Today marks the 4-year anniversary of the Tree of Life terrorist attack in our hometown of Pittsburgh.
We honor the beautiful lives lost on that day, today, and always. We will cherish their legacy.
Daniel Stein, 71; Joyce Feinberg, 75; Richard Gottfried, 65; Rose Mallinger, 97; Jerry Rabinowitz, 66; brothers Cecil Rosenthal, 59, and David Rosenthal 54; husband and wife Bernice Simon, 84 and Sylvan Simon, 86; Melvin Wax, 88; and Irving Younger, 69.
Four years later, this climate of hate accelerates as the divide within our nation grows. We have heard horror stories of violence fed by antisemitic, xenophobic, and Islamophobic rhetoric, the same ingredients that led the shooter to commit a brutal attack on innocents. A xenophobic trepidation over the migrant caravan, conspiracies on social media, with fantasy land talking points that Jews in the United States allow and invite non-white immigrants to resettle in the US and slaughter the white race. We should not be surprised that American Jews have now become the target of anti-immigrant violence for welcoming refugees.
We need to keep fighting and work towards stopping such atrocities. We must stay engaged and support initiatives that aid in preventing and creating accountability for antisemitic, xenophobic, and Islamophobic violence. We must vote and fill our government positions with those who stand firm against such terror and hatred. As an American, I sincerely hope that we, the voices of many communities working together, can find a way to bridge the gap and bring about change for the good of all humanity.
Christine Mohamed
CAIR-Pittsburgh Executive Director