EuTuCroquet?
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PA - 11 killed, 6 injured in mass shooting at Pittsburgh Synagogue, 27 Oct 2018 *guilty, death sentence*
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Pittsburgh Post-Gazette publishes incredibly powerful tribute to synagogue shooting victims
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is honoring the victims of last week's horrific synagogue shooting with a powerful show of solidarity.
The front page of Friday's newspaper features the first words of the Kaddish, a Jewish mourner's prayer often recited during funerals and memorial services. The Hebrew headline, which translates to "Magnified and sanctified be Your name," accompanies a photo taken on the third day of memorial services for the 11 people shot at the Tree of Life synagogue last Saturday.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette publishes incredibly powerful tribute to synagogue shooting victims
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is honoring the victims of last week's horrific synagogue shooting with a powerful show of solidarity.
The front page of Friday's newspaper features the first words of the Kaddish, a Jewish mourner's prayer often recited during funerals and memorial services. The Hebrew headline, which translates to "Magnified and sanctified be Your name," accompanies a photo taken on the third day of memorial services for the 11 people shot at the Tree of Life synagogue last Saturday.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette publishes incredibly powerful tribute to synagogue shooting victims
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Pittsburgh synagogue massacre: Oldest victim, Rose Mallinger, 97, to be laid to rest
Rose Mallinger may have been 97 years old, but for her, "age was truly just a number," her family said in a statement.
"She retained her sharp wit, humor and intelligence until the very last day," the family said. "No matter what obstacles she faced, she never complained. She did everything she wanted to do in her life."
"Rose was 'Bubbie,' Yiddish for grandma, to everyone in our family and our beloved community," the family said, adding that "family was everything" to her.
"She loved us and knew us better than we knew ourselves," the family said.
Oldest Pittsburgh synagogue massacre victim to be laid to rest
Rose Mallinger may have been 97 years old, but for her, "age was truly just a number," her family said in a statement.
"She retained her sharp wit, humor and intelligence until the very last day," the family said. "No matter what obstacles she faced, she never complained. She did everything she wanted to do in her life."
"Rose was 'Bubbie,' Yiddish for grandma, to everyone in our family and our beloved community," the family said, adding that "family was everything" to her.
"She loved us and knew us better than we knew ourselves," the family said.
Oldest Pittsburgh synagogue massacre victim to be laid to rest
bluesneakers
not today satan
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What the Pittsburgh Shooter Hated: Squirrel Hill Values
If a conspiracy theory about the role of Jewish groups in immigration is the lie, then what is the truth that got stuck lacing up its boots on Saturday morning while Bowers was allegedly killing worshippers at Tree of Life?
The truth is that communities are stronger, and people become better, when they are exposed to people who are different, and compelled to learn about them, live alongside them and engage them in dialogue in the hopes of developing an understanding and empathy for them and their ways of life. And to me, that truth is best exemplified by the neighborhood of Squirrel Hill.
You feel this sense every day in Squirrel Hill, a place teeming with first- and second-generation immigrants, a place where families of all backgrounds are welcome, a place that feels inviting and refreshingly unconcerned with the things that make people different: race, wealth or social status. It’s a neighborhood that has taken on the character of its most famous denizen, the late Fred Rogers—who lived just three blocks from the shooting.
...
At Taylor Allderdice High School at the southern end of Squirrel Hill, I sat in classrooms with students who were of white, black, Indian, Korean, Chinese, Jewish and Christian heritage. They were the children of Russian refuseniks who lived in settlement housing at the foot of Murray Avenue and the kids of wealthy doctors and documentary filmmakers who lived in rambling Tudor houses on Beechwood Boulevard and the leafy lanes north of Forbes Avenue.
...
“For me, Squirrel Hill values are not just live and let live, but that people who are different have something really interesting to bring to the conversation,” he said. “We’re interested in each other.”
Squirrel Hill values. Maybe that’s why a white supremacist would choose to gun down people in a house of worship—maybe that’s what bigots hate about places like my old neighborhood.
...
“I don’t think the fundamental calculus of Jewish life in the neighborhood has changed as a result of this terrible thing, but it was a terrible thing,” Rabbi Gibson said. “If we become armed camps in our own synagogues, it will defeat our very purpose to exist.”
If a conspiracy theory about the role of Jewish groups in immigration is the lie, then what is the truth that got stuck lacing up its boots on Saturday morning while Bowers was allegedly killing worshippers at Tree of Life?
The truth is that communities are stronger, and people become better, when they are exposed to people who are different, and compelled to learn about them, live alongside them and engage them in dialogue in the hopes of developing an understanding and empathy for them and their ways of life. And to me, that truth is best exemplified by the neighborhood of Squirrel Hill.
You feel this sense every day in Squirrel Hill, a place teeming with first- and second-generation immigrants, a place where families of all backgrounds are welcome, a place that feels inviting and refreshingly unconcerned with the things that make people different: race, wealth or social status. It’s a neighborhood that has taken on the character of its most famous denizen, the late Fred Rogers—who lived just three blocks from the shooting.
...
At Taylor Allderdice High School at the southern end of Squirrel Hill, I sat in classrooms with students who were of white, black, Indian, Korean, Chinese, Jewish and Christian heritage. They were the children of Russian refuseniks who lived in settlement housing at the foot of Murray Avenue and the kids of wealthy doctors and documentary filmmakers who lived in rambling Tudor houses on Beechwood Boulevard and the leafy lanes north of Forbes Avenue.
...
“For me, Squirrel Hill values are not just live and let live, but that people who are different have something really interesting to bring to the conversation,” he said. “We’re interested in each other.”
Squirrel Hill values. Maybe that’s why a white supremacist would choose to gun down people in a house of worship—maybe that’s what bigots hate about places like my old neighborhood.
...
“I don’t think the fundamental calculus of Jewish life in the neighborhood has changed as a result of this terrible thing, but it was a terrible thing,” Rabbi Gibson said. “If we become armed camps in our own synagogues, it will defeat our very purpose to exist.”
zencompass
Hope springs eternal
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The message Love Triumphs Over Hate has no boundaries, encompassing humanity itself.
Re: "Presumed father of Bowers"
Of note is that the presumed father of the shooter was charged with an attempted rape etc. that occurred in Squirrel Hill - the same area his alleged son, Robert Bowers, shot and killed 11 innocent worshipers.
***
"Randall G. Bowers was 19 years old when he married Barbara Jenkins in March 1972. Less than 6 months later, Robert was born.
The marriage, though, would not last. In 1973, according to scant remnants of a court docket, Barbara filed for divorce.
Roughly six years later, Randall Bowers was charged with — according to news clippings from the time — attempted rape, kidnapping, indecent assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, simple assault, felonious restraint and resisting arrest in an incident reportedly involving a 20-year-old from Squirrel Hill. It’s as-yet unclear how long he was jailed.
Randall Bowers was the subject of a warrant issued Oct. 19, 1979, according to a court docket sheet. He was found on Oct. 21, “under a picnic table with a .22 caliber rifle at his side, with a chest wound and bullet recovered” near the lower back, according to the coroner’s file, read to the Post-Gazette by Forest County Coroner Norman J. Wimer. It was ruled a suicide."
Judge seals old criminal case file for presumed father of Pittsburgh synagogue shooting suspect
Of note is that the presumed father of the shooter was charged with an attempted rape etc. that occurred in Squirrel Hill - the same area his alleged son, Robert Bowers, shot and killed 11 innocent worshipers.
***
"Randall G. Bowers was 19 years old when he married Barbara Jenkins in March 1972. Less than 6 months later, Robert was born.
The marriage, though, would not last. In 1973, according to scant remnants of a court docket, Barbara filed for divorce.
Roughly six years later, Randall Bowers was charged with — according to news clippings from the time — attempted rape, kidnapping, indecent assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, simple assault, felonious restraint and resisting arrest in an incident reportedly involving a 20-year-old from Squirrel Hill. It’s as-yet unclear how long he was jailed.
Randall Bowers was the subject of a warrant issued Oct. 19, 1979, according to a court docket sheet. He was found on Oct. 21, “under a picnic table with a .22 caliber rifle at his side, with a chest wound and bullet recovered” near the lower back, according to the coroner’s file, read to the Post-Gazette by Forest County Coroner Norman J. Wimer. It was ruled a suicide."
Judge seals old criminal case file for presumed father of Pittsburgh synagogue shooting suspect
bluesneakers
not today satan
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Heinz History Center Documenting Response To Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting
The History Center’s Detre Library & Archives and Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives are collecting both digital and physical materials that document moments of healing, giving, protest and solidarity in response to the shooting.
...
“This terrible event promises to be a deeply consequential moment in American Jewish history,” said Eric Lidji, Director, Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives. “We must make sure that we document the global response to the fullest extent, so that future generations will be able to analyze what happened here and hopefully understand what it meant.”
Heinz History Center
The History Center’s Detre Library & Archives and Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives are collecting both digital and physical materials that document moments of healing, giving, protest and solidarity in response to the shooting.
...
“This terrible event promises to be a deeply consequential moment in American Jewish history,” said Eric Lidji, Director, Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives. “We must make sure that we document the global response to the fullest extent, so that future generations will be able to analyze what happened here and hopefully understand what it meant.”
Heinz History Center
margarita25
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It hasn’t even been a week yet, and another mass shooting. I’m not sure if this shooting was random, or if the shooter had any personal connections to this yoga studio or any of the victims as information is just now coming out.
WS:
Man Shoots 6 at Florida Yoga Studio, Killing 2 and Then Himself, 2 Nov, 2018.
WS:
Man Shoots 6 at Florida Yoga Studio, Killing 2 and Then Himself, 2 Nov, 2018.
margarita25
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Omgosh...I was waiting for something like this to come out...
“Pittsburgh (CNN) — Judah Samet was around 6 or 7 when he watched as a Nazi soldier put a gun to his mother's head, simply because she spoke without being spoken to while on a train headed to Auschwitz.
On Saturday, the 80-year-old Holocaust survivor, watched as a gunman mowed down his friends at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.“
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margarita25
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“Bowers — who was taken into custody Saturday and is now being held in the Butler County Prison — never married and has no children. All neighbors, former neighbors or co-workers who spoke to ABC News described Bowers the same way: “quiet,” “kept to himself” and that “he looked very normal.””
margarita25
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“Typically these mass shooters tend to be ghosts in their own communities,” Garrett said. “Mass shooters tend to work alone, they tend to be paranoid, they tend to be somewhat delusional. They almost exclusively are completely isolated or mostly isolated from the rest of the world because they feel like they’re on the outside of the world looking in.”
“They tend to spend a lot of time online with like-minded individuals or groups that have a similar philosophy that they do,” Garrett said.
Mass shooters also tend to feel “completely and utterly powerless,” Garrett said, and think carrying out violence will give them power — at least for those few minutes.“
Inside the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting suspect’s apparently isolated life
(Thanks to @EuTuCroquet? for the link)
“They tend to spend a lot of time online with like-minded individuals or groups that have a similar philosophy that they do,” Garrett said.
Mass shooters also tend to feel “completely and utterly powerless,” Garrett said, and think carrying out violence will give them power — at least for those few minutes.“
Inside the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting suspect’s apparently isolated life
(Thanks to @EuTuCroquet? for the link)
CocoChanel
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My daughter and I attended Shabbat services last night at a local synagogue. We are lifelong Roman Catholics who have a number of dear Jewish friends, but I have never been at a Jewish worship service before, We felt compelled to go, as something, one very small action we could take to show our support and counter hate. It was amazing and emotional. I was a blubbering mess throughout the packed ceremony, but my daughter did not notice so I am hopeful I did not make a spectacle of myself. It was an honor and a blessing to be there. We are all truly one.
EuTuCroquet?
“What's happening to my special purpose!?”
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From a psychological standpoint, the “quiet ones” can be seething inside and actually have quite a temper — they just keep it hidden from most people.
EuTuCroquet?
“What's happening to my special purpose!?”
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Thank you for sharing this here, @CocoChanel. If your daughter saw you cry, I don’t know how old she is, but she might not have fully understood why. Someday she will, if she doesn’t already. Your compassion and love is definitely a positive influence on her. She’s a lucky girl.
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EuTuCroquet?
“What's happening to my special purpose!?”
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Powerful.
Police tape surrounds the Tree of Life synagogue. Pittsburgh’s Jews are worshiping there anyway
Police tape surrounds the Tree of Life synagogue. Pittsburgh’s Jews are worshiping there anyway
Members of Pittsburgh’s grieving Jewish community observed the Sabbath on Saturday with a minute and 11 seconds of silence, commemorating the 11 souls slain in the worst anti-Semitic attack in American history.
More than 600 people filled Congregation Beth Shalom for the Shabbat service, including members of the congregations attacked last week a little more than a mile away at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.
“God did not have anything to do with this. That is not our theology. Humans are given free will. We have a choice between good and evil. Some people chose to do evil. Our job is to make sure that those who do evil don’t have access to assault rifles,” writer Beth Kissileff, wife of the rabbi at New Light Congregation, said to applause.
The evening before, with police tape marking the barriers of their makeshift congregation, members of the Jewish community welcomed the Sabbath on Friday evening outside of the Tree of Life synagogue.
More than 600 people filled Congregation Beth Shalom for the Shabbat service, including members of the congregations attacked last week a little more than a mile away at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.
“God did not have anything to do with this. That is not our theology. Humans are given free will. We have a choice between good and evil. Some people chose to do evil. Our job is to make sure that those who do evil don’t have access to assault rifles,” writer Beth Kissileff, wife of the rabbi at New Light Congregation, said to applause.
The evening before, with police tape marking the barriers of their makeshift congregation, members of the Jewish community welcomed the Sabbath on Friday evening outside of the Tree of Life synagogue.
EuTuCroquet?
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‘Ring of peace’ formed around Toronto synagogue one week after Pittsburgh shooting
People of various faiths joined hands to form a circle around a Toronto temple Saturday morning to show support for the Jewish community one week after a mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue.
Holy Blossom Temple spokeswoman Deanna Levy says a “ring of peace” was formed during Shabbat morning services on Saturday and that it symbolizes protection formed by kindness from the Toronto community.
Haroon Sheriff, president of the Imdadul Islamic Centre, says more than 200 Muslims and Christians took buses to the temple to participate.
He says the gesture is meant to show support and solidarity.
The temple’s rabbi, Yael Splansky, has said that Toronto native Joyce Fienberg, who was killed in the Pittsburgh shooting, was a member of Holy Blossom Temple.
Holy Blossom Temple spokeswoman Deanna Levy says a “ring of peace” was formed during Shabbat morning services on Saturday and that it symbolizes protection formed by kindness from the Toronto community.
Haroon Sheriff, president of the Imdadul Islamic Centre, says more than 200 Muslims and Christians took buses to the temple to participate.
He says the gesture is meant to show support and solidarity.
The temple’s rabbi, Yael Splansky, has said that Toronto native Joyce Fienberg, who was killed in the Pittsburgh shooting, was a member of Holy Blossom Temple.
EuTuCroquet?
“What's happening to my special purpose!?”
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More at link. What a harrowing and moving experience. Heart-wrenching.
Victim's sister recalls narrowly surviving synagogue shooting and reflects on the brother she lost
Victim's sister recalls narrowly surviving synagogue shooting and reflects on the brother she lost
Carol Black, both a family member of one of the victims and a survivor of the attack herself, took shelter in a closet with fellow congregants.
She shared her story of survival with CBS News' David Begnaud, and remembered the brother she lost.
"It's starting to have a finality to me that he's gone and it's a crushing blow," Black said of losing her brother, Richard Gottfried.
Black described her brother, a dentist readying for retirement, as an avid reader, a runner and someone everybody loved. "He was just the most amazing, loving, kind, funny, smart human being," Black said. "He was very spiritual and it was very much a part of his life. ... We've said he was the heartbeat of the congregation."
Black said that when she heard the first gunshots it sounded like somebody was dropping a metal table on a tile floor. Then they heard it again. Soon, she said, the rabbi figured out what it was from and she hid in a storage area with Barry Werber.
"Mel (Wax) who was in the hallway and his hearing was not very good … he opened the door and peeked out and the gunman was still in the sanctuary looking for more people to eliminate and saw him and he came into the area and shot him. Mel just laid right by our feet and died," Black
Black said she never saw the gunman, just his shadow. But she did hear him coming.
"I guess when he thought he got all of us he moved onto another part of the building. He went into the kitchen ... and he heard their voices and he knew there were people in there and he went in and shot them," Black said.
One of those people in the kitchen was her brother.
She shared her story of survival with CBS News' David Begnaud, and remembered the brother she lost.
"It's starting to have a finality to me that he's gone and it's a crushing blow," Black said of losing her brother, Richard Gottfried.
Black described her brother, a dentist readying for retirement, as an avid reader, a runner and someone everybody loved. "He was just the most amazing, loving, kind, funny, smart human being," Black said. "He was very spiritual and it was very much a part of his life. ... We've said he was the heartbeat of the congregation."
Black said that when she heard the first gunshots it sounded like somebody was dropping a metal table on a tile floor. Then they heard it again. Soon, she said, the rabbi figured out what it was from and she hid in a storage area with Barry Werber.
"Mel (Wax) who was in the hallway and his hearing was not very good … he opened the door and peeked out and the gunman was still in the sanctuary looking for more people to eliminate and saw him and he came into the area and shot him. Mel just laid right by our feet and died," Black
Black said she never saw the gunman, just his shadow. But she did hear him coming.
"I guess when he thought he got all of us he moved onto another part of the building. He went into the kitchen ... and he heard their voices and he knew there were people in there and he went in and shot them," Black said.
One of those people in the kitchen was her brother.
EuTuCroquet?
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More on the Friday services.
Kindling Light To 'Audacity Of Bigotry': Boston Synagogue Mourns Pittsburgh Victims
Kindling Light To 'Audacity Of Bigotry': Boston Synagogue Mourns Pittsburgh Victims
While there were some rituals of a regular Shabbat at Temple Israel — a young girl performing a ritual on the eve of her bat mitzvah and the blessing of a newborn — it was not your everyday sabbath. The service was held in solidarity with many others across the country.
State and Boston police guarded the front and back entrances of the synagogue while security searched the bags of those filing into the standing room only service. An overflow room was set up, with the service live-streamed and projected on to a screen. Politicians, including Gov. Charlie Baker, Mayor Marty Walsh, Sen. Ed Markey and Congresswoman-elect Ayanna Pressley were also in attendance.
Rabbi Elaine Zecher said the gathering was to kindle light — like they do every week — but noted, "we need leaders who assert, unequivocally, that hatred must be squelched."
"Love must be legislated if we are to live in a world in which every person sees the good in the other," she said. "This moment demands an uprising of courageous moral leadership. That is our call."
Markey told an applauding crowd that the community must "heal the world of hate."
"We cannot build a wall of hatred around our nation with no more Muslims or Jews or Mexicans or immigrants," he said. "In America, we believe in the freedom of speech, not the freedom of hate speech ... We believe in the freedom of religion, but not just one religion. All religions."
State and Boston police guarded the front and back entrances of the synagogue while security searched the bags of those filing into the standing room only service. An overflow room was set up, with the service live-streamed and projected on to a screen. Politicians, including Gov. Charlie Baker, Mayor Marty Walsh, Sen. Ed Markey and Congresswoman-elect Ayanna Pressley were also in attendance.
Rabbi Elaine Zecher said the gathering was to kindle light — like they do every week — but noted, "we need leaders who assert, unequivocally, that hatred must be squelched."
"Love must be legislated if we are to live in a world in which every person sees the good in the other," she said. "This moment demands an uprising of courageous moral leadership. That is our call."
Markey told an applauding crowd that the community must "heal the world of hate."
"We cannot build a wall of hatred around our nation with no more Muslims or Jews or Mexicans or immigrants," he said. "In America, we believe in the freedom of speech, not the freedom of hate speech ... We believe in the freedom of religion, but not just one religion. All religions."
EuTuCroquet?
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Iowa Faith Leaders Rebuke Rep. King After Synagogue Massacre
Letters have been sent to the state's newspapers signed by 60 Iowans of various religions who called on elected officials to "stand with Iowa's Jewish community, denounce King's actions and hold him accountable."
...
(John Pleasants, president of the Ames Jewish Congregation) says no one is trying to directly link King to what happened in Pittsburgh, but he believes anti-Semitic statements can indirectly contribute to hate crimes.
"It's not just the Jewish community that's gotten upset by this," he stresses. "Our Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists - they're very saddened and concerned by the events in Pittsburgh and believe that there's some link between the two of them."
...
(John Pleasants, president of the Ames Jewish Congregation) says no one is trying to directly link King to what happened in Pittsburgh, but he believes anti-Semitic statements can indirectly contribute to hate crimes.
"It's not just the Jewish community that's gotten upset by this," he stresses. "Our Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists - they're very saddened and concerned by the events in Pittsburgh and believe that there's some link between the two of them."
EuTuCroquet?
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The article wouldn’t let me copy/paste from the story, so here’s the link. The grocery chain’s CEO took out full-page ads supporting the Jewish community.
Giant Eagle ‘Stands With Pittsburgh’ After Synagogue Shooting
Giant Eagle ‘Stands With Pittsburgh’ After Synagogue Shooting