PA - 11 killed, 6 injured in mass shooting at Pittsburgh Synagogue, 27 Oct 2018 *guilty, death sentence*

[EuTuCroquet?]

Jews in Michigan are anxious but determined to show up for services

Every Saturday morning at Temple Shir Shalom in West Bloomfield, a Jewish prayer of mourning known as the Kaddish is recited as worshippers say the name of people who have died over the past month. It's a way for the Jewish community to remember and honor the dead while praising God and hoping for peace.

On Saturday, the prayer will again be heard at Shir Shalom and other Jewish centers across the U.S. for Shabbat services that fall one week after the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, the worst attack on Jews in American history. This time, they will recite the names of the 11 people who were killed last week at the Tree Life Synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood.

It's part of an effort called Show Up For Shabbat, launched by Jewish groups to encourage Jews not to be afraid after the Pittsburgh shootings.
...

The Pittsburgh attack has unnerved many in metro Detroit's Jewish community of roughly 72,000 people that have deep roots in the region with a diverse community of different denominations.

Rabbis with the region's roughly 40 Jewish congregations are trying to address the worries of their members while at the same time encourage people to remain active in the community. The shooting has led to a renewed focus on security, with police in cities like Oak Park and West Bloomfield doing checks on Jewish houses of worship and talking with Jewish leaders about how to keep safe.
...

"There's no more powerful response than going to synagogue and actually saying: We will not be deterred, we will not be intimidated and we are going to celebrate our faith because that's what our brothers and sisters were doing in Pittsburgh when they were gunned down," said David Kurzmann, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Metropolitan Detroit, which partners with the American Jewish Committee.

(More at link)
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[EuTuCroquet?]

Albuquerque synagogue welcomes all faiths for Shabbat

In Albuquerque, Congregation Albert hosted Show up to Shabbat.

Rabbi Harry Rosenfeld wanted to spread the message of love and unity.

"I know it's a hard thing to do to celebrate in the face of murder, death and shootings,” The rabbi said.

Mula Akbar, a Muslim, called Rabbi Rosenfeld after he heard about the shooting in Pittsburgh.

"It has shaken all of us," he said.​

 

[EuTuCroquet?]

U.S. Jews and non-Jews packed synagogues and 'showed up for Shabbat'

Synagogues across the country were filled to capacity for Friday evening services, with worshipers of all faiths who had come to show solidarity with the Jewish community. Politicians, celebrities and citizens across the country tweeted their support for American Jews and their attendance at synagogue. In many communities, Christian and Muslim spiritual leaders shared the pulpit with local rabbis.

Some on Twitter described unheard of turnout for services, and synagogue parking lots overflowing and lines out the door. Some synagogues even performed two services to make sure everyone had the chance to attend that night.

Some members of the Jewish community according to The New York Times, including Mr. Schor a member of the Lincoln Square Synagogue in Manhattan said, "Nothing will prevent me from coming [to synagogue].. Our strength comes from daily unity. We draw additional strength from each other in challenging times."

Others, such as Jennifer Mendelsohn, found solace in the unprecidented turnout for Shabbat services and wrote about their experiences on twitter. Mendelsohn wrote, "Tonight was astonishing. HUNDREDS of people came to our synagogue to #showupforshabbat. There was nowhere to park. Nowhere to sit. Not enough prayer books. But we sang and we mourned and we were together and we weren’t afraid. And that was exactly what we needed."
​

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Worshippers fill Tree of Life Synagogue despite police tape

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Mourner’s Kaddish in English Translation
Glorified and sanctified be God’s great name throughout the world
which He has created according to His will.

May He establish His kingdom in your lifetime and during your days,
and within the life of the entire House of Israel, speedily and soon;
and say, Amen.

May His great name be blessed forever and to all eternity.

Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted, extolled and honored,
adored and lauded be the name of the Holy One, blessed be He,
beyond all the blessings and hymns, praises and consolations that
are ever spoken in the world; and say, Amen.

May there be abundant peace from heaven, and life, for us
and for all Israel; and say, Amen.

He who creates peace in His celestial heights,
may He create peace for us and for all Israel;
and say, Amen.

 

[margarita25]

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.

Hugs, Coco.

 

[CocoChanel]

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.

Thank you for your kind words EuTu.
My daughter is grown, God bless her, and is usually more emotional than I am. But I could not stop the tears last night, and was a bit self-conscious to be doing it so publically. It was all so moving, the prayers, the cantor, the rabbi’s message, and the huge crowd of worshippers of all ages. At one point the rabbi asked that all who came to join them from other faiths stand to be recognized. That’s when I really lost it, as the congregation applauded, hugged us and gave us their thanks for coming. There were 11 empty chairs set up at the top of the altar, and each had a shawl wrapped around it. The names of the murdered victims were read, and mourned, and assured that their lives and deaths would not have been in vain if this event is the catalyst that begins to eradicate intolerance and hate. May it be so.

 

[Cryptic]

Gab, the site the shooter posted on, and known to tolerate direct calls for / threats of violence will be gabbing again shortly. Gab does not seem to have made any changes in their tolerance of violent exhortations, threats etc. .

Though it was probably inevitable that the owner would find a new service provider somewhere, I was hoping that the search would have taken longer, been more difficult, and also came with the demand by a service provider for internal policy changes.

Sadly, these things do not appear to have happened.

Gab gets new domain host, expects to be back online Sunday

 

[The 13th]

Gab, the site the shooter posted on, and known to tolerate direct calls for / threats of violence will be gabbing again shortly. Gab does not seem to have made any changes in their tolerance of violent exhortations, threats etc. .

Though it was probably inevitable that the owner would find a new service provider somewhere, I was hoping that the search would have taken longer, been more difficult, and also came with the demand by a service provider for internal policy changes.

Sadly, these things do not appear to have happened.

Gab gets new domain host, expects to be back online Sunday

That's so sick. I'm not surprised, though. Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter also profit in spreading crazy theories and hate. The man who killed the innocent people in the yoga class last week had posted racist and misogynistic rants on YouTube and was clearly dangerous.

Not only that, but the thing is: If these threats, postings, plannings were made by ANOTHER demographic of extremist, the FBI would have been called (rightly so) or at the very least, would not have been hosted by these companies. So it's not like they aren't aware of the problems and it's not like they can't do anything. They just won't.

 

[CocoChanel]

There is a public post from yesterday on the FB page of Ari Mahler. Ari is the Jewish nurse who took care of the Tree of Life shooter/murderer at Allegheny General Hospital last Saturday, after that individual slaughtered 11 people who shared Ari’s faith. I was about to copy and paste it here so that all could read his thoughts and feelings in the wake of being thrust into this tragedy. But then I realized FB posts are not permitted under our TOS. I am going to search to see if MSM media has picked up the post and published it. It is worth reading, and worthy of discussion here I think.

ETA: Found it!
'Love in the face of evil gives others hope,' says Jewish nurse who treated alleged synagogue shooter | CBC News

 

[YESorNO]

The Pittsburgh shooter may become the second American to face death for a federal hate crime

"The death penalty has existed for as long as there have been laws. In the 18th century BC in Babylon, the Code of King Hammurabi laid out the ultimate punishment for 25 different crimes. The practice continues in the US today, sanctioned by 30 states and federal law.

Still, only one person has ever been sentenced to death for hate crimes under federal law, and that’s self-declared white supremacist Dylann Roof, who shot nine people in a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015. Now, it seems a second such sentence could be handed down to Robert Bowers, who is charged with killing 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 27.

In a statement issued after the shooting on Saturday, US attorney general Jeff Sessions condemned the violence, saying “every American” has the right to safely attend a house of worship. “These alleged crimes are reprehensible and utterly repugnant to the values of this nation,” he said. “Accordingly, the Department of Justice will file hate crimes and other criminal charges against the defendant, including charges that could lead to the death penalty.”...

In a hate-crime prosecution, the government must show that the charged crime was motivated by hate for a protected group. In the case of Roof, who identified as a white supremacist and targeted a black church, this additional element of intent was evident. Likewise, in the recent synagogue shooting, prosecutors should not have too much trouble proving the defendant, Bowers, was driven by his anti-Semitism. Not only did Bowers target a Jewish place of worship, but he reportedly told police that “all these Jews need to die.”...

Bowers faces 29 federal charges, including 11 counts of “obstruction of exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death.” The criminal complaint filed on Oct. 27 against Bowers says he made statements “evincing an animus towards people of the Jewish faith.” Among other proof of this hate, the filing notes that “Bowers commented to one law enforcement officer, in substance, ‘they’re committing genocide to my people. I just want to kill Jews.'”"

The Pittsburgh shooter may be the second American to face death for a federal hate crime
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[EuTuCroquet?]

What makes the AR-15 style rifle the weapon of choice for mass shooters?

FBI Special Agent Robert Jones: This is the most horrific scene I've seen in 22 years with the Federal Bureau of Investigations. Members of the Tree of Life Synagogue conducting a peaceful service in their place of worship were brutally murdered by a gunman targeting them simply because of their faith.

Just 11 months before, it was a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Assistant fire chief Rusty Duncan was among the first to arrive.

Rusty Duncan: 90 percent of the people in there were unrecognizable. You know the blood everywhere, I mean it just covered them from head to toe. They were shot in so many different places that you just couldn't make out who they were.

The church is now a memorial to the 26 who were murdered.​

 

[Sillybilly]

There is no MSM to substantiate or even indicate that Bowers is an incel.

Some posts have been removed. Please move on from that discussion.

Thanks.

 

[Cryptic]

That's so sick. I'm not surprised, though. Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter also profit in spreading crazy theories and hate. The man who killed the innocent people in the yoga class last week had posted racist and misogynistic rants on YouTube and was clearly dangerous.

Not only that, but the thing is: If these threats, postings, plannings were made by ANOTHER demographic of extremist, the FBI would have been called (rightly so) or at the very least, would not have been hosted by these companies. So it's not like they aren't aware of the problems and it's not like they can't do anything. They just won't.

Twitter has suspended personal accounts for violent content. Likewise, You Tube has deleted violent content, fake news etc. and blocked individuals and organizations from up loading material to the site. I don’t know what Facebook’s actions have been.

I think these companies are just beginning to develop policies regarding whether or not to host violence oriented speech. These polices will take time to develop.

There could also be technical challenges as say, Facebook has hundreds of millions of users and probably billions of uploads every day. Though in all probability, this content can be screened for violent content, developing the ability to do so is going to take time. So will hiring the people to review what the software catches for a final policy determination. Even with best technical screening methods and a lot of full time human screeners, it may not be possible to eliminate all violent uploads from these sites.

 

[Inthedetails]

Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, teens hurled a pole through a synagogue window during prayers this weekend:

https://nypost.com/2018/11/05/the-moment-teens-hurled-a-pole-through-a-synagogue-window/

 

[Elley Mae]

Edward “Teddy” Clark shot himself at Theodore Roosevelt Island on Oct. 27 sometime before 12:45 p.m., an FBI agent wrote in a criminal complaint charging Clark’s brother, Jeffrey, with weapons violations.

SYNAGOGUE SHOOTING: FBI: Man facing firearms charges in D.C. called synagogue gunman "a hero"

That same day, police say Robert Bowers walked into the Tree of Life synagogue just before 10 a.m. with AR-15 and three handguns and opened fire, killing 11 people and injuring six more, including four police officers.

.....

Authorities report that in the hours after the synagogue shooting, Clark's younger brother, Edward, went to an island in D.C. and shot and killed himself. CBS affiliate WUSA reports relatives told investigators that the brothers were involved in the alt-right movement and told them about the brothers' connection to Gab and the Pittsburgh shooter.

Man who called Pittsburgh synagogue massacre a "dry run" arrested days after brother's suicide

 

[Wagtales10]

Edward “Teddy” Clark shot himself at Theodore Roosevelt Island on Oct. 27 sometime before 12:45 p.m., an FBI agent wrote in a criminal complaint charging Clark’s brother, Jeffrey, with weapons violations.

SYNAGOGUE SHOOTING: FBI: Man facing firearms charges in D.C. called synagogue gunman "a hero"

That same day, police say Robert Bowers walked into the Tree of Life synagogue just before 10 a.m. with AR-15 and three handguns and opened fire, killing 11 people and injuring six more, including four police officers.

.....

Authorities report that in the hours after the synagogue shooting, Clark's younger brother, Edward, went to an island in D.C. and shot and killed himself. CBS affiliate WUSA reports relatives told investigators that the brothers were involved in the alt-right movement and told them about the brothers' connection to Gab and the Pittsburgh shooter.

Man who called Pittsburgh synagogue massacre a "dry run" arrested days after brother's suicide

They may have stopped another right wing terrorist attack

 

[JerseyGirl]

His trial has been scheduled for July 15, a federal judge in New York said Thursday.

Mail bomb suspect Cesar Sayoc's trial scheduled for July - CNN

 

[YESorNO]

Lawyer: FBI erred in tying man to synagogue massacre suspect

Nov 16, 2018

"WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal authorities misrepresented a social media connection between the suspect in last month's Pittsburgh synagogue massacre and a man whose relatives reported concerns about his behavior after the shooting to the FBI, a defense attorney said Friday.

A public defender representing Jeffrey Clark Jr. asked a federal magistrate to free the 30-year-old man from custody while he awaits trial on gun-related charges in Washington, D.C. Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey refused, ordering Clark held without bail.

Harvey expressed concern about Clark's "menacing" and "threatening" posts on Gab, the same social media platform used by synagogue shooting suspect Robert Bowers.

"He has discussed openly killing Jews and blacks," the magistrate said...."

Lawyer: FBI erred in tying man to synagogue massacre suspect
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[YESorNO]

What we know about Robert Bowers, suspect in mass shooting at Pittsburgh synagogue (with clip)

Nov 2, 2018

"The suspect in a shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh that killed eleven people and injured six others, including at least four police officers, is Robert Bowers of Pittsburgh.

On Thursday, November 1, Bowers was arraigned in court. At that time he plead not guilty to 44 charges against him and requested a jury trial.

The FBI has now confiscated all of the contents of a P.O. Box at a Bridgeville UPS store as part of its investigation....

Full list of charges against Robert Bowers:

• Eleven counts of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death
• Eleven counts of use and discharge of a firearm to commit murder during and in relation to a crime of violence
• Two counts of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs involving an attempt to kill and use of a dangerous weapon and resulting in bodily injury
• Eleven counts of use and discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence
• Eight counts of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs involving an attempt to kill and use of a dangerous weapon, and resulting in bodily injury to a public safety officer
• One count of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs involving use of a dangerous weapon and resulting in bodily injury to a public safety officer.

Due to an agreement between the federal Department of Justice and Butler County, Bowers is being held at the Butler County Prison while he awaits trial...."

PITTSBURGH SHOOTING: What we know about Robert Bowers, suspect in mass shooting at Pittsburgh synagogue
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