Ataque a la Sinagoga de Pittsburgh - Palabras de la Honorable Roxanne Cabral, a.i. Encargada de Negocios de la Embajada de los Estados Unidos en Panamá

I join you tonight to share both my personal grief and that of the United States of America for the murder of 11 Jewish Americans at the Tree of Life Synagogue last week.  This act of hatred shocked our nation and the global community and I want to thank the Kol Shearith Israel Congregation for giving us this opportunity to come together and comfort one another. Tonight, we are here to demonstrate our resolve in condemning senseless acts like this and to try to extract some meaning from it all.

As President Trump stated, “All of America is in mourning over the mass murder … at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh…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.”  Our presence here tonight is not only part of that healing process, but also a step toward uniting to conquer hate.

There is a famous saying in Spanish, “No hay mal que por bien no venga.”  In English we say every dark cloud has a silver lining.  I’ve been thinking about this over the past days and I’ve found that lining to be very thin in this case. Together with my family and colleagues, we have tried hard to process this event in a way that does not lead to despair.  Can any good come from this heinous act and tragic loss of life?  An answer to that question does not come easy.  And, while it is so difficult, I do strongly believe we have the obligation to find one.  The primary challenge is to confront the intolerance we see in today’s society.  This takes positive action -- to redouble our efforts to embrace diversity in all aspects of life, recognizing that our differences provide us an opportunity for greater strength rather than conflict.  

This is obviously much easier to say than do.  But, gatherings like this, where people of diverse countries, cultures, races, and religions congregate for a common cause demonstrates what is possible.  Actions, like those of the Muslim American communities raising tens of thousands of dollars for the families of the victims provide another window into the best of humanity.  The blue ribbons and 11 white stars we have all seen on buildings, in pictures, and in communities around the world, remind us how this tragedy affects us all.  It reminds us that we must come together to fight hate in every form.

Another challenge is vigilance.  Vigilance for the truth.  Who stands up for the truth in the many forums, online and off, where the lies that nourish hate are spoken.  Perhaps some evil cannot be prevented, but the spread of it, and its toxic support systems can be limited by greater vigilance for the truth.  

Confronting intolerance and the lies behind it are challenges to our own selves first and to our governments second.  Let us tonight seek inspiration and guidance from each other to bring noble values closer to the core of our being and to the center of public discourse.