“We are shocked and we are sad, but we are determined to fight this scourge until it is defeated,” World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder said in reaction to the terrorist attacks in the Belgian capital Brussels which killed 31 people and wounded 270 at the airport and in a metro station.

Lauder urged more international cooperation in the fight against Islamist terrorism and said police and intelligence services “must now get all necessary resources to prevent further attacks from happening.”

He declared, “Having suffered from so many attacks in recent months and years, Europe and the wider world must now sit together and come up with adequate measures. Albeit important, it is not sufficient to just have more police or military patrolling the streets, to improve border controls, or to install extra security measures at airports. What is more important is to cut the tree from its roots, to combat the Islamist and jihadist ideologies on all fronts, and to finally ensure that the senseless killing of people by fanatics is stopped wherever it takes place.''

“This is a deteriorating situation. It’s clear: any country, any citizen can become a target of these terrorists, and therefore, all countries must unite to defeat the terrorists and the ideology that inspires them. This is a fight of good against evil, and we must not shy away from it,” said Lauder.

Leaders of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Marvin D. Nathan and Jonathan A. Greenblatt, issued the following statement: ‘’We condemn these heinous attacks which have once again targeted innocent civilians on European soil. It is with a sense of profound sadness that we are witnessing yet another coordinated attack targeting Western society and its values of pluralism and tolerance.’’

They added, ‘’The warped, intolerant ideology of ISIS stands in stark contrast to that of Brussels, and indeed all of Belgium, which exemplifies and promotes respect for diverse communities, cultures and religions within the strong tradition of a liberal democracy.’’