Last week I arrived heartbroken and filled with grief in Pittsburgh, where I was born, raised and lived 10 years as an adult. I arrived two days after the massacre of 11 Jewish people celebrating the Sabbath at the Tree of Life Synagogue. This, and all hate crimes, quake me. All mass shootings quake me. This incident was a greater shock to my being; it struck my lifelong identity as a Jewish person who grew up in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n
A friend from kindergarten was leading services when the shooting began; she hid in a closet and lived. Two brothers we’d grown up with were killed; my brother and I attended their funerals. I sat with grieving friends and relatives, one devastated by the loss of her doctor, another feeling too traumatized to go to the funeral of her friend’s father, murdered at his synagogue. Some were motivated to wear Jewish Stars of David necklaces; others didn’t want anyone to know they were Jewish. The pain of this experience seems endless.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the outreach and solidarity extended to the Pittsburgh Jewish community was remarkable in its immediacy, constancy and breadth. Right away, there were vigils in the heart of Squirrel Hill. The Steelers football and Penguins hockey teams modified their logos to create six pointed stars. People of all religions participated in a vigil overflowing with thousands of supporters. Store owners and the Pittsburgh Airport posted messages, as did the marquis of a movie theatre, and throughout Squirrel Hill, “PGH IS STRONGER THAN HATE,” “OUR HEARTS CRY FOR SHALOM,” and my favorite, #LOVETHYNEIGHBOR (NO EXCEPTIONS). The Juneau Jewish community arranged a gathering at Congregation Sukkat Shalom, attended by an overflow crowd of caring people standing in solidarity with their Jewish neighbors.<\/p>\n