Rudy Giuliani, a close associate of US President Donald Trump and former mayor of New York, on Thursday visited the Ohel (Jewish monumental tomb) of the Lubavitcher Rebbe in Queens.
Giuliani said that the purpose of his visit was to express solidarity with the Jews of the United States after the massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh last Shabbat.
Giuliani, who is known for his support for the State of Israel and the Jewish people, stressed that the Pittsburgh attack was an attack on the entire United States and not just Jews.
"It was an attack on everyone, not just the people who died. It was an attack on all Jewish people all over the world, because the murderer who did it said he was killing them solely because they were Jews. But it was an attack on all of us – all Americans who believe in freedom of religion, who believe that people should not be singled out because of their religion to be harmed. That’s what America first began as – a place where people can come and practice their religion without being harmed, and here this man took that away from us," he said.
The former New York mayor also fired back at attempts by opponents of Trump to blame him for the massacre.
“To try to blame an act of anti-Semitism on the president is insane...The man who did the shootings had on his website, or whatever it is, that he hates Donald Trump because he has too many Jewish friends. So you can’t win with these people who want to create political problems out of everything, and the president has every right to defend himself and to point out this hatred. The hatred is not coming from the president.”
"We had attacks on the United States under other presidents and we didn't blame it on them,” pointed out Giuliani.