After the Tree of Life massacre, an inspiring story of a community coming together
Mark Oppenheimer tells the story of how the Pittsburgh Jewish community rebounded after tragedy
Mark Oppenheimer tells the story of how the Pittsburgh Jewish community rebounded after tragedy
A Reconstructionist congregation that was housed in the Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha building in Pittsburgh targeted in a deadly shooting in 2018 is asking Attorney General Merrick Garland to “abandon its quest for the death penalty” in the case against the accused shooter. In a June 17 letter to Garland, the president of Congregation Dor…
To Cantor Steven Stoehr, Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood was a haven of ethnic diversity and harmony, with a charm that felt like nothing could disrupt it. That’s the first thing he wants readers to know in “That’s What Friends Do,” a children’s book he wrote about the aftermath of the 2018 shooting that took 11…
(JTA) — In a speech about the dangers of bigotry at a memorial for the synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, Bernie Sanders included Israel in a list of countries where authoritarianism is rising. Sanders, the democratic socialist Vermont senator, was the keynote speaker at a virtual memorial event hosted by Bend The Arc, a progressive Jewish…
A global pandemic isn’t keeping the Pittsburgh Jewish community from coming together for a virtual commemoration to honor the victims of the Tree of Life Synagogue massacre. The event on Oct. 27 marks two years since the mass shooting at Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania claimed the lives of 11 people, the deadliest…
The attack on October 27, 2018, lasted 83 minutes from the moment the gunman entered the synagogue until the moment the police apprehended him. In the 18 months since that Saturday morning, I have collected 189 boxes of things documenting the impact of those 83 minutes on the Jewish population of Western Pennsylvania. “Things” in…
(JTA) — The three congregations housed at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue will distribute more than $5.4 million donated in the aftermath of the deadly October 2018 shooting there. In a news release Monday, the congregations announced that they planned to distribute just over $3 million to the families of the 11 people killed in…
After a day of community service, Torah study and community gathering, Pittsburgh residents say they are closing a chapter in their healing after last year’s deadly synagogue shooting. Sunday was the one-year mark, a date loaded with significance. There was a long roster of activities and ceremonies that, amid tears and unanswered questions, enabled the…
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