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Mostly Cloudy Beth Tikvah rabbi weighs in on Pittsburgh shooting
Offers prayers, solidarity for 17 victims of ‘appalling’ act
A local Jewish leader described himself as “heartbroken” in the wake of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting that left 11 dead and six injured.
Rabbi Moshe Weisblum, of Congregation Beth Tikvah in Wantagh, said he was appalled by the murderous attack. “It’s something we never anticipated,” he said.
Weisblum said the community would hold daily prayer services and two synagogue gatherings. All week and into the weekend he will be conducting special memorial prayers during the morning and evening services, he said.
Congregation Beth Tikvah participated in the solidarity gathering, “Together in Mourning Together Against Anti-Semitism”, at the Merrick Jewish Center on Monday evening, as well as the gathering on Tuesday at the Mid-Island Y Jewish Community Center in Plainview for “A Time To Mourn, A Time To Hope: A Community Response To Senseless Hatred.” The event was also attended by members of the Interfaith Clergy Council, including representatives from the Masjid Al-Baqi Islamic community of Bethpage.
Weisblum said he called Rabbi Jeffery Myers of Tree of Life to convey his own and his community’s condolences to the loved ones of those affected by the shooting and to say that Congregation Beth Tikvah is praying for “a speedy recovery for those who were hurt.”
The shooting offurred before 10 a.m. on Oct. 27, when Richard Bowers walked into the Tree of Life Congregation synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh and opened fire.
Bowers, 46, according to multiple reports, had posted an anti-Jewish message is posted on his Gab social media account that read: “I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered,” he said. “Screw your optics, I'm going in.” That was at 9:49 a.m.
Five minutes later a 911 call was made to the Allegheny County Emergency Operations Center about an active shooter. Police were dispatched. Shots were exchanged. Bullets from Bowers AR-15 assault rifle and possibly three handguns struck 17 people, killing 11 and injuring six, including four police officers. His words after being taken into custody according to police were, “All these Jews need to die.”
Bowers, who was also shot, was charged by federal officials with 29 criminal counts, including obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs — a hate crime — and using a firearm to commit murder. He also faces state charges, including 11 counts of criminal homicide, six counts of aggravated assault and 13 counts of ethnic intimidation.
Prosecutors indicated in initial reports that they would seek the death penalty.
Immediately after news of the shooting broke, many took to social media, especially Twitter to react to the mass shooting. It was the 294th such incident this year in the United States, according to the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive. A mass shooting is defined as an incident in which four or more people are at the same general time and location.
Anti-Semitism appeared to be a motive for the shooting, Bowers targeted the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society for his ire. It is a nonprofit organization that provides humanitarian aid and assistance to refugees. The Anti-Defamation League has reported that anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. has risen by 57 percent in 2017 from 1,267 in 2016 to 1,986. The largest increase since the ADL began tracking in 1979.
Only once since 1979 has the ADL recorded more incidents: 2,066 in 1994. Since then, the incidents had mostly declined. There were small increases in 2014 and 2015. Then, in 2016, the count began to rise.
