[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 108 (Wednesday, June 21, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H2998-H2999]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING THE MEMORIES OF THE VICTIMS OF THE PITTSBURGH SYNAGOGUE 
                                SHOOTING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Pennsylvania (Ms. Lee) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today, with a heavy 
heart, to honor the memories of the 11 victims of the Pittsburgh 
synagogue shooting, an attack on three Jewish congregations during 
Shabbat service on the morning of October 27, 2018.
  Back in Pittsburgh, the trial for the deadliest anti-Semitic attack 
in our Nation's history is proceeding. The jury convicted the gunman on 
all 63 counts. Though this is a step toward justice, this trial 
reopened unimaginably painful wounds that have barely begun to heal.
  Congregation Dor Hadash, New Light Congregation, and the Tree of Life 
Congregation all had members taken from them. Their names were: Joyce 
Fienberg, Richard Gottfried, Rose Mallinger, Jerry Rabinowitz, Cecil 
Rosenthal, David Rosenthal, Bernice Simon, Sylvan Simon, Daniel Stein, 
Melvin Wax, and Irving Younger.
  They were fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, friends, and 
colleagues. They were members of a vibrant community who sought solace, 
peace, and unity within the walls of their synagogue.
  May their memories be forever a blessing. And may the strength and 
resilience shown by the survivors, the victims' family members, and the 
entire Jewish community throughout this heartbreaking trial forever be 
an inspiration to us all.
  They inspire me to work even harder to confront the root causes of 
hatred, racism, and bigotry so that no community has to live in fear of 
such senseless gun violence ever again.
  They were murdered by a white supremacist gunman who targeted them 
because of their faith and because their faith called them to welcome 
immigrants and refugees.
  The shooter was motivated by the ``great replacement theory.'' This 
was the same white supremacist theory that motivated the shooter in 
Buffalo to take the lives of 10 community members; the shooter in El 
Paso to take the lives of 23 Hispanic community members; and the 
shooter in Christchurch to take the lives of 51 Muslim worshippers.
  The best prediction of violence against our communities is violent 
language. That holds in each of the four mass shooting examples I just 
mentioned. We must uphold the right of free speech while also working 
to stem the proliferation of violent rhetoric.

                              {time}  1030

  When I visited the synagogue this past February, I met with the Tree 
of Life congregation leadership and several family members of those 
murdered. I was profoundly moved, both by the unimaginable pain of what 
I saw, but also the beautiful conversations we had.
  Together, we discussed what can be done to help the community heal 
from the trauma, and we discussed their vision for transforming the 
site into a center to educate against anti-Semitism and hate, a vision 
I support.
  The attack on the three Pittsburgh Jewish congregations is part of a 
larger pattern of hate-fueled violence that plagues our Nation. The 
Black community is all too familiar with the rising tide of white 
supremacy in our country.
  The Federal Government has the responsibility to act. We all have the 
responsibility to use our platforms and condemn the rhetoric and 
dismantle the systems of white supremacy that enable this and other 
kinds of violence against our communities.
  We must strengthen our gun laws to make sure weapons of war never 
enter the hands of someone capable of such violence. We must invest in 
resources to identify and dismantle extremist networks. We must work 
hand in hand

[[Page H2999]]

with communities, engaging in dialogue and support, to address the root 
causes of hatred and prevent future acts of violence.
  If we don't, these things will only get worse. It is for this reason 
that I make a commitment--a commitment made by Reverend Eric Manning, 
senior pastor of Mother Emanuel Church AME, when he visited Pittsburgh. 
Mother Emanuel was the site of a 2015 shooting, where a self-avowed 
white supremacist entered the Charleston, South Carolina, church during 
a Bible study and killed nine Black congregants.
  When Reverend Manning spoke at the funeral of Rose Mallinger, the 
last of the 11 victims to be laid to rest, he said: ``You are not 
alone. We mourn with you. We are here for you and that will never 
change.''
  I commit myself to building bridges between marginalized communities 
and fighting back. I want our Jewish siblings to know that we are in 
this fight together every day for as long as it takes.
  I end with an excerpt from the Jewish prayer for peace that Rose 
Mallinger led every Saturday service:

       May it be Your will . . .
       that You erase war and bloodshed from the world and
       in its place draw down a great and glorious peace so
       that nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
       neither shall they learn war anymore. . . .
       Let justice come in waves like water and
       righteousness flow like river, for the Earth shall
       be full of the knowledge of the Holy One as the
       waters covered the sea.
       So may it be.
       And we say:
       Amen.

                          ____________________