New Ambassador Hosts Chabad

By Jerusalem Post and COLlive

US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro told more than 100 people gathered to remember the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on Sunday afternoon that “no one can understand our pain as Israel can.”

Shapiro, who was active in the Washington Jewish community and speaks fluent Hebrew, praised Israel for showing Americans how to deal with the threat of daily terror.

“As we watched smoke rise higher, our sense of security was punctured as the planes struck the towers, and we’ll never be able to go back to the way things were,” said Shapiro to the gathering, which included politicians, families of some of Israeli victims, American volunteers and Chabad activists Rabbi Yossi Swerdlov and Rabbi Menachem Kutner.

“Israelis shared our mourning and Israelis understood on a deeper level. Citizens who have mourned too many losses know how easy it is for terrorism to overturn the way of life… But we must go on living our lives and Israelis have shown us how to live and survive,” he said.

The official memorial took place at the 9/11 Living Memorial, which is tucked away in the Jerusalem Forest, and is the largest memorial outside of the U.S.

It was designed by Israeli artist Eliezer Weishoff as a billowing flag that turns into an eternal flame, etched with the names of the victims, including five Israelis who were killed on 9/11.

Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon praised American officials for their help in resolving the crisis with the 6 security guards trapped in the Cairo embassy building while an angry mob swarmed outside over the weekend.

The memorial event was organized by the Jewish National Fund and the Jerusalem Municipality.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat recalled how he was across the river from midtown Manhattan at a meeting while the terror unfolded on a cloudless day ten years ago.

“I saw the shock of the people around me as we watched people dancing for joy in Gaza, and I knew this was the day that Islamic terrorism was no longer exclusively an Israeli problem,” he said.

He also praised Jerusalem native Daniel Mark Lewin, a top businessman based in Massachusetts who served in the elite Sayeret Matkal unit and was on Flight 11.

Lewin was killed before the plane hit the North Tower, most likely trying to stop the terrorists from hijacking the plane, and could be considered the first victim of 9/11, said Barkat.

Before the ceremony began, Ambassador Shapiro spoke with Swerdlov and Kutner of the Chabad Terror Victims Project and heard about their many programs assisting Israelis who have fallen victim to war and terrorism.