Temple Isaiah holds vigil to honor 11 lives lost in Pittsburgh synagogue shooting
Locals came together Sunday night in response to the tragic shooting in Pittsburgh that left 11 dead at a synagogue. A vigil was held at Temple Isaiah in Palm Springs.
Johne Heyden was born and raised in Pittsburgh, and grew up attending church at Tree of Life, the synagogue that became the site of a massacre on Saturday. He says he’s still in shock after Saturday’s events: “Looking at the news…some of that shooting took place in the same room I got married in…and in the basement where we went to Sunday school…that’s where some of the shooting went on too. We went to classes there, I got married there…and I don’t think it’s still sunk in,” said Hayden.
Heyden was one of hundreds that gathered at the vigil to honor the 11 lives lost.
“We just feel like we need to come together, we need to heal, we need to get more proactive about whatever it takes to stop this kind of thinking,” said Robert Fey, who has been a member of Temple Isaiah for over 60 years.
The vigil featured prayers, music and uplifting speeches that touched on a renewed determination to prevent acts of hatred and extremism from happening in our communities.
We’re all here for one purpose. We were mourning, we were grieving, we wanted to be together, and we wanted to know that there is hope and to know that we shall overcome,” said Joy Silver.
But for many who lost family in the Holocaust, this act of hatred is a painful reminder that these acts are still happening today.
“It still happens and that’s why we have to be very cognizant of what’s going on in our society and we have to at every moment realize it could happen again. People that say ‘Oh, it could never happen here in this country…’ Well, it just happened,” said Bob Weinstein, a member of Temple Isaiah who also lost relatives in the Holocaust.
Many reflected on the initial attacks on the Jewish community in World War II, and say they are still hoping for change today.
“They burned hundreds of synagogues…stores…burned them all…arrested Jews…killed Jews. And the whole purpose for doing that, was to see what the world’s reaction would be. The world did nothing. Thousands of Jews killed. Synagogues burned, destroyed…well, 11 Jews were killed yesterday. What’s the world’s reaction now?
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