World Jewish Congress (WJC) President Ronald S. Lauder and WJC CEO Robert Singer wrote to the King of Saudi Arabia to express the condolences of the wider Jewish community in the wake of last week's lethal stampede in Mecca.
A total of 769 Muslim pilgrims were killed in the stampede during the Hajj pilgrimage, in an incident that took place as the pilgrims were on their way to the "stoning the devil" ceremony, in which rocks are thrown at a pillar representing the devil. No less than 464 of the dead are Iranian.
In their letter to Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saudi, the two wrote:
"On behalf of the World Jewish Congress, our more than 100 affiliated Jewish communities across the globe, and the entire Jewish people, we want to express to you our most sincere and deepest condolences at Thursday's tragic loss of life in Mecca.
"What should have been a moment of spiritual uplift during the Hajj became instead a moment of sorrow, and we join you in mourning for the souls of the hundreds of pilgrims who will not return to their families.
"The Hajj coincided with Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, during which we acknowledge that the fate of every one of us is in the hands of our divine Creator.
"May you, your nation, and all of Islam find strength in the memory of those whose lives were cut short, and may we, together, dedicate ourselves to bringing harmony into our world so that we - Muslims, Jews and Christians - may together worship our common God with love and in peace."
"Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your nation," concluded Lauder and Singer.