the nation's highest offices," Morial said. "The constant vilifying of political adversaries and endorsement of violent acts is wreaking incalculable damage, not only in terms of human life, but to the moral fiber of the nation."
CONTACT: Teresa Candori, tcandori@nul.org | 212-558-5362
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