The Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley is deeply saddened and horrified by last night’s savage attack, a presumed hate crime, on the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, where nine innocent people lost their lives as they participated in a Bible study.
 
An attack on a house of worship, any house of worship, is an affront to all people of faith and good conscience everywhere. We can never become inured to images of violence and death, especially in a holy setting of sanctity, spirituality and faith.
 
Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims and the entire Charleston community today, and we stand in solidarity with them against the forces of hatred and violence. May their memories be a blessing.