Community members rally in Minneapolis marking one year since Pittsburgh synagogue shooting
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - It’s been one year since the mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh and people from the Jewish community say it’s been a painful one. In Minneapolis on Wednesday, a small group gathered to remember those killed and to call for an end to hate.
There were quiet voices and a sense of calm as the group remembered the eleven people killed and the seven injured at the synagogue in Pittsburgh. The act was allegedly carried out by a man who harbored hate towards Jews and has since inspired a year of fear.
Community members rally in Minneapolis marking one year since Pittsburgh synagogue shooting
It’s been one year since the mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh and people from the Jewish community say it’s been a painful one. In Minneapolis on Wednesday, a small group gathered to remember those killed and to call for an end to hate.
"Growing up an American Jew, it was always something I thought about being a possibility," said activist Naomi Hornstein. "And then having become a reality was really, really scary and horrifying."
"It’s really increased," said activist Leah Soule. "I can speak from my personal experience, the fear that I experience when I’m in Jewish spaces when I’m at synagogue. Looking at the door, thinking about the closest exit."
But these activists add that while any shooting is awful, the incidents motivated by hate are especially jarring.
"I think when we see shootings that target a religious minority," said Soule. "When we see shootings that target an ethnic minority, communities of color, we know that those shootings have a really intentional purpose to spike fear."
And that makes gatherings, like the one in Minneapolis on Wednesday, very important.
"It feels really important that we come together to stop this violence, not just for us but for everyone," said Hornstein.
The group also marched to the Minneapolis police union’s offices to let union leader Lt. Bob Kroll know they felt that he and President Trump inspire violent incidents like these. Lt. Kroll said Wednesday he has received calls and emails from people in the Jewish community who support him, police, and the president.