Jewish groups criticize tardy statements on Thursday attack that killed three, including teenager from Sharon, Massachusetts
The Obama administration condemned in the “strongest possible terms” the killing of an American yeshiva student in a shooting attack in the West Bank.
“We were deeply saddened to learn about the death of Ezra Schwartz, an American citizen from Massachusetts who was murdered in a terrorist attack on Thursday while in Israel to pursue his studies,” State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters Friday.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the victim’s family, friends, and community as well as the family and friends of the four other people killed in yesterday’s tragic events,” he said.
Schwartz, 18, of Sharon, Massachusetts, was one of three people killed Thursday in a shooting attack near the Alon Shvut settlement in the West Bank. Hours earlier, a Palestinian attacker stabbed two men to death near a prayer service in Tel Aviv.
“These tragic incidents underscore the importance of taking affirmative steps to restore calm, reduce tensions and bring an immediate end to the violence,” Kirby said, adding that five other Americans were wounded in the attacks.
In the immediate aftermath of the killings, pro-Israel activists flooded social media with queries about whether the Obama administration would condemn the murder the way it had the death of an American student among at least 129 people slain in the massive November 13 Islamist terrorist attack in Paris.
Daniel Shapiro, the US ambassador to Israel, condemned the attack on Schwartz almost as soon as it was reported, in a statement on his Facebook page. Referring to a speech he had given the day before likening the terrorism in France to that in Israel, Shapiro wrote: “As I said yesterday, terror is terror, and we condemn it forcefully.”
In a Friday post Shapiro said, “We mourn with the family and friends of Ezra Schwartz, an American citizen murdered yesterday in a terrorist attack.”
The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations expressed “disappointment” on Friday afternoon that the Obama administration had not condemned the attack, a day after Shapiro’s posted comments and just minutes before the State Department issued its condemnation to reporters.
“We are deeply disappointed that the United States government has not issued a statement despite the death of an American citizen,” the Conference said in its statement.
Also Friday, State Department spokesman John Kirby slammed as “illegitimate and counterproductive” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to allow the marketing of 436 housing units in an eastern Jerusalem neighborhood.
“We remain deeply concerned about Israel’s current policy on settlements, including construction, planning, and retroactive legalizations,” Kirby said, referring to the decision to advance sales of the units in Ramat Shlomo, in Jerusalem’s northeast.
The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations expressed “disappointment” on Friday afternoon that the Obama administration had not condemned the attack, a day after Shapiro’s posted comments and just minutes before the State Department issued its condemnation to reporters.
“We are deeply disappointed that the United States government has not issued a statement despite the death of an American citizen,” the Conference said in its statement.
Also Friday, State Department spokesman John Kirby slammed as “illegitimate and counterproductive” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to allow the marketing of 436 housing units in an eastern Jerusalem neighborhood.
“We remain deeply concerned about Israel’s current policy on settlements, including construction, planning, and retroactive legalizations,” Kirby said, referring to the decision to advance sales of the units in Ramat Shlomo, in Jerusalem’s northeast.
“We remain unequivocally opposed to these kinds of unilateral steps that seek to pre-judge the outcome of negotiations,” Kirby said Friday. “They’re going to have detrimental effects on the ground, increase already heightened tensions with the Palestinians, and further isolate Israel internationally.”
US Secretary of State John Kerry will be in Israel and the West Bank this week in a bid to calm tensions that have led to spates of deadly violence in recent months.
“At this sensitive time, we call on all parties to redouble their efforts to restore trust and confidence, promote calm, and return to a path of peace,” Kirby said.
As reported by The Times of Israel