U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) today mourned the death of several victims, including Jersey City Police Detective Joseph Seals and Leah Minda Ferencz and Moshe Deutsch, the owners of the Jersey City Kosher market that was attacked by terrorists.

“I am devastated by the terrorist attack in Jersey City. The loss of life is unbearable. Detective Seals was a son of North Arlington and the father of five children. It is no full comfort to his loved ones, but Officer Seals saved lives yesterday. I stand with his grieving family and brothers and sisters in law enforcement who wake up every day to protect our communities. And I mourn Leah Minda Ferencz and Moshe Deutsch and all other victims. They were targeted for being Jewish. No American should feel unsafe because of their religion. Not one. An attack on any person for their religion is an attack on every one of us. Antisemitism is a cancer on the world that must be stamped out wherever it rears its ugly head.

“Rising domestic extremism is one of the biggest threats our nation now faces. We have been sounding the alarm for some time that it reaches into every single community in America. It can only be defeated by working together to identify and rehabilitate people before they radicalize, and with comprehensive gun safety reform that washes our streets from the flood of guns. A supermajority of Americans cry out for these changes and until we can come together to pass them, these tragedies will not stop.”

Rep. Pascrell has been the foremost advocate in Congress for greater scrutiny of right-wing extremist groups. Last month, Pascrell hosted a public town hall in Garfield with Gov. Phil Murphy and former U.S. Department of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson on the threat of domestic extremism to our cities and towns. In two recent op-eds in the Bergen Record, he excoriated elected officials who help spread extremist rhetoric and demanded congressional action on the threat of white supremacist activity. In September, Reps. Pascrell and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-05) stood with state and local officials to highlight legislative efforts to combat extremism in our communities. In 2017, Pascrell highlighted how Donald Trump’s rhetoric was emboldening white supremacist terror groups. In office, Pascrell has repeatedly condemned terror attempts against minority groups and called for increased awareness of domestic terror groups. Pascrell is also a longtime supporter of the Department of Homeland Security’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program which provides financial support for the security of community centers and places of worship for all religious groups.