Families of Pittsburgh massacre victims get £2.5m
Among those raising hundreds of thousands of dollars was the local Muslim community as an unprecedented act of interfaith solidarity.
The families of Pittsburgh synagogue victims are to get around £2.5 million from a fund raised by communities in the aftermath of the deadly October 2018 shooting.
Among those raising hundreds of thousands of dollars was the local Muslim community as an unprecedented act of interfaith solidarity.
A lone gunman walked into Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue
during Shabbat morning services on 27 October, killed 11 and seriously
injuring two others. Robert Bowers, 46, is believed to have blamed immigrants from Central America. While around £2.5 million will go to the victims’ families, almost £1m will be allocated to the rebuilding of the Tree of Life building, which also houses Congregation Dor Hadash and New Light Congregation.
A seperate fund, called the Pittsburgh Jewish Federation’s Victims of Terror fund, was distributed last year.
“One of the principles that guided the the committee’s deliberations relative to the funds received was ‘shalom b’bayit’, the need to arrive at recommendations that would foster healing in the congregations, among victims’ families and harmony throughout the wider Jewish community,” said New Light Congregation co-president Barbara Caplan.
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