The Co-Chairs of the Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Anti-Semitism, Representatives Chris Smith (R-NJ), Nita Lowey (D-NY), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Kay Granger (R-TX), Ted Deutch (D-FL), Randy Weber (R-TX), Marc Veasey (D-TX), and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), issued this statement on the tragic shooting in a synagogue in Poway, California:

“On this day, we solemnly commemorate Yom Hashoah and the six million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust. We also extend our deepest condolences to the victims’ families and the Poway Jewish community. This deadly attack on Jews took place on Shabbat — the last day of Passover — and came only six months after the deadliest attack on the American Jewish Community which left 11 dead after the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.

“Our nation has witnessed a documented spike in violent and deadly attacks on Jews. According to the Anti-Defamation League’s audit of anti-Semitism in 2018, the Jewish community experienced a 105% increase in physical assaults over 2017 and a 99% increase in anti-Semitic incidents over 2015. The data serves as a wake-up call to all Americans that we must all commit to combating this rising bigotry.

“Tragically, as we were reminded last week, deadly hatred against the Jewish community did not end with the Holocaust. We must honor their memory by pledging ourselves to stand up to anti-Semitism and all forms of hatred and bigotry.”