The New England Patriots honored American terror victim Ezra Schwartz with a moment of silence before their Monday Night Football game against the Buffalo Bills yesterday. Schwartz was an 18-year-old student and lifelong Patriots fan from the Boston area who was killed by a Palestinian terrorist last week.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, in a month in which the NFL salutes the service of our brave men and women in our armed forces, we also pause to remember the many who have recently lost their lives in senseless terrorist attacks abroad,” said John Dolan, the Patriots’ public address announcer, during the nationwide broadcast. “Last Thursday this reality struck close to home when 18 year-old Ezra Schwartz, a native of Sharon, Massachusetts and a huge Patriots fan, was gunned down nearly 5,500 miles from home while studying abroad. At this time we would like to honor Ezra Schwartz and the hundreds of victims like him with a moment of silence.”

The tribute was first proposed by former Knesset member Dov Lipman, who wrote a letter to Patriots owner Robert Kraft asking the team to honor Schwartz. Several hours before the game it was announced that Kraft had agreed.

This isn’t the first that Kraft has honored an American victim of Palestinian terrorism. Last year, after American IDF soldier Max Steinberg was killed fighting against Hamas, Kraft sent a letter to Steinberg’s parents, writing, “I have taken the liberty of reaching out to you since I noticed him wearing a New England Patriots cap in one of the broadcasted photos. He represents the consummate patriot and I am forever grateful for the sacrifices he made to keep our beloved Israel safe.”

Schwartz was one of three people killed last week when a Palestinian with an Uzi submachine gun opened fire on cars in a traffic jam near Alon Shvut in the West Bank. He was delivering food to soldiers at the time of the attack.

[Photo: Judah Holstein / YouTube ]