Robert Kraft visited Tree of Life synagogue on Saturday, ahead of big Patriots-Steelers game

Some things are more important than even the biggest rivalry.

On Saturday, ahead of his team’s showdown with the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft flew into the city to visit the Tree of Life synagogue, the site of a hate-driven massacre in October that killed 11 congregants during Shabbat services.

Via Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL Network, after visiting Tree of Life, Kraft went to a second synagogue in Pittsburgh, Rodef Shalom, to attend services. The rabbi invited Kraft to speak and Kraft accepted, telling the congregation that as big as Sunday’s Steelers-Patriots game is, attending services with Pittsburghers was bigger to him.

Kraft is a member of the Temple Emmanuel synagogue in Massachusetts. He is also a major supporter of American football in Israel – he donated money for the country’s first regulation football stadium and sponsors the amateur Israel Football League. Kraft has also brought dozens of Pro Football Hall of Famers to Israel in recent years, where they tour the holy land and spread the gospel of football.