By Paula Reed Ward and Justin Vellucci
State Rep. Dan Frankel (center background) listens along with trial participants and congregation leaders as Jeff Frankenstein (right), CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, speaks to local media after the guilty verdict was handed down against Robert Bowers on Friday in Pittsburgh.
It was almost a foregone conclusion. (click here)
Even defense attorneys for Robert Bowers told the jury that their client did it.
He’s the one who entered the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill on the morning of Oct. 27, 2018, carrying an AR-15 and three handguns.
He’s the one who opened fire in the synagogue’s Pervin Chapel, in the lobby, on the stairs, near the rabbi’s study used by the Dor Hadash congregation, outside the New Light congregation’s sanctuary and in a basement kitchen.
He’s the one who killed 11 people as they began services that day focused on the Jewish tradition of welcoming strangers.
And now he’s the one facing possible execution for his actions.
A jury of seven women and five men on Friday found Bowers guilty of all 63 federal counts against him, including that he killed 11 people at the synagogue because they were Jewish....
It was almost a foregone conclusion. (click here)
Even defense attorneys for Robert Bowers told the jury that their client did it.
He’s the one who entered the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill on the morning of Oct. 27, 2018, carrying an AR-15 and three handguns.
He’s the one who opened fire in the synagogue’s Pervin Chapel, in the lobby, on the stairs, near the rabbi’s study used by the Dor Hadash congregation, outside the New Light congregation’s sanctuary and in a basement kitchen.
He’s the one who killed 11 people as they began services that day focused on the Jewish tradition of welcoming strangers.
And now he’s the one facing possible execution for his actions.
A jury of seven women and five men on Friday found Bowers guilty of all 63 federal counts against him, including that he killed 11 people at the synagogue because they were Jewish....
I am confident everyone at the trial were effected by the day, but, the face of Dan Frankel really reflect the moment. Sorrow along with 'when does this hate actually end?'.
The permission to hate has to end. That means candidates for office at any level must denounce fully hate in any form. It can't be acceptable for any candidate to give the most minor permission of it's presence in the American society.
Charles Sykes is Editor-at-Large of the Bulwark.
For most Americans, (click here) including Republicans, the resurgence of hatred against Jewish people is the return of an ancient evil. But Donald Trump, who has refused to disavow his dinner with two of the country’s most virulent antisemites, apparently sees it very differently.
Trump is seldom careful about who he offends — tossing out jibes, insults, and threats with reckless abandon. He is more than willing to lash out at cultural elites and the people he calls “disloyal Jews” who support Democrats. But Trump has been consistent in his reluctance to offend what he regards as a crucial part of the base that he has nurtured over the years. He is unapologetic about associating with overt neo-Nazis, and unwilling to issue full-throated denunciations of antisemitism. Trump is willing to draw this barrage of opprobrium for one simple reason: He believes that he has tapped into something in the American electorate, especially among evangelical Christians, who have ingrained — but complicated — attitudes toward Israel and Jews....
The demand to end hate in the USA must be a part of the political platform of every candidate running for any office. This is not just my point of view, there is common understanding that when influential people lean into the allowance of hate, it takes hold and ignites overt expression of it.
Simon Taylor (click here) was on his way to an appointment in Flatbush when he pulled into a local filling station one afternoon last week. It was a lovely fall day in Brooklyn, but as he began to fuel up, the climate turned sour: Another customer, spotting the skullcap atop Rabbi Taylor’s head, launched into an expletive-laden rant about how much he hated Jews, and then, when the rabbi photographed his license plate, started chasing him with an upraised fist.
Rabbi Taylor, a 38-year-old father of five who oversees social services and disaster relief programs for an umbrella organization of Orthodox Jews, was shaken. A native of England who now lives on Long Island, he wondered if the incident was connected to a mainstreaming of antisemitic rhetoric in America.
“I’ve never had anything like this in New York, and it definitely felt to me like this whole Kanye West thing had something to do with it,” said Rabbi Taylor, referring to the ugly utterances of the hip-hop legend now known as Ye. “All it takes is a couple influential people to say things, and suddenly it becomes very tense.”...
December 9, 2022
by Marc Rod
November 4, 2022
By Michael Paulson and Ruth Graham
Simon Taylor (click here) was on his way to an appointment in Flatbush when he pulled into a local filling station one afternoon last week. It was a lovely fall day in Brooklyn, but as he began to fuel up, the climate turned sour: Another customer, spotting the skullcap atop Rabbi Taylor’s head, launched into an expletive-laden rant about how much he hated Jews, and then, when the rabbi photographed his license plate, started chasing him with an upraised fist.
Rabbi Taylor, a 38-year-old father of five who oversees social services and disaster relief programs for an umbrella organization of Orthodox Jews, was shaken. A native of England who now lives on Long Island, he wondered if the incident was connected to a mainstreaming of antisemitic rhetoric in America.
“I’ve never had anything like this in New York, and it definitely felt to me like this whole Kanye West thing had something to do with it,” said Rabbi Taylor, referring to the ugly utterances of the hip-hop legend now known as Ye. “All it takes is a couple influential people to say things, and suddenly it becomes very tense.”...
Antisemitism is not a minor issue. The hate must stop. Regardless of the type of hate of any human being in the USA, must stop.
by Marc Rod
Jewish leaders gathered with senior administration officials yesterday to discuss methods for tackling antisemitism
A first-of-its-kind White House summit on antisemitism (click here) highlighted a growing push inside the organized Jewish community for a national strategy to combat antisemitism — alongside long-standing concerns like antisemitism on campus — according to Jewish community leaders who attended the meeting.
Senior White House and Biden administration officials, led by the Jewish second gentleman, Doug Emhoff, convened a roundtable Wednesday with leaders from 14 Jewish community groups, where each offered suggestions on strategies, policies and programs for combating antisemitism.
According to those present, a push for a formalized interagency strategy to combat antisemitism domestically — also highlighted in a congressional letter this week — came up frequently in remarks from Jewish community representatives. And in interviews with Jewish Insider following the meeting, nearly every one of the attendees expressed support for such a move.
“We think tying all these efforts together, both from security- and non-security agencies, to develop a comprehensive strategy that doesn’t just securitize the issue of antisemitism, but also allows for innovation, new data sets and an opportunity to combat it and all its forms,” George Selim, the Anti-Defamation League’s senior vice president for national affairs, explained. “We think that’s where the future lies on this issue.”...
A first-of-its-kind White House summit on antisemitism (click here) highlighted a growing push inside the organized Jewish community for a national strategy to combat antisemitism — alongside long-standing concerns like antisemitism on campus — according to Jewish community leaders who attended the meeting.
Senior White House and Biden administration officials, led by the Jewish second gentleman, Doug Emhoff, convened a roundtable Wednesday with leaders from 14 Jewish community groups, where each offered suggestions on strategies, policies and programs for combating antisemitism.
According to those present, a push for a formalized interagency strategy to combat antisemitism domestically — also highlighted in a congressional letter this week — came up frequently in remarks from Jewish community representatives. And in interviews with Jewish Insider following the meeting, nearly every one of the attendees expressed support for such a move.
“We think tying all these efforts together, both from security- and non-security agencies, to develop a comprehensive strategy that doesn’t just securitize the issue of antisemitism, but also allows for innovation, new data sets and an opportunity to combat it and all its forms,” George Selim, the Anti-Defamation League’s senior vice president for national affairs, explained. “We think that’s where the future lies on this issue.”...
It is time to call out hatred at every turn. Candidates for office have an obligation to all the people that voted. It is not a pick and choose democracy where only those that voted for the candidate are treated with importance. Every American is important and every form of difference among the more than 330 million Americans must be recognized as a "legitimate state of being" so long as it is not promoting crime.
The hate must stop and everyone is responsible to hold candidates responsible for eliminating hate and recognizing difference in a way that promotes the well being of all Americans in their "legitimate state of being."
