Pittsburgh Unites at Vigil for Victims of Synagogue Shooting

nunyabizni:

Religious leaders across faiths, elected officials and community
members filled a memorial hall late Sunday to honor the victims of a
mass shooting a Pittsburgh synagogue one day prior.

Through speeches, hymns and prayer, the thousands who
gathered at the Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall sat to remember
those who died in the tragedy. Eleven people were killed and six others
were injured when a suspected gunman, identified as Robert Bowers of
Baldwin, Penn., opened fire in the Tree of Life
synagogue Saturday morning. Bowers has been taken into custody and
charged with 29 counts related to federal hate crime laws, including 11
counts of obstruction of religious beliefs resulting in death.

Outside the memorial hall, hundreds of attendees who
couldn’t fit into the auditorium gathered in the rain to listen to the
event on speakers while inside, community leaders vowed to remain strong
in wake of the massacre. Rabbis from the three affected Tree of Life
congregations spoke during the event — Rabbi Jonathan Perlman, Rabbi
Jeffrey Myers and Rabbi Cheryl Klein.

Perlman, who leads the New Light congregation, commended the people
of his congregation for their volunteerism and efforts in the local
community.

“What happened yesterday will not break us,” he said,
holding back tears. “It will not ruin us. We will continue to thrive
and sing and worship and learn together and continue our historic legacy
in this city with the friendliest people that we know.”

Myers, who was leading services at Tree of Life
minutes before the shooter entered, said there were 12 people in his
sanctuary when the mass murder started.

“I helped pull out the people that I could from the
front,” he said. “But alas I had eight people in the back. One
fortunately survived. Seven of my congregants were shot dead in my
sanctuary. My holy place has been defiled. We will rebuild.”

Klein, who leads Congregation Dor Hadash, said the
shooting left her “numb.” The only reason she hadn’t been at Tree of
Life during the shooting was because she was out of town celebrating
Shabbat with her family, she said.

Klein honored Jerry Rabinowitz, who was killed in the
shooting. She said Rabinowitz died while trying to tend to the wounded,
calling him a “voice of reason.”

“Jerry defined what it is to be a mensch,” she said.

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto also spoke at the vigil to say the city will go to lengths to “eradicate any type of hate.”

“We will drive anti-semitism and the hate of any
people back to the basement, on their computer and away from the open
discussions and dialogues around this city, around the state and around
the country,” he said.

The efforts on part of other faith groups in
Pittsburgh were highlighted during the event. Wasi Mohamed, executive
director of the Islamic Center for Pittsburgh, received a standing
ovation after announcing that the Muslim community raised more than $70,000 in an online campaign on behalf of the Jewish community to help families affected in the shooting.

“We realize that it’s such a tragic time. These are
our family — money should not be an issue. That should not be a concern.
Paying for a funeral or paying for medical costs, that is not what
should be focused on. It’s about mourning right now,” Mohamed said.
“We’re not going to stop. We just want to know what you need.

Community leaders took time during the vigil to emphasize the need to be together in the wake of the massacre.

“After a raging anti-Semite shot up a holy place of
worship on our Shabbat and murdered our extended Pittsburgh Jewish
family, we needed to be here because in times like these we need
community,” said Jeff Finkelstein, CEO of Jewish Federation of Greater
Pittsburgh. “We need the comfort of each other. We need love, not hate.
And we need that giant hug that this Pittsburgh Jewish community always
gives.”

Pittsburgh Unites at Vigil for Victims of Synagogue Shooting