The chief of Iranian diplomacy expresses closeness to the dead and their families. Extremism and terrorism, he says, "know neither race nor religion and should be condemned". Trump's visit divides the Jewish community. Over 35 thousand people sign an open letter stating that "He is not welcome".
Tehran (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif expressed his condolences yesterday, together with prayers, for all the victims of the shooting in the Jewish community of Pittsburgh, in the United States, and their families. "Extremism and terrorism - he said in a message on twitter - know neither race nor religion and should be condemned in all cases".
The world, he added "deserves better than to have to live with weaponized demagoguery". The thoughts and prayers, he concludes in his message, go to the victims of the terrorist attack at the Pittsburgh synagogue and their loved ones ".
Tehran and Washington have not had diplomatic relations since 1980, a year after the rise of the ayatollahs in power following the Islamic revolution of the previous year. Zarif's message goes beyond political divisions and is only the latest in a series, including that of Pope Francis at the Sunday Angelus.
Last October 27, at least 11 people died in the attack on the synagogue of the Tree of Life in Pittsburgh, by an armed man - close to the white supremacists - who declared to the police to want to see "all the Jews dead ". A violence that has deeply shaken the American Jewish community, divided on the visit of US President Donald Trump, which is expected today on the eve of the funeral.
In a CNN interview, Lynnette Lederman, former president of the Tree of Life community, says she does not want to "welcome this president to my city" by stamping the White House tenant as a "dispenser of hate speech" and hypocritical words.
Meanwhile, over 35 thousand people have signed an open letter promoted by some Jewish leaders of the city, which states that Trump "is not welcome" until he condemns white nationalism. Unlike the position of Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, who invites us to go beyond the hatred and divisions exacerbated by the shooting at the synagogue. He recalls that the president of the United States must "always be welcome".