By COLlive reporter
Chief Rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar visited the U.S. Embassy in Moscow on Monday to honor the victims of the deadly attacks at the Boston Marathon, which killed 3 people and injured an estimated 176 people.
He laid flowers at the entrance of the embassy, where many brought flowers and candles in memory of those killed in the explosions, and then met with U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul to express his condolences.
In the meeting, Rabbi Lazar said, “today our hearts are with the families of the victims; our prayers are for the wounded. Extremists, once again cynically used mass gathering to increase the number of victims, this proves that their only purpose is to increase innocent victims.”
The Chabad rabbi who studied in New York in his youth, noted that unfortunately the Jewish people have been victims of international terrorism as well.
“We stand today in solidarity with the victims of the attack. The pain of the American people today is our pain,” he said.
IT WAS ‘TERROR’
In a second statement since the bombings, President Barack Obama said the attack was being investigated as an act of terrorism and insisted that the country will not bow to such violence, the LA Times reported.
“This was a heinous and cowardly act and given what we now know about what took place, the FBI is investigating it as an act of terrorism,” Obama said in televised comments from the White House.
“Any time bombs are used to target innocent civilians, it is an act of terror,” he said, after his first statement stopped short of connecting the attacks to a terror plot.
“What we don’t yet know, however, is who carried out this attack or why,” the president said, pledging to use all resources to find those responsible. “We will find whoever harmed our citizens and we will bring them to justice,” he insisted.
so many tragedies this year!