BREAKING NEWS

Jewish leaders send letter of condolence to Saudi king over haj stampede tragedy

A major Jewish organization publicly expressed condolences on Thursday to the ruler of Saudi Arabia in the wake of the tragic stampede that killed over 700 haj pilgrims near Mecca last week.
The letter, whose addressee, King Salman, was referred to as "the custodian of the two holy mosques," was signed by World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder and the organization's chief executive officer, Robert Singer.
"On behalf of the World Jewish Congress, our more than 100 affiliated Jewish communities across the globe, and the entire Jewish people, we want to express to you our most sincere and deepest condolences at Thursday's tragic loss of life in Mecca," the letter reads. "What should have been a moment of spiritual uplift during the haj became instead a moment of sorrow, and we join you in mourning for the souls of the hundreds of pilgrims who will not return to their families."