Commemorating One Year Since the Tree of Life Massacre
Shabbat Noach: November 2, 2019
Rabbi Stephen Weiss
B’nai Jeshurun Congregation, Pepper Pike, OH
Yes, in America, in the land of freedom that has given Jews so many opportunities, we are afraid.
The leaves were falling that Saturday in October a year ago. The Halloween skeletons dangled around the front door. Howard Fienberg and his wife, Marnie, were enjoying a lazy morning in their suburban Washington, D.C. home when the phone rang.
Anthony called his brother Howard to tell him that there had been a shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. Anthony and Howard had grown up attending that synagogue. Their mother was still a member.
The Fientwo Fienberg brothers had no doubt their mother Joyce Fienberg, age 75 was at services that morning. She went to synagogue every Saturday — indeed, every day.
They tried Joyce’s cellphone. When she didn’t pick up, they assumed she was busy helping others. That was typical of Joyce. A consummate volunteer, especially after her retirement and losing her husband in recent years, she cared deeply for everyone she met. (Religion News Service, 10/24/2019)
Jason Lando, a Pittsburgh police commander, was driving past the red-brick home his grandfather had lived in for decades. It was at that moment that the first radio call came through. Shots fired at Tree of Life synagogue.” When he heard the call, he floored it, speeding toward the Tree of Life. “My grandfather is inside,” he thought.
As he pulled up, loud cracks of gunfire pierced through the stained-glass entryway. “We’re under fire,” he shouted into the receiver while shoving the extra magazines he stored in his glove compartment into a pocket. Shattered shards battered the ground. Then more shots. “Every available unit in the city needs to get here now,” the police commander said. “We’re taking on AK-47 fire from out the front of the synagogue.” Chaos and carnage were unfolding in front of him inside his childhood synagogue. All the while, Lando dialed and redialed his Pop’s number at every free opportunity.
The 42-year-old officer was consumed by a sickening thought. His grandfather, Morris Lebow, must be dead. Morris, who was nearing his 99th birthday, never missed a Saturday morning service. His friend, Joyce Fienberg, called to wake him at 6:00 am every morning, seven days a week, and then accompanied him to minyan. But that Saturday morning, Moe was feeling under the weather, and so he did not go with Joyce. Instead, he stayed home in bed.
It was Moe’s caretaker who received the call from his daughter, Roberta, and told Moe about the shooting. Moe frantically called Joyce’s cell phone. He dialed again and again. But as it was for Joyce’s children when they called, there was no answer.
By the time Lando saw his grandfather on Sunday, authorities had announced the names of the victims — men and women who ranged in age from 54 to 97. Among them was Joyce Fienberg.
“How are you doing, Pop?” Lando asked. Moe was inconsolable. All that he could bring himself to say to his grandson, officer Lando, was: “All my friends are dead.” (Washington Post, November 2, 2019)
Last week Jews in Pittsburgh and around the world marked the one-year commemoration of the Tree of Life Massacre. Shooting is to “parve” a word. I do not think I will use that word ever again. It was a massacre.
We marked that anniversary last week as we shared in a commemorative reading and all rose for Kaddish. Still, I want to take time on this Shabbat to reflect on the significance of this painful anniversary.
How should we understand the events of last October 27? What does it mean? How should we respond as Jews and as Americans?
The attack in Pittsburgh must be seen in the context of the deluge of violent shooting attacks we have experienced. These massacres are flooding our country and scarring our individual, communal and national psyches.
By one count, 334 mass shootings have occurred in 2019. That is an average of 1.24 mass shootings per day. In these shootings, 1,347 people were injured, and 377 people died, for a total of 1,684 victims, In 2018 there were 323 mass shootings with 387 killed and 1274 wounded. These mass shootings occurred in schools, synagogues, churches, mosques, nightclubs, bars, grocery stores, and even on street corners.
These numbers are based on shootings in which four or more people were injured. So, for example, it does not include the attack on the synagogue on Poway, California. If we were to include all mass shooting attacks in which even one person died, the numbers would be dramatically higher. These shootings have taken place in 42 states plus the District of Columbia. Synagogues are far from the only targets. Shootings have also occurred at schools, synagogues churches and mosques, concert venues, night clubs, bars, Walmarts and grocery stores, and even outside on street corners.
And as disturbing as those numbers are, any one person is 350 times more likely to die by gunfire in a homicide, 670 times more likely to die from the use of a gun in a suicide.
Gun violence has become a national epidemic and a threat to public health. Yet for all the pain and shock that we feel with each attack, we tend to move on with our lives until the next one occurs. In doing so, we collectively bear responsibility for the thousands of lives lost every year. As Abraham Joshua Heschel once said, “in a free society, some are guilty, all are responsible.”
What can we do? There is no one solution to eliminating this scourge, but we do know that there are things we can do to make a dramatic difference.
For example, according to studies, a little more than ¾ of mass shooters obtained their guns legally. That’s a huge number and has been bandied about to claim that closing loopholes in gun registration and background checks would not make a difference. But that statistic means that potentially almost 25% of mass shootings could be foiled by closing those loopholes. Reducing any crime, let alone massacres, by 25% would be an extraordinary accomplishment.
Right now, Ohioans for Gun Safety is collecting signatures for a ballot initiative that would be voted on in the fall of 2020 to do just that: close the loopholes. It would require that all transfers of gun ownership would require a background check. Polls show that 90% of Ohioans support that position. If you want to help reduce mass shootings, sign those petitions and get involved in collecting signatures and supporting the initiative.
We know that the number of mass shootings in this country dropped dramatically during the years in which there was a ban on assault weapons. By assault weapons, I am referring to semi-automatic guns that are modeled on military weapons and fire a ridiculously high number of bullets per second. When Congress lifted that ban in 2004, the number of mass shootings shot up again and has continued to climb. Just ask yourself: how often were you talking about mass shootings before 2004. How much are these shootings a part of your reality today?
No one has a need for an AR-15 or the equivalent. If you need an AR-15 to hunt, you are a pretty poor hunter. Nor is it needed for personal defense. Restoring the assault weapons ban would be a second good step toward reducing gun violence.
Mother Jones investigated 62 mass shootings over the last three decades. It’s reporters found that more than half of the killers in those shootings possessed weapons that would be prohibited under an assault weapons bill. That includes various semi-automatic rifles, guns with military features, and handguns using magazines with more than ten rounds.
Research also shows that approximately half of all mass shooters displayed prior signs of mental health problems. Let’s be clear: the overwhelming majority of those with mental health problems do not pose any danger. But identifying and treating those with mental health problems could potentially reduce the number of those who end up carrying out mass violence.
These are three steps that we could take right now: universal background checks, reinstituting a ban on assault weapons, and providing increased resources to address mental health. These steps will not by themselves eliminate mass shootings or gun violence. But all research indicates that they could dramatically reduce gun violence.
The Tree of Life Massacre is part of a greater wave of violence. At the same time, the gunning down of Jews in cold blood also reflects the increasing anti-Semitism that is sweeping this country. For too long, we focused on raising the alarm about rising anti-Semitism in Europe while ignoring the same phenomenon happening here.
A recent American Jewish Committee survey indicates just how pervasive antisemitism has become. Nine out of ten Jews say antisemitism is a problem in America today. Thirty-eight percent say it is a serious problem. Eighty-four percent say antisemitism is increasing in America. Forty-four percent say that we are less secure as Jews in America today.
Thirty-six percent say that the atmosphere on college campuses is more hostile to Jews today than even a year ago. Nearly a quarter of American Jews say they have encountered anti-Semitism in the past five years. Two percent say they were the victim of anti-Semitic violence. Two percent may not sound like much, but that’s 2 in 100. That means in this sanctuary, there are at least 2 or 3. In Cleveland, with 80,000 Jews, it would mean 1600 Jews have been attacked. Yet only 24 percent of those attacked report what happened to them to authorities, to a Jewish organization or on social media.
One-quarter of American Jews say they avoid certain places because they do not feel safe there as a Jew, and thirty-one percent say that they avoid wearing, carrying and saying things in public that would identify them as Jews.
Yes, in America, in the land of freedom that has given Jews so many opportunities, we are afraid.
We have responded to that fear with increased security. And that is necessary. But I want to say what I said on the high holidays: We cannot afford to let that fear define us. We must stand proudly as Jews and celebrate the beauty and meaning of Judaism.
We also need to remember that this anti-Semitism is different. Over the centuries, anti-Semitism has taken many forms. In the middle ages, it was religiously based. Nazis justified it with a theory of racial inferiority. Those forms of antisemitism targeted just Jews. The Nazis also targeted other groups, such as gypsies and those who were gay, but their hatred of us was not linked to those groups.
Today’s anti-Semitism is intimately tied up with the hatred of people of color to the point of being inseparable. White Nationalists’ belief that Jews are conspiring to replace whites with people of color so we can control them and thus control the country. Strangely, this is an outgrowth of our alliance with blacks in civil rights and with Hispanics and others in fighting for acceptance of refugees and immigrants. For example, the shooter at the Tree of Life attacked the synagogue because knew that HIAS helps those seeking to immigrate from Central American countries. They see us working together, and they fear and resent that we are seeking to enable and empower these groups. In this sense anti-Semitism has not changed. They hate us because they hate the values and standards we bring to the world.
It is precisely because their hatred of Jews and their hatred of people of color are so bound together for White Nationalists that, now more than ever, we cannot fight one without fighting the other. That’s why organizations like GCC, which bring people together across differences in faith, ethnicity, and color, are so important.
We also should remember that we do not stand alone. The majority of Americans embrace us fully and stand with us. Think of the incredible outpouring of support for the Jews of Pittsburgh following that massacre. I will never forget the huge crowds that showed up at the Sailor and Soldiers Memorial Auditorium in Pittsburgh for the memorial service the Sunday night after the attack. Nor will I forget the over 900 people of all faiths and backgrounds who showed up at our synagogue on the following Shabbat to stand with us in solidarity. At both gatherings, the clergy of Christian, Muslim, Sikh, and other faiths proclaimed their love for us and their determination to stand with us against hatred.
We need to continue to reach out to our non-Jewish friends and strengthen these alliances.
One way to do that is through a program created by Marni Fienberg in memory of her mother-in-law Joyce. That program is called 2ForSeder (http://2forseder.com). Its motto is “Pushing back anti-Semitism with love and matzah.” The idea is to invite at least two non-Jews to your seder. On their website you will find a kit that includes special readings about the Tree of Life massacre and anti-Semitism today.
In this morning’s Torah portion, Noach, God promises never again to destroy the world by water. God sets the rainbow in the sky as a symbol of that promise. But that does not mean that humanity cannot destroy each other or the world. It is left to us to eradicate the hatred and unite humanity in love. It is a daunting task. But God’s promise to us is reflected in the words of Isaiah found in this morning’s haftarah. Through the prophet, God says to Israel: ?????-?????????, ????????? ??????; ?????, ??????? ????????? ??????????, ????????????; ??????? ????????, ????-??? ???????? – “All thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children. In righteousness shalt thou be established; no more will you suffer oppression, and you shall no longer fear…”
So may it be God’s will.