October 28, 2018 – JCRC/AJC mourns the 11 Jews murdered at Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh yesterday. We pray for those wounded, including the police officers who were injured in the line of duty. The horror of a synagogue being targeted on Shabbat, on the morning of a bris, is the worst nightmares of our community come to fruition. We are shaken to our core. This hate crime not only inflicts immense pain on those who were attacked, but also terrorizes the entire Jewish community. We are strong and resilient. We will not cower in the face of such evil.
We are grateful for the many expressions of support and sympathy from the diverse communities of metropolitan Detroit. Community leaders and individuals have raised their voices publicly and privately to let us know that we do not stand alone in our pain and grief. These expressions of solidarity strengthen us in this dark time.
As the tragedy unfolded yesterday, JCRC/AJC’s first focus was to fulfill our role as the media spokesperson for the Jewish community. We worked closely with local news outlets to make sure that the voice of the local Jewish community was represented in their stories. Some of our published and recorded comments can be found at the bottom of this e-mail.
We commend the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit for their eloquent community message, which can be read here, and thank them for their partnership with JCRC/AJC as we work together to respond to this tragedy.
JCRC/AJC and our partners are working now on opportunities for the community to mourn together. We will share updates as soon as the details are available. Please follow our Facebook page for updates and when plans are confirmed, we will email you again.
We stand in solidarity with the Jewish community of Pittsburgh and communities nationwide. May those who are injured find complete healing and may the memories of those lost forever be a blessing.