This past Friday, October 27, marked five years since the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. The anti-Semitic attack killed 11 people, injured six, and is the deadliest attack on Jewish people in the United States in our nation’s history.
Students Demand Action at Central, a chapter of Everytown, a national organization to combat gun violence, held a ceremony in front of the school honoring the lives lost. The ceremony began with the founder of the chapter, Michal Heimowitz, giving an introduction about the Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting. Eleven Students Demand Action members spoke about each of the eleven people that were killed at the synagogue. In addition, yahrzeit candles were lit in memory of each victim: Irving Younger, Melvin Wax, Rose Mallinger, Bernice Simon, Sylvan Simon, Jerry Rabinowitz, Joyce Fienberg, Richard Gottfried, Daniel Stein, Cecil Rosenthal, and David Rosenthal. Lana Bahn, a member of Students Demand Action at Central, says “I was really moved by the memorial. The fact that I, along with some other members of the SDA club, had the opportunity to bring awareness and understanding to others, made it so clear how important these kinds of events are.” Hannah Austin, another member of Students Demand Action at Central, also shares, “it was truly one of the most special things I’ve done. I think remembering those who we lost is really important.”
The ceremony concluded with a call to action: “Honor the victims of gun violence with action” – whether that means advocating for common-sense gun safety laws, voting for gun sense candidates in elected offices, or amplifying the voices of gun violence survivors and their stories.
