Religious Hate Crime in Pittsburgh: Eight Dead/four wounded

[_AmyJo]

Religious hate crime: Eight dead. Gunman intended to murder Jews.

He went in yelling, "All Jews must die," as he began shooting.

In Pittsburgh this morning at a Conservative synagogue in Squirrel Hill. He got there for early services - today was a bris service for an infant male, which means more family and members present for the event.

The suspect is now in custody. Twelve were shot. Three of them officers who are wounded but still alive. There are eight fatalities. Three congregations hold their services in the "Tree of Life" congregation on Shabbat. This morning there was estimated to be 60-100 people inside when the shooting began.

May there be an end to rampant hatred and bigotry.

https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2018/10/27/heavy-police-presence-near-synagogue-in-squirrel-hill/

[_Res Ipsa]

I have a good friend who was seriously wounded in a similar attack in Seattle back in 2006. I hope it ends, too.

[_Chap]

On the alleged shooter, Bowers:

Robert Bowers: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

He didn't vote for Trump ... because Trump was not antisemitic enough.

Robert Bowers allegedly said “all these Jews need to die” prior to his arrest following a massacre at the Tree of Life Congregation Synagogue in Pittsburgh. The horror unfolded on the morning of October 27 in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of the city. There were close to 100 people inside of the synagogue at the time of the attack. Bowers is a 46-year-old resident of Pittsburgh.

As many as 12 people were shot at the scene, including three police officers. Of that 12, eight are reported to have died. An hour before the shooting, Bowers wrote on a social media site, Gab, “HIAS likes to bring invaders in that kill our people. I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics. I’m going in.” HIAS is the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.

Here’s what you need to know:

1. Bowers Was Armed With an AR-15 ‘Style’ Rifle

NBC News’ Tom Winter reports that Bowers was armed with an AR-15 ‘style’ rifle, in addition to multiple handguns. KDKA has described Bowers as being a “heavy-set white male with a beard.” When Bowers emerged from a standoff with police, he was crawling due to injuries. The station also reported that Bowers is alleged to have opened fire on responding officers.

The former president of the synagogue, Michael Eisenberg, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the shooting took place on the third floor of the building. Eisenberg said that typically there would be a children’s class on that floor but had been canceled on the day of the attack.

2. Bowers Said on Gab That he Did Not Vote for Donald Trump

Bowers was an active poster on the “alt-right” version of Twitter, Gab. Bowers went by the moniker One Dingo on the site. In his bio section, Bowers wrote, “jews are the children of satan. (john 8:44) — —- the lord Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.” Shortly after the shooting at the Tree of Life Congregation, Bowers’ Gab account was deleted.

In a post a few days before the shooting, Bowers wrote, “Trump is a globalist, not a nationalist. There is no #MAGA as long as there is a k*** infestation. #Qanon is here to get patriots that were against martial law in the 90’s to be ones begging for it now to drain muh swamp. But go ahead and keep saying you are #Winning.” In another message, Bowers wrote of Trump, “For the record, I did not vote for him nor have I owned, worn or even touched a maga hat.”

3. A Witness Described the Shooting as Being Like a ‘Loud Crash in the Hallway’

Stephen Weiss, a resident of the Squirrel Hill neighborhood who was present inside the synagogue, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the shooting “sounded like a loud crash in the hallway.” Weiss said that he ran through the building hearing what sounded like an “automatic weapon.” He joined a group sheltering in place in the basement.

There are three congregations in the synagogue, the basement was where the New Life congregation was having their Shabbat service, reports KDKA.

4. A Former President of the Synagogue Said that the Department of Homeland Security Have Run Safety Drills at Tree of Life

The synagogue’s former president Michael Eisenberg said that while he was president, he had the Department of Homeland Security come to Tree of Life. Eisenberg told the Post Gazette the agency ran safety drills. Eisenberg added, “We had to step it up as far as security, although there had been no threats. The building isn’t designed for today as far as security purposes.”

According to the synagogue’s website, Shabbat morning services were taking place inside as reports about a shooting emerged. The website says that the congregation was founded “more than 150 years ago” and is a “conservative Jewish congregation” but “is also progressive and relevant to the way we live today.” The rabbi is Rabbi Hazzan Jeffrey Myers who has been with the congregation since August 2017. Cox Media Group’s Dorey Scheimer tweeted about the congregation, “I am so sick. Squirrel Hill is the Jewish neighborhood in Pittsburgh. Tree of Life is the largest conservative synagogue. Saturday morning is the busiest/most attended service.”

5. The Head of the ADL Has Described the Victims of the Shooting as Being ‘Targeted’

The CEO of the Anti-Defamation League tweeted his condolences to the victims of the shooting. Jonathan Greenblatt wrote that the victims of the attack were “targeted” because of their religion. Greenblatt tweeted, “We are devastated. Jews targeted on Shabbat morning at synagogue, a holy place of worship, is unconscionable. Our hearts break for the victims, their families, and the entire Jewish community.” He added, “We are actively engaged with law enforcement to understand the extent of this anti-Semitic attack and we will work together with communities across the country to push back on prejudice wherever it appears.”

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has described the shooting as an “absolute tragedy.” Gov. Wolf added, “We must all pray and hope for no more loss of life. But we have been saying ‘this one is too many’ for too long. Dangerous weapons are putting citizens in harm’s way.”

[_Chap]

May there be an end to rampant hatred and bigotry.

I know you mean well, but expressing wishes, hopes, even prayers that such things should cease has been proved by long experience to be remarkably ineffective in bringing an end to lethal activity by hatefilled people with access to automatic weapons.

You actually have to do things. One thing one might do would be to indicate by one's vote that one does not support candidates who do not condemn public speeches to large crowds of excited people that suggest that prominent Jews are behind all kinds of nefarious activity harmful to the USA.

One example of that kind of thing might be:

‘Lock him up!’ Smiling Trump joins chant against Soros

US President Donald Trump seems to agree with calls to imprison George Soros, as he laughed and joined in the “Lock him up” chant by a crowd of young black supporters targeting the billionaire liberal.

Trump encountered a passionate audience as he addressed the Young Black Leadership Summit at the White House on Thursday. His speech was constantly interrupted by applause, cheers and chants.

The president was talking about the trade wars he’s been waging around the world and blamed the globalists of “cheating our [American] workers.” This is when some in the crowd started calling out “Soros” – the man routinely described as a “champion” of globalism.

Trump tried to continue his address, but was interrupted by chants “Lock him up,” directed at the billionaire. The US president then chuckled and repeated the chant himself, saying “Lock him up” and pointing the finger at the part of the audience from where the idea originated.

The scene seemed to contrast with the president’s earlier words, as Trump said that “Americans must unify” and “never allow political violence to take root” in regard to a series of pipe bombs delivered to prominent Democratic figures this week.

Soros was notably among the Trump critics to whom the explosive packages were addressed, along with former President Barack Obama, the Clintons, CNN, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-California), actor Robert De Niro and several others.

[_EAllusion]

Just yesterday there was also a would-be spree killer who tried to enter a black Church, was deterred, and settled for killing a couple of black people at a Kroger instead:

https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/26/us/kentu ... index.html

[_Chap]

Trump's answer is, of course, more guns:

Asked about gun laws, Trump says temple should have had ‘protection inside’

At Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, Donald Trump expressed sympathy for the victims. Asked if gun laws needed to be changed to prevent such shootings, the president said: “If they had protection inside the results would have been far better. If they had some kind of a protection inside the temple, maybe it would have been a much different situation.”

Speaking as the scene of the shooting remained the subject of an active police effort and confirmed facts remained scarce, Trump also said people who carried out mass shootings were “wackos” and said he thought the death penalty should be applied.

“It’s a terrible thing what’s going on with hate in our country,” the president said, on his way to address a Future Farmers of America event in Indiana. Trump also had a midterms campaign rally in southern Illinois on his schedule for Saturday night. The White House did not announce any immediate change.

[_Water Dog]

Chap, right on time, to blame this on Trump. Antisemitism mostly lives on the left. If you need examples of this from democrats, well, there's an endless pool of examples to draw from. So we have a Trump hating actual Nazi who idealized Hitler. But you blame Trump. Makes total sense!



It would be so nice if we could all come together and be unified against this kind of thing. But nope. Gotta blame republicans somehow.

[_Water Dog]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTGBgIeaStc

[_EAllusion]

The next Republican speaker of the House / Minority Leader posted this just yesterday:



He, or his social media manager, deleted it today right after the attacks. But why? If there's no anti-Semitic subtext there, then why does it need to be deleted?

[_EAllusion]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTGBgIeaStc

Yeah, he's a pretty awful person.