WASHINGTON, 29 April 2019 – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Special Representative on Anti-Semitism, Racism and Intolerance, expressed his condolences Monday following the weekend shooting at a synagogue near San Diego, California. The fatal tragedy came exactly six months after the horrific shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

“I join the civilized world in mourning today for the Chabad of Poway and Lori Gilbert-Kaye, who was the latest victim of gun violence in a house of worship. We need prayers for the dead and the survivors. More than that we need action to prevent such hate crimes in the future. Synagogue, church, mosque or other holy place, this should not keep happening. The violence and the hate must end. We must recommit ourselves to protecting the good and the sacred in our communities. We need to love thy neighbor – and respect their differences – no matter their religion or lack thereof. We cannot allow weapons of war in the hands of civilians. It is essential that we not lose the current generation of children to the belief that the next deadly shooting is inevitable,” Cardin said.