Our prayers and support are with the peoples of Turkey and Syria
A Vigil for earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria was held in front of the Bergen County Courthouse with the joint organization of the Turkish Cultural Center, Peace Islands Institute, and the Northern New Jersey Islamic Community Center. A large number of religious leaders and community representatives attended the program, which was co-hosted by James J. Tedesco (Bergen County Executive), and Antony Curoton (Bergen County Sheriff).
Participants were asked to observe a moment of silence in honor of the lives lost in the devastating earthquake that occurred on February 6th in Turkey.
The Executive Director of the Turkish Cultural Center of New Jersey, Mr. Erkan Ertosun thanked everyone from different nationalities who showed solidarity, and informed the audiences about casualties caused by the earthquake.
In the program, Al-Zahra mosque imam, Imam Moutaz Sharaf, Catholic Church interfaith dialogue officer Father Phil Latronico, Ner Tamid Synagogue Rabbi Marc Katz, New Jersey Church Association Priest Mark William Ennis, Imam Gazi Agha, William Schivela from the Italian Congregation, Father Oleksii Holchuk from the Ukrainian Church and Michael Nam from the Korea Community Center were among the speakers.
Embrace Relief Foundation representatives talked about the aid campaigns after the earthquake and invited everyone to help.
At the end of the program, the participants held banners with the words “Our prayers and support are with the peoples of Turkey and Syria”.
