Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) brought forth a resolution May 8 denouncing the April 27 shooting at the Chabad of Poway.
The resolution honored Lori Gilbert-Kaye, 60, who was killed during the shooting as someone who was “bravely saving the life of Rabbi [Yisroel] Goldstein and praised Border Patrol agent Jonathan Morales and Army veteran Oscar Stewart for “running toward the perpetrator of the attack.” The resolution went on to condemn the 19-year-old alleged shooter for expressing “white supremacist and white nationalist sentiments” and called white nationalism and white supremacy “a threat to the security of the United States.” It also denounces anti-Semitism as “an age-old form of prejudice, discrimination, persecution, and marginalization of Jewish people that runs counter to the values of the United States.”
“The Senate condemns the horrific anti-Semitic attack on the Chabad of Poway Synagogue near San Diego, California, on April 27, 2019, which killed one individual and injured three others, honors the memory of Lori Gilbert-Kaye, who was killed in the attack, [and] offers heartfelt condolences to the Chabad of Poway congregation, the San Diego area Jewish community, and the friends and family of those individuals affected by the tragedy,” the resolution states.
Feinstein said in a statement, “Hate has no place in our country. Our resolution condemns the anti-Semitic attack on Congregation Chabad and reaffirms our nation’s values of openness and tolerance so all Americans can worship freely without fear of violence.”
Harris similarly said in a statement that the Senate “must continue to speak out against” anti-Semitism “wherever it occurs. The rising threat of white nationalism and white supremacy is in direct contradiction with the highest ideals of our country, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution to condemn this despicable hate.”
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