U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro thanked Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres for their expressions of condolences after the massacre at a school in Newtown, Connecticut on Friday. Shapiro wrote on his Facebook page that “at this time of tragedy, it helps to know that our friends are mourning with us.”

Twenty six people were killed in the massacre at the Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown on Friday. Twenty of the victims were children, and the first funeral – that of six year old Noah Pozner, who is Jewish – took place Sunday. Noah’s family were members of the the Adath Israel congregation in Newtown. Speaking to congregants at Sabbath services, Rabbi Shaul Praver said that the shooting was the act of a deranged person, not an act of G-d.

Speaking to reporters Sunday, Adath Israel president Andrew Paley said that “the heroism and the community strength is really coming forward here in Newtown. We’re a small-knit community. The Jewish community is smaller. But we all are all together in this.”

Also killed on the massacre was Ben Wyler, whose parents did volunteer work for Adath Israel.

Sources in Newtown said that the 436 students who had been studying at Sandy Hook will not be returning to school in their original building. The children are likely to be sent to study at schools in other towns, as it is felt that studying at Sandy Hook will prove to be too difficult for the children.

Loading…