A vigil in memory of the 11

On October 31, 2018, in Latest News, by The Somerville Times

A vigil was held at Temple B’nai Brith honoring those who were tragically shot dead while attending services at Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA, on Saturday. — Courtesy of Temple B’nai Brith

More than 100 people gathered in the social hall of Temple B’nai Brith Sunday evening for a vigil for the victims of the Saturday, October, 27 shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, where eleven congregants were murdered and others wounded. Rabbi Eliana Jacobowitz, who organized the event in a quick response to the devastating shooting, said the gathering offered people the chance to come together to reflect in a communal space and to reassure congregants at unsettling time when many may have felt wary to be in a synagogue.

“Being able to come together in our synagogue building … helps renew our sense that it is okay to come to temple,” Rabbi Jacobowitzs aid.

There were no adequate words to express his emotions, Mayor Joseph Curtatone told those gathered, including Board of Alderman President Katjana Ballantyne, Aldermen Bill White and Mark Niedergang, a longtime member of TBB, along with the city’s Chief of Police, David Fallon.

Curtatone condemned the anti-Semitic violence saying, “This is not a tragedy. It is murder.”

2 Responses to “A vigil in memory of the 11”

Rona Fischman says:

October 31, 2018 at 1:18 pm

There is no by-line here, so I don’t know who came to our vigil and who it was that all-but missed the point.
This was a mourning gathering. We came together because many of us are connected to people who died in Pittsburgh, or knew people who knew those people. We came together to face the concrete affect of hate rhetoric in America. Language can inspire people with guns to kill.
This was not about being afraid to go to Temple. This was not about whether our mayor can come up with great inspiration. Your reporter didn’t take the time to ask a single participant about why they were there and why this event is meaningful for the entire Somerville community.
Steve Keenan says:

November 3, 2018 at 1:29 pm

What took place in Pittsburgh was an atrocity against innocent people.
Anti-Semitism is increasing in the world. This must end. Civilized people have to band together to fight this and other acts of violent behavior.