Former New York Police Department commissioner Ray Kelly said the shocking slaughter of 11 Jewish worshipers at a Pittsburgh synagogue makes anti-Semitism in Europe “pale in comparison.”
In an interview on 970AM in New York with radio host John Catsimatidis on “The Cats Roundtable,” Kelly called the shootings — “likely the deadliest attack on the Jewish community” in U.S. history, the Anti-Defamation League said — “really jolting.”
“I’m over here in Europe, because the understanding was that anti-Semitism is rising here, and there’s a sense of anxiety among the Jewish community in several countries,” he said.
“But to see this happen in the United States… was really quite shocking. Anti-Semitism has come down in the U.S. generally speaking,” though it could be higher because the numbers of incidents are “soft.”
“It’s very difficult to count on the numbers, because people don’t report these types of incidents,” he said.
But, he added, “When I saw what happen in Pittsburgh yesterday, it makes what happens over here [in Europe] pale in comparison.”
Kelly also doubted President Donald Trump’s call for armed guards would help preventing the carnage.
“I don’t know about armed guards,” he said. “That armed guard could be the first person killed.… You had four police officers wounded yesterday. There is no panacea. There’s no easy answer.”
“A lot of people talk about armed guards in synagogues,” he added. “A lot of the synagogues simply don’t have the resources to do that. New York City has a long history of protecting Jewish institutions and religious institutions in general. You’ll see marked police units in front of synagogues for the foreseeable future. Every city cannot do that. New York can’t do it indefinitely.”
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