Pittsburgh shooting

#ShowUpForShabbat: UK community urged to attend shul after Pittsburgh attack

Campaign launched by American Jewish Committee this week gets backing of the JLC, as British Jews stand in solidarity with American communities

29 October 2018, 3:57 pm
People gather at the B'nai Aviv Synagogue in Weston, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018, after Saturday's shooting that took place during worship services inside Tree of Life Synagogue in Pennsylvania. (Jennifer Lett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)

A campaign has been launched urging people to go to synagogue this Shabbat, following the deadly Pittsburgh massacre last Saturday.

Jewish community leaders in the UK threw their weight behind an international initiative – ‘#ShowUpForShabbat’ – launched by the American Jewish Committee this week.

This comes after 11 congregants were murdered at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, with suspect Robert Bowers facing 29 murder and hate crime charges, expected to face a court on Monday.

The Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) backed the idea, which seeks to honour the memory of the victims and oppose antisemitism and all forms of hatred.

The JLC said: “We join American organisations in calling on Jewish communities across the country and around the world, along with leaders, politicians and other allies, to attend a synagogue this coming Shabbat.”

A spokesperson for the Board of Deputies said: “This is a wonderful initiative. We would urge as many people as possible to Show up for Shabbat next Saturday to demonstrate support for all those affected by the Pittsburgh massacre.”

Writing in the Jewish News this week, Michael Goldstein, head of the United Synagogue said: “11 innocent men and women, parents and grandparents, were mowed down by hatred last week. As the Chief Rabbi said, the more hatred we face, the more relentless our pursuit of the paths of peace will be. So, wherever you are, whatever your community, join thousands of your fellow Jews in shul this Shabbat.”

The campaign urges anyone who wishes to come to synagogue on Friday night and Saturday, 2-3 November  to contact any of the synagogue movements in the UK: the United Synagogue, S&P Sephardi Community, Liberal, Reform and Masorti Judaism.

The JLC are also collating messages of support and solidarity from across the community, which they will send to the Pittsburgh community before Shabbat.

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