On July 1st, UJA-Federation of New York co-sponsored an emotional memorial service for the three Israeli teens who were recently kidnapped and killed. In a program organized by the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York and also co-sponsored by the New York Board of Rabbis, speakers included many members of Congress, the State Assembly, the New York City Council, the Israeli government, and other community officials. More than 1,000 people attended the service at The Jewish Center in Manhattan and overflowed into the street.

Here are the remarks made at the service by Eric S. Goldstein, CEO of UJA-Federation:

I stand here this evening as a parent united in grief and mourning with Ofir and Bat Galim Shaar, Avi and Rachel Fraenkel, and Uri and Iris Yifrach.

For all of us, this unspeakable tragedy feels deeply personal.

Both of my sons learned in Israel. One just returned three weeks ago, after two years there. Both attended a yeshiva in the same area as Gilad, Eyal, and Naftali. And both frequently hitchhiked — “tremped” — from the exact location as the murdered boys.

As parents, we all hope and pray for the same things for our children — lives of peace and happiness and security. It is indescribably painful that such is not to be for Gilad, Eyal, and Naftali.

When we go to a shiva — a house of mourning — we extend the traditional words of consolation. Hamakom y’nachem et’chem b’tokh sh’ar avelei tziyon virushalayim — May the Omnipresent comfort all of you among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

And even if only one person is sitting shiva, we still say “Hamakom y’nachem et’chem” — et’chem in the plural — may the Omnipresent comfort all of you. And we do so because Kol Yisrael Arevim zeh bazeh —all Jews are responsible for one another.

Your pain is my pain. Your loss is my loss.

In these weeks of waiting, from the first news of the abduction to this outpouring of grief, we have stood together as a people and a community, reaching out any way we could — praying together, comforting one another, and hoping against hope.

Let us continue to come together as a community to show the world that Gilad, Naftali, and Eyal will not be forgotten. In their names, let us stand stronger, and let us work harder to take care of one another.

Let us continue always to remember that the fate of all Jews around the world is interconnected.

Yehi zichram baruch.