Amid Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial, Jewish community and … – TribLIVE

Over the next several months, as the trial unfolds in connection with the Squirrel Hill synagogue shooting, Pittsburgh will be repeatedly reminded that it is home to the worst antisemitic attack in U.S. history.

Eleven people from three congregations Tree of Life-Or LSimcha, Dor Hadash and New Light died on Oct. 27, 2018, at the Tree of Life synagogue.

What likely wont be mentioned as prominently is the work being done to counter that narrative.

Antisemitism continues to rise in the United States and shows no signs of slowing worldwide, according to a report released by Tel Aviv Universitys Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry and the U.S.-based Anti-Defamation League.

Yet, in Pittsburgh, pockets of the population from the Jewish community at large to the greater metropolitan region have made it their mission to try to heal the community and spread love.

We need to acknowledge it exists and it happened, said Alyssa Rheingold, the director of preparedness, response and recovery at the National Mass Violence Victimization Resource Center. It will always be part of Pittsburghs history. A lot of people are forever changed. It will always be part of who they are.

The question, she said, is, How do you grow from the ashes? How do you take this awful, horrific event and build this better community, this greater sense of love?

In some respects, those who live here say, its already happening.

We will not allow it to define us

The day after the attack, thousands of people flocked to Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum in Oakland to honor those who were killed and show support for the Jewish community.

Every type of person, every walk of life, every age they were all, in a sense, victimized by this, said University of Pittsburgh law professor David A. Harris, who is working with the 10.27 Healing Partnership. This shall not be just, or only, remembered as the worst antisemitic attack in American history. This will be remembered as an attack on our city.

Because of that, and almost immediately, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and its community partners began working through physical acts and in thoughts and words to ensure that Pittsburgh and its Jewish community did not become synonymous with hate or violence, said Adam Hertzman, a spokesman for the federation.

All of that work, he said, has been purposeful.

Among the tangible things the Jewish community has focused on, Hertzman said, is programming through entities like the Jewish Community Centers Center for Loving Kindness, founded in 2017 to counter demoralizing rhetoric and to amplify values like Love your neighbor as yourself; Repair the World, which mobilizes Jews and their communities to take action to pursue a just world; and the 10.27 Healing Partnership, which opened in October 2019 at the Jewish Community Center in Squirrel Hill to provide counseling services, education and space to reflect and share.

On May 25, the federation will host its annual Tikkun Leil Shavuot, which is a night of Jewish learning. From 10 p.m. to 1 a.m., there will be 24 rabbis teaching about the Torah and current topics and how they relate to Judaism.

Just last Sunday, the synagogue hosted a Lhitraot ceremony to say see you later to the Tree of Life building as it evolves into a memorial, museum and worship center. About 75 people gathered to pray and share memories of the countless joyful events that occurred during the buildings 71 years.

Stephen Cohen, co-president of New Light Congregation, said they have focused on learning and advancing their small, older congregation.

What were doing is what were always doing, he said. But were still going strong and intend to be here for many decades to come.

Among the ways they have moved forward, he said, is by partnering with local churches to do joint Bible study based on Proverbs and Psalms and converting a garage at their cemetery in Shaler into a memorial chapel.

Its part of our psyche to do this, Cohen said. We learn, and they learn.

The congregation has worked to fill the roles that their members killed in the attack Mel Wax, Dan Stein and Richard Gottfried filled in their Saturday services.

They were the people who made the service work, Cohen said.

At Dor Hadash, members have made a renewed effort to focus on equal rights and inclusivity, said Jon Pushinsky, a member there.

Certainly, the shooting is a tragedy that will always be a part of us, he said. But the congregation decided early on we will not allow it to define us.

Instead, Pushinsky said, the congregation is committed to growing and expanding their values. He referenced the Jewish concept of Tikkun Olam, or repairing the world, which the congregation seeks to fulfill by protecting and expanding immigrant rights, as well as working with the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.

They sponsored a refugee family now living independently and are considering sponsoring a second, Pushinsky said.

Members are advocating for stronger gun laws that could stop mass shootings. They started Squirrel Hill Stands Against Gun Violence following the synagogue attack and continue to support commonsense gun legislation, Pushinsky said.

Our congregation will continue to fight against toxic belief systems, white supremacy and demonization of non-whites and the LGBTQ community, he said. We believe in equal rights and justice for all.

We will get over what we experienced by recommitting to that work.

Be intentional

Part of that, Pushinsky said, is honoring the members of their congregation victimized in the shooting, including Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz, one of the 11 who were killed.

In Jewish tradition, when a person dies, it is customary to respond to their loved ones by saying, May his memory be a blessing.

Rheingold, of the National Mass Violence Victimization Resource Center, said the meaning of that sentiment is not that the individual be comforted by the memory of the deceased. Instead, they should honor their loved one through their own actions.

We have control over what we can do and bring to this Earth, she said. Foster kindness, advocate for change.

These are things we can do and take ownership of.

She reminds people that each day they should be intentional about reconnecting with their values and what gives them meaning and purpose.

Hertzman said even in how the federation refers to the attack, it is with purposeful language that promotes community resilience. Theyve consciously chosen to call it the Oct. 27 attack or the 2018 attack on three synagogues, he said.

It was a deliberate goal not to call it the Pittsburgh attack, Hertzman said. We never call it the Tree of Life attack.

That language matters for perception and long-term health of the community.

Hertzman said there continues to be a conscious effort to bring people together in the Jewish community, despite the time that has passed since the shooting.

The support in the year following the shooting and ever since has been tremendous, he said.

This is a special place

One of the things that has flourished, Hertzman said, is the support offered by other faith-based minority groups.

This is exactly what those who like to do harm would be sorry they have caused, he said. I have hope because I see the people-to-people connections that are being forged. I think theres a lot of potential for good to come out of that.

Pushinsky said he was deeply touched by the response of the Pittsburgh community after the attack.

To see the Stronger Than Hate signs all over the city in businesses and homes regardless of ethnic background, really proved this is a special place, he said. Pittsburgh has defined itself as a place of refuge that other places can aspire to be.

Maggie Feinstein, director of the 10.27 Healing Partnership, said, often in the wake of a mass shooting, people want to distance themselves from it because it feels heavy and dark.

But in Pittsburgh, which has a deeply rooted, intergenerational community, it gave the city a chance to show its character, she said.

The incident happening here is also the time we show in which relationships matter, she said. Solidarity matters, and the roots and sense of neighborliness matter.

As the trial evolves, Feinstein said, some community members may focus on it. But others will focus on doing good works.

We are going to shine a light on this horrific act. But we do it with a purpose that it cant be swept under the rug, she said. We have a choice to either really understand what happened that day so we never forget or really understand the people whose lives were taken in that act so we never forget.

Paula Reed Ward is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Paula by email at pward@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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Amid Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial, Jewish community and ... - TribLIVE