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U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump are heading to Pittsburgh on Tuesday to offer condolences to the families of 11 members of a Jewish synagogue who were massacred last week in an anti-Semitic rampage, even as some Jewish leaders are demanding the president stay away until he denounces white nationalism.

The White House announced the trip Monday, saying the president and first lady will visit the city to “express the support of the American people and to grieve with the Pittsburgh community.”

Trump told Fox News, “I’m just going to pay my respects. I’m also going to the hospital to see the officers and some of the people that were so badly hurt. … I really look forward to going,” he said. “I would have done it even sooner, but I didn’t want to disrupt any more than they already had disruption.”

Pittsburgh’s Democratic mayor William Peduto said the Republican president should stay away from the city while families are holding funerals, the first of which are being held on Tuesday before Trump’s arrival. Several leaders of the Pittsburgh chapter of Bend the Arc, an activist Jewish organization that lobbies against Trump’s policies, called on the president to cancel his visit, saying he was not welcome until he denounced white nationalism. A letter they issued was signed by tens of thousands of people nationwide.

 “If the president is looking to come to Pittsburgh,” Peduto said, “I would ask that he not do so while we are burying the dead.” Peduto’s office said the mayor does not plan to meet with Trump.

Top congressional leaders from both political parties declined invitations from Trump to join him in visiting, while the family of one of the victims is declining to meet the president. The family said it felt Trump’s statement suggesting that an armed guard stationed at the synagogue might have prevented the attack was inappropriate.

Peduto told CNN a presidential visit would strain police and other law enforcement officers while they also are providing security for the funerals.

But Rabbi Jeffrey Myers at the Tree of Life synagogue where the mass killing occurred said the president is “certainly welcome” to visit Pittsburgh.

In the U.S. political debate, the term nationalist has often been equated with white nationalism and as denigrating to minorities.

In the Fox interview, Trump said that to him, there are no racial overtones to declaring himself a nationalist, as he did at a recent political rally.

“It means I love the country. It means I’m fighting for the country,” Trump said. “I look at two things, globalists and nationalists. I’m somebody that wants to take care of our country, because for many, many years, you know this better than anybody — our leaders have been more worried about the world than they have about the United States, and they leave us in a mess — whether it’s the wars, whether it’s the economy, whether it’s debt, whether it’s all of the things that they’ve done, including putting in the wrong Supreme Court Justices. And we’re — we’ve really put two great ones in. No, I’m proud of this country, and I call that ‘nationalism.'”

Robert Bowers, the 46-year-old truck driver accused of carrying out the attack, made his first appearance before a federal judge Monday.

Authorities accuse Bowers of carrying out the rampage out of vitriolic hatred of Jews, posting anti-Semitic tirades online and screaming “All Jews must die” as he opened fire.

Bowers faces 29 federal charges, including some federal hate crimes. He could face the death penalty if he is convicted.

The Anti-Defamation League, which has tracked hatred and violence against Jews since the 1970s, said the Pittsburgh mayhem was the worst attack against the Jewish community in U.S. history.

 
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Drawing on her years of military experience, Maureen Heard was careful to follow all the rules when she filled out an absentee ballot for the 2016 election.

She read the instructions thoroughly, signed where she was supposed to, put the ballot in its envelope and dropped it off at her county elections office in New Hampshire. She then left town to return to a temporary federal work assignment in Washington, D.C.

“I have learned over the years, many years in the military of filling out forms, how to fill out forms — and I was very intimidated by the process,” said Heard, who served in the Air Force and as a lieutenant in the U.S. Coast Guard. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I have to make sure I get it absolutely right.’ And then it didn’t count.”

Heard, 57, discovered last year that she was among roughly 319,000 voters across the country whose absentee ballots were rejected during the last presidential election. The reasons varied, ranging from missing deadlines to failing to sign their ballot.

Heard’s ballot was tossed out because the signature did not match the one on file at her local election office.

More people than ever are returning their ballots by mail or dropping them off at a local election location rather than voting in a booth on Election Day. Those developments make it easier to cast ballots and are designed to boost turnout.

The trend also is raising concerns about whether voters can be assured their ballots will count or be notified in time if there is a problem. Voting rights activists want to ensure that voters are given a reasonable chance to fix any problems.

Earlier this month, the ACLU and other groups filed lawsuits in Georgia after an Atlanta-area county reported a comparatively high rate of rejected absentee ballots during the start of early voting. Those actions followed similar lawsuits in New Hampshire and California.

“It’s hard to see what is missing,” said Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation, which advocated for changes to California law. “People are all focused on what is the vote count. They are not focused on what ballots weren’t counted.”

Nearly one of every four ballots cast in 2016 came through the mail or was handed in at a drop-off location, according to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. The commission’s data show that 99 percent of completed absentee and mailed ballots are eventually counted.

Election officials use signature matching to verify a person’s identity, but advocates say many election offices lack training and standards. Matching signatures is particularly fraught because a person’s handwriting can change over time and be affected by age or disability.

In August, a federal judge ruled that New Hampshire’s signature-matching process was “fundamentally flawed” because voters are not given notice if it’s the reason a ballot was rejected. She also said the election office workers inspecting the signatures did not receive training in handwriting analysis or signature comparisons.

“For the most part, signature variations are of little consequence in a person’s life,” U.S. District Judge Landya McCafferty wrote. “But in the context of absentee voting, these variations become profoundly consequential.”

A judge in California sided with the ACLU in a similar lawsuit in March.

Last month, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law the “Every Vote Counts Act,” which requires local election officials to notify voters of mismatched signatures at least eight days before election results become certified. Voters then have several days to resolve the issue.

In Georgia, the ballot rejections in Gwinnett County were running well ahead of the other large counties ringing Atlanta. Gwinnett County had rejected 9.6 percent of all absentee mail ballots as of October 12, while DeKalb County had rejected 1.9 percent and Fulton County had rejected none, according to court filings.

Candice Broce, spokeswoman for the secretary of state’s office, said state officials were aware of the concerns and opened an investigation.

Georgia law requires voters to be told “promptly” of a problem, but does not specify a time period. In Gwinnett County, this means sending a voter notice in the mail within three days, according to county officials.

Voters who are notified of a problem can request a new ballot or vote in person, but the law does not provide time after the election to resolve the problems. That potentially affects voters who drop off their ballots on or near Election Day.

A federal judge ruled last week that Georgia election officials cannot reject ballots for a signature mismatch without providing voters an opportunity to verify their identity; they would have almost a week to do so under the ruling. The state plans to appeal.

“We’re not attacking signature-matching as a way to do something, as a tool for confirming identity,” said Sophia Lakin, a staff attorney with the ACLU. “We are concerned about making sure that it’s not something that prevents someone from voting. It all depends on how it’s being implemented.”

Three states — Colorado, Oregon and Washington — send ballots in the mail to all registered voters.

Oregon allows voters 14 days after an election to resolve a signature mismatch and provides training to local election officials about how to verify signatures.

Part of the training includes an acknowledgement that signatures can change over time, said Nancy Blankenship, clerk of Deschutes County in Bend, Oregon. Any time voters correspond with her office, their signatures are added to their file so election workers have a history of signatures to use for comparison.
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As of Tuesday, there were 65 U.S. House of Representatives races widely seen as competitive or leaning against the incumbent party.

The outlook for Democrats had improved in 48 of them during the seven weeks since early September in the eyes of at least one of a trio of political forecasting groups: Cook Political Report, Inside Elections and the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.

Only seven Republicans saw improved ratings among the competitive races. Those congressional districts are Minnesota-8, Illinois-12, Virginia-2, Ohio-1, West Virginia-3, Texas-23 and Nevada-4.

In two of those races – Virginia-2 and Ohio-1 – one of the three groups saw improved chances for the Republican candidate and another saw odds improving for the Democrat.

An improvement in the odds for a party does not necessarily mean its candidate is now favored to win. Some candidates went from being seen slightly or solidly ahead to being in a race seen as a “toss up.”

Following are the competitive races where analysts upgraded the odds of winning for Democrats and Republicans, together with the number of forecasting groups upgrading each party’s chances.

District               Party with improved chances

(incumbent party)            (number of handicappers

                                     seeing improved odds)     

         Arizona-2 (R)                    Democrat (2)

       California-10 (R)                  Democrat (1)

       California-25 (R)                  Democrat (1)

       California-45 (R)                  Democrat (2)

        Californa-48 (R)                  Democrat (1)

       California-49 (R)                  Democrat (1)

       California-50 (R)                  Democrat (1)

         Colorado-6 (R)                   Democrat (3)

         Florida-15 (R)                   Democrat (3)

         Florida-26 (R)                   Democrat (3)

         Florida-6 (R)                    Democrat (3)

         Georgia-6 (R)                    Democrat (2)

         Georgia-7 (R)                    Democrat (3)

           Iowa-1 (R)                     Democrat (1)

           Iowa-3 (R)                     Democrat (1)

        Illinois-12 (R)                  Republican (2)

        Illinois-14 (R)                   Democrat (2)

         Illinois-6 (R)                   Democrat (3)

          Kansas-2 (R)                    Democrat (1)

            Kansas-3                      Democrat (3)

          Maine-2 (R)                     Democrat (1)

        Michigan-11 (R)                   Democrat (2)

         Michigan-8 (R)                   Democrat (1)

        Minnesota-2 (R)                   Democrat (3)

        Minnesota-3 (R)                   Democrat (3)

        Minnesota-8 (D)                  Republican (3)

     North Carolina-13 (R)                Democrat (2)

      North Carolina-2 (R)                Democrat (2)

      North Carolina-9 (R)                Democrat (1)

       New Jersey-11 (R)                  Democrat (1)

        New Jersey-2 (R)                  Democrat (1)

        New Jersey-3 (R)                  Democrat (1)

        New Jersey-7 (R)                  Democrat (1)

        New Mexico-2 (R)                  Democrat (3)

          Nevada-4 (D)                   Republican (2)

        New York-11 (R)                   Democrat (2)

        New York-19 (R)                   Democrat (1)

        New York-22 (R)                   Democrat (1)

        New York-24 (R)                   Democrat (3)

        New York-27 (R)                   Democrat (3)

           Ohio-1 (R)            Republican (1) / Democrat (1)

          Ohio-12 (R)                     Democrat (2)

       Pennsylvania-1 (R)                 Democrat (2)

      Pennsylvania-10 (R)                 Democrat (2)

      Pennsylvania-17 (R)                 Democrat (2)

       Pennsylvania-6 (R)                 Democrat (1)

       Pennsylvania-7 (R)                 Democrat (1)

          Texas-23 (R)                   Republican (2)

          Texas-32 (R)                    Democrat (1)

           Utah-4 (R)                     Democrat (2)

         Virginia-2 (R)          Republican (1) / Democrat (1)

         Virginia-7 (R)                   Democrat (1)

      West Virginia-3 (R)                Republican (1)

 
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Opening a new front in its trade and technology disputes with China, the Trump administration on Monday took action to cut off a Chinese state-backed semiconductor maker from U.S. exports of components, software and technology goods.

The Commerce Department said it has put Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co Ltd on a list of entities that cannot purchase such products from U.S. firms, citing a “significant risk” that the Chinese firm’s new memory chip capacity will threaten the viability of American suppliers of such chips for military systems.

It said in a statement that Fujian Jinhua “poses a significant risk of becoming involved in activities that are contrary to the national interests of the United States.”

The action is similar to a Commerce Department move that nearly put Chinese telecommunications equipment company ZTE out of business earlier this year by cutting it off from U.S. suppliers.

ZTE, which had violated a deal to settle violations of sanctions on Iran and North Korea, was allowed to resume purchases of U.S. products after a revised settlement and payment of a $1 billion fine.

The action against Fujian Jinhua is likely to ignite new tensions between Beijing and Washington since the company is at the heart of the “Made in China 2025” program to develop new high-technology industries.

The world’s top two economies are already waging a major tariff war over their trade disputes, with U.S. duties in place on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods and Chinese duties on $110 billion of U.S. goods.

Fujian Jinhua, which is starting up a new $5.7 billion chip factory in Fujian province, is linked to the Trump administration’s accusations that China has systematically stolen and forced the transfer of American technology.

Fujian Jinhua and Taiwanese partner United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) were accused last December by U.S. memory chip maker Micron Technology Inc of stealing Micron chip designs through poached employees, a case still under way in a California court.

UMC countersued in a Chinese court, accusing Micron of infringing its patents, leading to a temporary ban in July on sales of Micron’s main products in China.

It was not immediately clear what effect the Commerce Department action will have on Fujian Jinhua’s operations.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement that the Chinese firm’s new plant likely was the beneficiary of “U.S.-origin technology” and its additional production would threaten the long-term viability of U.S. chipmakers.

“When a foreign company engages in activity contrary to our national security interests, we will take strong action to protect our national security,” he said. “Placing Jinhua on the Entity List will limit its ability to threaten the supply chain for essential components in our military systems.”
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Following the shooting deaths of 11 worshippers at a synagogue in the eastern United States, a U.N. human rights expert urged governments on Monday to do more to curb racist and anti-Semitic intolerance, especially online.

“That event should be a catalyst for urgent action against hate crimes, but also a reminder to fight harder against the current climate of intolerance that has made racist, xenophobic and anti-Semitic attitudes and beliefs more acceptable,” U.N. Special Rapporteur Tendayi Achiume said of Saturday’s attack on a synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Achiume, whose mandate is the elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, noted in her annual report that “Jews remain especially vulnerable to anti-Semitic attacks online.”

She said that Nazi and neo-Nazi groups exploit the internet to spread and incite hate because it is “largely unregulated, decentralized, cheap” and anonymous.

Achiume, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law, said neo-Nazi groups are increasingly relying on the internet and social media platforms to recruit new members.

Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are among their favorites.

On Facebook, for example, hate groups connect with sympathetic supporters and use the platform to recruit new members, organize events and raise money for their activities. YouTube, which has over 1.5 billion viewers each month, is another critical communications tool for propaganda videos and even neo-Nazi music videos. On Twitter, according to one 2012 study cited in the special rapporteur’s report, the presence of white nationalist movements on that platform has increased by more than 600 percent.

The special rapporteur noted that while digital technology has become an integral and positive part of most people’s lives, “these developments have also aided the spread of hateful movements.”

She said in the past year, platforms including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have banned individual users who have contributed to hate movements or threatened violence, but ensuring the removal of racist content online remains difficult.

Some hate groups try to get around raising red flags by using racially coded messaging, which makes it harder for social media platforms to recognize their hate speech and shut down their presence.

Achiume cited as an example the use of a cartoon character “Pepe the Frog,” which was appropriated by members of neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups and was widely displayed during a white supremacist rally in the southern U.S. city of Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.

The special rapporteur welcomed actions in several states to counter intolerance online, but cautioned it must not be used as a pretext for censorship and other abuses. She also urged governments to work with the private sector — specifically technology companies — to fight such prejudices in the digital space.
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South Korea’s Yonhap news agency says U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is likely to meet with his North Korean counterpart in the United States next week.

The news agency reports that the two sides are trying to arrange a meeting shortly after the U.S. midterm elections on Nov. 6.

Pompeo told VOA contributor Greta Van Susteren in an interview on Oct. 19 that he hoped the meeting would take place “in the next week and a half or so.”

Yonhap reported Monday that a South Korean diplomatic source with knowledge of U.S.-North Korea negotiations said, “At the time of Secretary Pompeo’s remarks, [the meeting] was being planned for the end of October, but I understand that it was delayed by a couple days due to circumstances on the U.S. side.”

“The location will probably be the U.S. East Coast,” the source said.

Pompeo has met during previous talks with Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party Central Committee. However, the Nikkei Asian Review is reporting that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister Kim Yo Jong could also join the talks. Kim Yo Jong is said to have a close relationship with her brother.

The meeting between Pompeo and the North Korean delegation is expected to focus on continuing discussions about North Korea denuclearization, as well as another potential summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and the North Korean leader.

Pompeo told VOA this month that a date for that summit has not yet been set, but said Trump is “committed” to it. “We’re working on finding dates and times and places that will work for each of the two leaders,” he said.

Earlier this month, the United States and South Korea suspended another major military exercise in a continued push for diplomacy.

The two countries have suspended several military exercises since an unprecedented June summit between Trump and Kim in Singapore, where Trump announced the U.S. would stop what he called “provocative” and “expensive” “war games” with South Korea.

He said the move was as an act of good faith and in response to North Korea’s commitment to denuclearization, and its continued suspension of nuclear and missile tests.
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Thousands of people gathered Sunday in Pittsburgh for a memorial service where religious and civic leaders came together with a message of resiliency, tolerance and unity following an attack at a synagogue that killed 11 people.

The suspected gunman, 46-year-old Robert Bowers, is due to go before a federal judge Monday. He is facing 29 federal charges, including some federal hate crimes, and could face the death penalty if convicted.

The Anti-Defamation League, which has tracked hatred and violence against Jews since the 1970s, says Saturday’s massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue was the worst attack against the Jewish community in U.S. history.

Rabbis were joined by leaders from other faiths at the University of Pittsburgh for the memorial service Sunday where Rabbi Jonathan Perlman declared, “What happened yesterday will not break us, it will not ruin us.”

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto called the attack “the darkest hour of our city’s history,” but said the people there are resilient.

​”We will work together as one. We will defeat hate with love. We will be a city of compassion, welcoming to all people no matter what your religion, or where your family came from on this earth, or your status,” Peduto said.

Rabbi Jeffrey Myers declared words of hate unwelcome in Pittsburgh and called on political leaders to set an example.

“It starts with everyone in this room. And I want to address for a moment some of our political leaders who were here. Ladies and gentlemen, it has to start with you as our leaders,” Myers said. “Stop the words of hate. My mother always taught me: if you don’t have anything nice to say, say nothing. If it comes from you, Americans will listen.”

Interfaith vigils took place in many other places across the United States and in Canada on Sunday. A number of National Football League games held moments of silence before kickoff.

The Vancouver Canucks professional hockey team also paused before their game with the Pittsburgh Penguins in Vancouver to remember the dead.

The Eiffel Tower in Paris was darkened Sunday night. 

President Donald Trump ordered flags on U.S. government buildings to be flown at half-staff for three days to honor the victims.

He called the move “a mark of solemn respect for the victims of the terrible act of violence.”

Documents outlining the allegations against him say Bowers was armed with an AR-15 assault rifle and three handguns. He said that he wanted all Jews to die because he believed Jews “were committing genocide to his people.” That apparently refers to his belief that a Jewish refugee agency is helping foreign nationals enter the U.S. and that it endangers non-Jews in America.

In a message he apparently posted online just minutes before the attack, Bowers said the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, “likes to bring invaders in that kill our people. I can’t wait while my people are getting slaughtered…I’m going in.” 

Officials said the victims included eight men and three women ranging in age from 54 to 97 years old. Six people were wounded, including four police officers, before Bowers was found barricaded inside the synagogue, shot, and arrested. He is recovering from his wounds. 

The FBI said Bowers was not previously known to law enforcement, but apparently had posted a string of anti-Semitic threats online, particularly on the Gab.com website, where conspiracy theories are common.

Gab, which bills itself as the “free speech” alternative to Twitter and Facebook, has become a popular place to post content unwelcome or prohibited on other platforms. Gab responded with a statement Sunday:

“We refuse to be defined by the media’s narratives about Gab and our community,” it said. “Gab’s mission is very simple: to defend free expression and individual liberty online for all people.

On top of Bowers’ page, one quote said, “Jews are the children of Satan,” according to screenshots of the now-suspended account released by the SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks extremist views.

World leaders denounced the attack, deploring it as an affront to humanity.

Trump told a political rally late Saturday, “This evil, anti-Semitic attack is an assault on all of us. We must stand with our Jewish brothers and sisters to defeat anti-Semitism and vanquish the forces of hate.”

Former U.S. President Barack Obama said, “We grieve for the Americans murdered in Pittsburgh. All of us have to fight the rise of anti-Semitism and hateful rhetoric against those who look, love, or pray differently. And we have to stop making it so easy for those who want to harm the innocent to get their hands on a gun.”

Pope Francis at the Vatican called the massacre an “inhuman act of violence.” He prayed “to help us to extinguish the flames of hatred that develop in our societies.” 

In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “It is hard to overstate the horror of the murder of Jews who congregate on the Sabbath and who were murdered only because they were Jews. On my behalf, on behalf of the government of Israel and the nation of Israel I convey our heartfelt condolences to the families that have lost dear ones. We all pray for the speedy recovery of the wounded.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the assault an act of “blind anti-Semitic hatred,” while United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for a united world effort “to roll back the forces of racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and other forms of racism.”
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Flags on U.S. government buildings across the country will be flown at half-staff over the next three days to honor the victims of the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre.

President Donald Trump calls it “a mark of solemn respect for the victims of the terrible act of violence.”

He also ordered flags lowered at all U.S. embassies, consular offices, military facilities, and Naval ships.

Interfaith vigils were held from coast-to-coast Sunday and in many Canadian cities. A number of National Football League games held moments of silence before kickoff.

The Vancouver Canucks professional hockey team also paused before their game with the Pittsburgh Penguins in Vancouver to remember the dead.

The Eiffel Tower in Paris was darkened Sunday night.

Authorities in Pittsburgh are calling what happened at the Tree of Life synagogue a “hate crime,” saying suspected gunman Robert Bowers shouted anti-Semitic threats as he opened fire.

The 46-year-old Bowers faces 29 criminal charges. Documents outlining the allegations against him say Bowers was armed with an AR-15 assault rifle and three handguns. He said that he wanted all Jews to die because he believed Jews “were committing genocide to his people.” That apparently refers to his belief that a Jewish refugee agency is helping foreign nationals enter the U.S. and that it endangers non-Jews in America.

In a message he apparently posted online just minutes before the attack, Bowers said the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, “likes to bring invaders in that kill our people. I can’t wait while my people are getting slaughtered…I’m going in.”

Officials said 11 people — eight men and three women — were killed. They ranged in age from 54 to 97. Six people were wounded, including four police officers, before Bowers was found barricaded inside the synagogue, shot, and arrested. He is recovering from his wounds.

The FBI said Bowers was not previously known to law enforcement, but apparently had posted a string of anti-Semitic threats online, particularly on the Gab.com website, where conspiracy theories are common.

Gab, which bills itself as the “free speech” alternative to Twitter and Facebook, has become a popular place to post content unwelcome or prohibited on other platforms. Gab responded with a statement Sunday:

“We refuse to be defined by the media’s narratives about Gab and our community. Gab’s mission is very simple: to defend free expression and individual liberty online for all people.”

On top of Bowers’ page, one quote said, “Jews are the children of Satan,” according to screenshots of the now-suspended account released by the SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks extremist views.

Police had responded to emergency calls about 9:45 a.m. Saturday morning as regular religious services were being held by three congregations at the Tree of Life Synagogue. Witnesses said that Bowers, as he entered the synagogue, shouted, “All these Jews must die!”

Authorities said they found victims at three locations inside the synagogue, located in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood. The local medical examiner, Dr. Karl Williams, said, “Lots of shots were fired, there were casings everywhere.”

The Anti-Defamation League, which has tracked hatred and violence against Jews since the 1970s, said the mayhem is “likely the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the history of the United States.”  

“We are devastated,” said the group’s head, Jonathan Greenblatt. “Our hearts break for the victims, their families, and the entire Jewish community.”

World leaders denounced the attack, deploring it as an affront to humanity.

President Trump told a political rally late Saturday, “This evil, anti-Semitic attack is an assault on all of us. We must stand with our Jewish brothers and sisters to defeat anti-Semitism and vanquish the forces of hate.”

On Twitter, Trump said, “All of America is in mourning over the mass murder of Jewish Americans at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. We pray for those who perished and their loved ones, and our hearts go out to the brave police officers who sustained serious injuries. This evil Anti-Semitic attack is an assault on humanity. It will take all of us working together to extract the poison of Anti-Semitism from our world. We must unite to conquer hate.”

Former U.S. President Barack Obama said, “We grieve for the Americans murdered in Pittsburgh. All of us have to fight the rise of anti-Semitism and hateful rhetoric against those who look, love, or pray differently. And we have to stop making it so easy for those who want to harm the innocent to get their hands on a gun.”

Pope Francis at the Vatican called the massacre an “inhuman act of violence.” He prayed “to help us to extinguish the flames of hatred that develop in our societies.”

In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “It is hard to overstate the horror of the murder of Jews who congregate on the Sabbath and who were murdered only because they were Jews. On my behalf, on behalf of the government of Israel and the nation of Israel I convey our heartfelt condolences to the families that have lost dear ones. We all pray for the speedy recovery of the wounded.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the assault an act of “blind anti-Semitic hatred,” while United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for a united world effort “to roll back the forces of racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and other forms of racism.”
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The mayor of New York City, home to the world’s largest concentration of Jews outside Israel, said there is only one way to deal with hate – confront it head on.

Mayor Bill de Blasio joined city religious leaders outside the Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan Sunday to condemn the massacre of 11 Jews inside a Pittsburgh synagogue.

“This gathering sends a message. New York City will never succumb to hate. We will never allow ourselves to be divided,” the mayor said.

He assured the city’s large Jewish population that police will protect synagogues and Jewish community centers.

“We will not let anyone harm you.”

De Blasio was joined Sunday by Jewish, Muslim, and Christian clergymen, including Cardinal Timothy Dolan. The cardinal said the fact that the Pittsburgh shooting victims were Jews – a people who have “suffered for centuries” – adds to the horror.

“The respect for the inherent dignity of every human being and the sacredness of human life, we must never, ever question,” the cardinal said.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has ordered flags in the state to fly at half-staff all week.
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The U.N. refugee agency is urging Washington to grant people fleeing persecution and violence, including those who are traveling with the Central American caravan, to request asylum on U.S. territory.

U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed to prevent a caravan of thousands of immigrants from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador from entering the United States.  He is sending 800 troops to safeguard the southwest border of the country.

The U.N. refugee agency will not weigh in on whether it is legal for a country to close its borders to refugees and asylum seekers. But it says international law clearly states any person whose life may be in danger has the right to seek asylum and benefit from international protection.

UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic told VOA his agency has alerted countries along the caravan’s route that it is likely to include people in real danger.

“Our position globally is that the individuals who are fleeing persecution and violence need to be given access to territory and protection including refugee status and determination procedure. And, if the people who are fleeing persecution and violence enter Mexico, they need to be provided access to the Mexican asylum system and those entering the United States need to be provided access to the American asylum system,” he said.  

Mahecic said the UNHCR is very concerned about the developing humanitarian situation along the migratory route.  He said there are kidnapping and security risks in the areas where the caravan may be venturing.  

He said it is urgent to stabilize the situation, to provide proper reception and to improve basic conditions for people on the move. In regard to people seeking asylum, he says their international protection needs must be properly assessed before any decision is taken on their return or deportation.

The Mexican Ministry of the Interior reports more than 1,740 asylum claims have been registered in Tapachula in the state of Chiapas.
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