Anniversary of the Pittsburgh Tree of Life massacre
"Such bigotry should have no place in our society."
This Thursday (today) marks the fourth anniversary of the Tree of Life synagogue massacre in which 11 Jews were shot dead in Pittsburgh as they prayed during the Sabbath service.
The attack undertaken by a white supremacist was the deadliest antisemitic attack in US history
To remember the victims and show cross-communal support to their families and loved ones, a small solidarity gathering was hosted at St Kilda shule on Monday, October 24.
Dvir Abramovich, chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission; Rabbi Yaakov Glasman, president of the Rabbinical Association of Australasia and senior rabbi of the St Kilda Hebrew Congregation; Imam Moshin Mohammed; and Janice Iloni-Furstenberg, president of the St Kilda Hebrew Congregation, were the hosts of the private solidarity gathering.
Rabbi Glasman told The AJN, “The imam’s presence was deeply appreciated and was a gesture of solidarity from the Muslim community, after Dvir and I visited a mosque on the anniversary of the Christchurch massacre as a gesture of solidarity from the Jewish community.”
Abramovich, Glasman and Iloni-Furstenberg issued a joint statement following the gathering.
“This week, through tears and broken hearts, we grieve and remember the 11 Jewish lives cut short in the Tree of Life synagogue building and recommit to counter the evil of antisemitism with the light of respect, compassion, and shared humanity,” they said.
They also pledged to always stand up and speak out with conviction “when confronted with hate-filled acts and expressions”, as well as to turn their grief into purpose “so as to drive out the white supremacism that threatens every individual in our country”.
They said, “Such bigotry should have no place in our society and each one of us must embrace the better angels of our nature so as to build a safer and better future for the next generations. As we lock arms, in the very same sacred house of worship where the most lethal antisemitic assault in US history occurred, we honour our brothers and sisters: Richard Gottfried, 65; Joyce Fienberg, 75; Rose Mallinger, 97; Jerry Rabinowitz, 66; Cecil Rosenthal, 59; David Rosenthal, 54; Bernice Simon, 84; Sylvan Simon, 86; Daniel Stein, 71; Melvin Wax, 88; and Irving Younger, 69.”
“May their memory be for a blessing.”
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