[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 180 (Wednesday, November 1, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1035-E1036]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF PITTSBURGH MASSACRE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. JENNIFER A. KIGGANS

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 1, 2023

  Mrs. KIGGANS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record 
remarks submitted at the request of a Virginia Beach constituent, Rabbi 
Dr. Israel Zoberman of Temple Lev Tikvah, and are a reflection of his 
views:

                Fifth Anniversary of Pittsburgh Massacre

       The utterly unsettling 83-minute attack on Shabbat morning. 
     Oct. 27. 2018, at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. 
     resulting in the death of 11 worshiping Jews, has been 
     described as the worst antisemitic crime committed on 
     American soil. The name ``Tree of Life'' connotes the holy 
     Torah whose lessons. including the Ten Commandments, aim to 
     preserve the divine gift of precious human life, proclaiming 
     that freedom and responsibility are inseparable twins.
       A 2020 book, ``Bound in the Bond of Life: Pittsburgh 
     Writers Reflect on the Tree of Life Tragedy'' (University of 
     Pittsburgh Press), offers the traditional Jewish response, 
     asserting life's primacy facing death and loss. The moving 
     volume of insightful reflections by a wide array of 
     Pittsburgh writers connects to their own lives' experiences.
       It is a thoughtful and fitting account honoring the memory 
     of the slain who are rightfully placed in the context of the 
     long historical chain of Jewish martyrdom, culminating in the 
     Holocaust and beyond, with the appellation of ``Kedoshei 
     Pittsburgh'' (Pittsburgh's Martyrs).
       The book's co-editor Beth Kissileff is married to one of 
     the attack's survivors, Rabbi Jonathan Perlman of New Light 
     Congregation. Kissileff, who has taught at the universities 
     of Pittsburgh and Minnesota, raises, ``Can one heal after gun 
     violence? Can any of us feel safe again? Did antisemitism 
     really not ever go away?'' The above interrelated issues are 
     complex and beclouded by sectarian politics. Yet, we are not 
     free from tackling them while advocating for remedies helping 
     to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
       Co-editor Eric Lidji is director of Pittsburgh's Rauh 
     Jewish History Program & Archives at the Sen. John Heinz 
     History Center. He oversees preserving the massacre's 
     documentation. ``In due time, with persistence, I can know 
     just the tiniest bit more . . . so that others can someday 
     make meaning from it all.'' However, what ``meaning'' can be 
     derived from such a calamitous occurrence? Recording aids 
     sacred remembrance and provides a therapeutic dimension.
       David M. Shribman who wrote the book's Forward is the 
     former executive editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. His 
     team won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for covering the carnage. 
     His then-newspaper printed in Hebrew the four letters of the 
     memorial Kaddish prayer. Dor Hadash congregation was inspired 
     to conduct a ``Refugee Shabbat,'' for the gunman's ire was at 
     the refugees and immigrants assisted by HIAS (Hebrew 
     Immigrant Aid Society), who sought entry into the United 
     States. ``Just as the Holocaust survivors once warned my 
     generation, those of us who saw what happened at Tree of Life 
     must tell those who come next.'' The challenge is to retain 
     the bond of remembrance and the attack's lessons over time's 
     natural and forced forgetfulness.
       Dr. Laura Zittrain Eisenberg teaches modern Middle East 
     history at Carnegie Mellon University. She is a third-
     generation family member at Tree of Life. Eisenberg shares 
     the constructive response, ``organizing blood drives . . . 
     community service activities at libraries, food pantries, and 
     service organizations . . . under the slogan `Remember. 
     Repair. Together.' '' Can this spirit of both altruism and 
     practicality, turning pain into promise, be sustained over 
     time? The life-changing Pittsburgh ``pogrom'' reflects Jewish 
     vulnerability in ``Golden America.'' Only Tree of Life 
     remains in the building to be redesigned by famed architect 
     Daniel Libeskind, son of Holocaust survivors, who designed 
     the World Trade Center Memorial site following the Sept. 11, 
     2001, attacks. The

[[Page E1036]]

     remodeled building will memorialize the Pittsburgh tragedy 
     and serve as the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh. Rabbi Dr. 
     Israel Zoberman is founder of Temple Lev Tikvah in Virginia 
     Beach. He is son of Polish Holocaust survivors.

                          ____________________