'We just can't forget what happened here': Community observes 3 years since Tree of Life shooting

Andrea Wedner was among the hundreds of people who gathered Wednesday to remember the victims of the Tree of Life synagogue attack three years earlier. Wedner’s mother, Rose Mallinger, was among the 11 people killed.

“It helps to be with people,” Wedner said outside the synagogue. It helps to talk, too, she said.

“We just can’t forget what happened here, and the story needs to be told, and if I can tell it —,” she said, her voice trailing off.

“It seems like yesterday. I remember like it’s yesterday,” she said. “I remember each year that we have these commemorations. I think about it every day. But every year when it comes, it’s emotional.”

On Oct. 27, 2018, a gunman stormed into the Squirrel Hill synagogue and killed 11 worshippers in the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. Federal prosecutors charged Robert Bowers, then 46, of Baldwin. He awaits trial.

The synagogue had housed the Tree of Life-Or L’Simcha, Dor Hadash and New Light congregations. All three lost members in the attack.

Four police officers were wounded exchanging gunfire with the shooter, and two other congregants were wounded.

“It’s a day that you know is coming,” said Barb Feige, executive director of the Tree of Life congregation. “It’s not like we don’t think about the folks every other day of the year, but this is, like all anniversaries, where memories of different kinds of things come up.”

Kristina Serafini | Tribune-Review

Judah Samet (facing camera) is greeted by Dan Leger of the Dor Hadash Congregation during a commemoration ceremony for the 11 victims killed three years ago in a shooting at the Tree Of Life Synagogue on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021 in Schenley Park. Samet, a Holocaust survivor, narrowly missed the shooting at the Tree Of Life because he was running late that day.

One way in which people dealt with their emotions was by attending a Schenley Park commemoration ceremony marking three years since the synagogue shooting. The ceremony was held in person this year after taking place virtually in 2020 due to covid-19 safety considerations.

Family members of the 11 people who died at Tree of Life lit candles in their memory as the community joined them in mourning.

Rabbi Hazzan Jeffrey Myers of the Tree of Life-Or L’ Simcha Congregation offered a Prayer For the Souls of the Departed before the roughly 400 people in attendance.

Rabbi Hazzan Jeffrey Myers of the Tree of Life Or L’Simcha Congregation says “A prayer for the souls of the departed” at the year 3 commemoration ceremony in Schenley Park. pic.twitter.com/tEYn9jdvMn

— Paul Guggenheimer (@PGuggenheimer) October 27, 2021

“We pray for the elevation of their souls and remember, for us, their sacrifice. Master of mercy cover them in the cover of your wings forever. … Let them rest in peace upon their places of repose,” he said.

Kristina Serafini | Tribune-Review

A person is seen wearing a “Stronger Than Hate” kippah during a commemoration ceremony for the 11 victims killed three years ago in a shooting at the Tree Of Life Synagogue on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021 in Schenley Park.

Maggie Feinstein, director of the 10.27 Healing Partnership, opened the ceremony by remarking that “today and every day, we remember the 11 people who were taken from us.

“We honor them in spirit, in action, and by joining together in their memory,” she said. “We appreciate the brave people who did everything they could to be helpers that day.

“We all stand together because we remember that we are stronger together, with religious and secular leaders who loudly stated that antisemitism does not have a place in Pittsburgh.”

Survivors of the attack offered words of prayer and, in English and in Hebrew, Jewish religious leaders mourned the 11. They were joined by other Pittsburgh faith leaders including from Christian and Muslim communities.

“The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, swore that no person could be a true believer if their neighbor does not feel safe from them,” said Imam Chris Caras of the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh. “It is in that spirit that the Muslim community of Pittsburgh hopes to keep up the duty of assisting our neighbors without discrimination, thus spreading peace among all.”

Mayor Bill Peduto and Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald offered a prayer for our country and at the end of the ceremony, members of the community laid stones to remember.

Among those in attendance was Skip Grinberg, a 77-year-old Squirrel Hill resident and member of the Tree of Life congregation who was not there on the day of the synagogue attack.

“We wouldn’t miss this,” he said. “I personally knew six of the people who died. They were nice, innocent people just going to pray, who lost their lives senselessly. Pittsburgh will never forget (what happened).”

Andrew Clinton, 20, Squirrel Hill, said it was important for people to come together and remember the victims.

“It’s important to show support for all the loved ones who were hurt,” he said. “Gatherings like this help because it’s no longer just a picture of them. It makes it more real.”

Hallie Goldstein, 28, Regent Square, has been a member of the Tree of Life congregation since she was a little girl while her cousins are members of New Light and Dor Hadash.

“No matter how many years have passed it, doesn’t really take away from what has happened,” she said. “I find that the best way to process emotions and to properly mourn those who have passed is to gather together and celebrate those who are still with us and to reconnect with our family and friends.”