Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life shul building to reopen as ‘centre for Jewish life’

The Tree of Life synagogue building, the site of an attack a year ago that left 11 worshippers dead, will reopen as a “centre for Jewish life in the United States.”

The Tree of Life Congregation issued a statement to announce its new vision for the building on Friday.

The home of three different congregations has not reopened since the attack on Oct. 27, 2018. The shooting left the building “unsuitable for worship,” according to the statement. It was in need of serious repair and renovation before the attack took place, the statement mentioned.

Tree of Life’s vision for the future of the property calls for the space to be a “cooperative and collaborative space that brings together stakeholders in a shared environment that includes places for Jewish worship memorial, education and social engagement, exhibit space for archival historical artistic expression, as well as classrooms and training spaces.”

The idea was announced to the congregation during Yom Kippur services.

“We are poised to become an incredible centre for Jewish life in the United States,” Tree of Life’s Rabbi Jeffrey Myers said in a statement. “When we reopen, and we most certainly will, I want the entire world to say, ‘Wow, look at what they have done.’ To do anything less disrespects the memory of our 11 martyrs.”