The World Council of Churches (WCC) [today] condemned an attack on a Hanukkah celebration at a rabbi´s home north of New York City, on 28 December, stabbing and wounding five people. Several state and local officials have described the location of stabbing as a synagogue.

The attack appeared to be the latest in a string targeting Jews in the region, including a massacre at a kosher grocery in New Jersey earlier this month.

WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit said people have the right to gather at places of worship in peace, and violence against them is appalling. The assault seems to be a brazen display of racist anti-Semitism that, sadly, is on the rise in the US and elsewhere.”

Tveit said “We are condemning this attack and the anti-Semitic, racist and extremists ideology that might motivate this attack. We also emphasize the importance of proper security for all, particularly minorities, in our countries.”

“As brothers and sisters in faith, and as fellow humans, we decry this violence against worshippers peacefully observing their most holy period.” Tveit added ”We grieve for the victims of the attack, and we lift up the Jewish community in prayer. Needless to say, this kind of racist violence and hate are repugnant to us, fortifying our resolve to work with Jews and Christians everywhere  to oppose hatred and instil respect for all people.”