Saturday’s attack during a bris ceremony at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh by a disgusting anti-Semite and Trump-hater (more below) shocked the nation. Eleven worshippers were killed and six people, including four police officers, were wounded.

Our hearts and prayers go out for those who were brutally murdered, their families, and the entire Tree of Life community.

President Trump was actively engaged in comforting the country over the past 48 hours. He repeatedly commented on the evil of the act and praised the courage of first responders who prevented even worse carnage.

Speaking in Murphysboro, Illinois, on Saturday, President Trump said this:

“This evil anti-Semitic attack is an assault on all of us. It’s an assault on humanity. It will require all of us working together to extract the hateful poison of anti-Semitism from our world.”

Earlier in the day, the president addressed the 91st annual convention of the Future Farmers of America in Indianapolis. Before he spoke, President Trump invited local Rabbi Benjamin Sendrow to offer a prayer. Here is an excerpt of Rabbi Sendrow’s prayer:

“We pray today for moral clarity. Let us not dismiss this as an act of insanity, but let us see it for what it is — an act of evil. As it is written in the Psalms, those who love God hate evil, and this is a nation that loves its God and this is a nation that hates evil.

"May we continue under the leadership of our president, who works tirelessly to fight evil at home and around the world. May we join him in that fight. And may we always remember that the presence of a few evil people among us does not define this country. We are blessed to live in the greatest country on earth and for that we thank you. Amen!”

Click here to learn more about the 11 victims who were murdered at the synagogue.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, Saturday’s shooting is believed to be the “deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the history of the United States.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released the following statement in response to the news:

“I was heartbroken and appalled by the murderous attack on a Pittsburgh synagogue today. The entire people of Israel grieve with the families of the dead. We stand together with the Jewish community of Pittsburgh. We stand together with the American people in the face of this horrendous anti-Semitic brutality. And we all pray for the speedy recovery of the wounded." 

CUFI’s Response

As you know, I have been deeply involved with Pastor John Hagee’s Christians United for Israel since its founding over 15 years ago. I was a founding board member of CUFI and now run the Washington office of the CUFI Action Fund.

When news of the shooting broke Saturday, I was in Colorado speaking at a Night to Honor Israel with 500 Christians and Jews. It was an emotional evening as you can imagine.

The message I delivered, particularly to the Jewish attendees, was that Christians and Jews must stand together in defense of Judeo-Christian Western civilization. My good friend Pastor John Hagee made the same point in his moving statement Saturday. Here is an excerpt of Pastor Hagee’s remarks:

"At such a dark moment, you may feel fearful and alone. Please know that there are millions of Christians across the United States of America and around the world that pray for you, that pray to the God Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to bring comfort and blessing and protection to you.

"If there is a line to be drawn, then draw the line around Christians and Jews for we are one.”

The Man Responsible

Robert Bowers, the man responsible for the shooting, has a long record of anti-Semitism on social media. He hated President Trump too, and that is a very important point, which is being largely ignored or downplayed by the media.

Bowers hated President Trump because he saw the president as being pro-Israel, because he hired many prominent Jews to serve in his administration, and because his son-in-law and daughter are Jewish. 

Sadly, many talking heads are too busy trying to smear Trump for this atrocity that they are neglecting to mention Bowers’ hatred for Trump.

Bowers is facing 29 charges, including 11 for murder. President Trump has called for the death penalty in this case, and I agree with him. I am pro-life when it comes to abortion, but I have no moral qualms with the legitimacy of the death penalty for such heinous crimes.

Shameful Demagoguery

The Tree of Life community had not buried all its dead before the media, celebrities, and leading Democrats were directing their bile and disdain not at the shooter but at the president and by extension the Christians and conservatives who support him. 

For example, speaking on MSNBC, former DNC chairman Howard Dean said: “This has now become a struggle about good versus evil. And the president of the United States is evil.”

Multiple commentators on Sunday talk shows suggested that President Trump’s rhetoric inspired the attack. How is that possible?

The president’s rhetoric about Israel, anti-Semitism, and his joy about having Jews in his own family has been clear and heartfelt. As I noted, the shooter hated Trump because, in his demented mind, he believes Trump is controlled by Jews. It is utterly irrational to blame the president and those who support him for Saturday’s massacre.

The Left’s willingness to exploit such a terrible event is despicable. And it once again demonstrates that there is no limit to what the Left will do to further divide the country. Telling half the country that it is “deplorable” and “evil” is fueling our divisions!

But if the Left was really worried about anti-Semitism, it would not have allowed Keith Ellison to remain as deputy chairman of the Democrat National Committee after his relationship with Louis Farrakhan became known. 

By the way, Farrakhan recently compared Jews to “termites.” The killer Bowers said that Jews need to be exterminated, which is what you do to termites. If the media want to blame anyone, they could start by blaming Louis Farrakhan.

But if the Left was serious about anti-Semitism, its leaders like Bill Clinton, Al Sharpton, and Jesse Jackson would not have been sharing a stage with Louis Farrakhan two months ago.

If the Left was serious about anti-Semitism, it would not tolerate Women’s March leaders Tamika Mallory and Linda Sarsour, whose anti-Semitism is well-established.

MEMRI regularly publishes the radical anti-Semitic sermons that are delivered in mosques all over America, and we have reported on those sermons.

But when Donald Trump tried to block further immigration from Muslim countries associated with extremist activity in order to ensure we were not importing more anti-Semites, the entire left-wing establishment tried to stop him.

Smearing Blackburn

Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who has served in the House for 15 years, is running for the open seat of retiring Sen. Bob Corker. I don’t expect liberals to agree with her on tax cuts, the sanctity of life, or the size of government. But Blackburn’s views are totally within the mainstream of American conservatism. 

During a rally Sunday, Blackburn asked for a moment of silence in memory of those killed at the Tree of Life synagogue the day before. As a hush fell over the crowd, a left-wing plant shouted, “Marsha Blackburn is a white supremacist!”

One individual after another interrupted the rest of her speech with the same disgusting smear. The intent was to frighten black voters in Tennessee.

I know Marsha Blackburn personally. She does not have a bigoted bone in her body. 

But I guarantee that black households will get phone calls and mailings about the incident in the days ahead attempting to scare them to the polls.  If the Left can flip this seat, it may have a chance to flip the Senate majority too. 

But it is shameful that the Left is willing to stoke racial fear and anger on the very weekend of a horrific attack on a synagogue simply because it serves their political interests.

My friends, you MUST vote in this election. These despicable tactics must not be allowed to succeed because conservatives stayed home on Election Day.

If you voted for Donald Trump in 2016, you MUST vote for his Republican allies in 2018.

If you voted against Hillary Clinton in 2016, you MUST vote against the radical left-wing Democrats in 2018.

Electing more Democrats to Congress won’t bring civility and compromise. It will bring gridlock and impeachment, more assaults on our values, and it will slam the brakes on a growing economy.