PITTSBURGH – Following the horrific shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, leaders of The Tree of Life community, including survivors of the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, offered words of prayer and healing. In statements, The Tree of Life leaders called for the Annunciation community to be embraced as theirs was nearly seven years ago.

Carole Zawatsky, CEO of The Tree of Life, the national organization dedicated to uprooting antisemitism that grew out of the 2018 attack, said:

“My heart breaks for Minneapolis. I pray that the memory of the two children who were violently taken from their loved ones forever be a blessing; that all who were physically injured be fully embraced and comforted as they begin their healing journey; and that all who are forever changed by yesterday’s horror find peace, comfort and hope. At the same time, I pray that the rest of us find the courage to act, for we have prayed these prayers far too many times not to do anything else.

“While law enforcement continues to investigate the circumstances that led to the horrific attack, what has been reported yet again lays bare the inextricable link between hate and violence. We all have an urgent responsibility to do more to end hate. We cannot afford to stay silent.”

Rabbi Jeffrey Myers of the Tree of Life Congregation and survivor of the 2018 attack, said:

“For nearly seven years, I have watched as new communities experience the horror that my own community of Pittsburgh did in 2018. I hope the children of Annunciation Catholic School and the broader Minneapolis community feel what we felt – that all of us in America deeply feel their pain and their loss. You are not alone. We are here with you.

“I still deeply believe that most Americans are good, decent people. They, like me, are shocked and horrified by what happened. But I also know that tragically, the perpetrator of yesterday’s attack is not the first nor the last to be consumed by hate or to idolize past perpetrators, including the one here in Pittsburgh. It saddens me greatly that there are people who get sucked into that deep, dark hole that leads to violence. We all must do more to break down the walls that separate us and to prevent these attacks from happening again.

“May the memories of the two children killed in Minneapolis be for a blessing.”

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