Posted on 10/28/2018 7:05:52 AM PDT by SJackson
Robert Bowers, 46, faces 11 counts of using a firearm to commit murder, and multiple counts of two hate crimes added to each initial count: obstruction of exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death, and obstruction of exercise of religious beliefs resulting in bodily injury to a public safety officer, in his Saturday attack on the Etz Chayim synagogue in Pittsburgh.
“American Jewry should cut away for a while from debates about sanctioning the Reform and Conservative presence Western Wall, their attitude toward Israel and their massive assimilation,” Tzvika Klein wrote in Makor Rishon on Sunday morning, less than a day after the Shabbat synagogue massacre in Pittsburgh.
“American Jewry should instead think about how they can prevent such tragedies from repeating themselves, Klein suggested. “They must further protect Jewish institutions.”
Indeed, according to the NY Times, the Etz Chayim building was secure during the week – you had to ring a bell to be admitted. But on Shabbat the doors were open to all.
Although many Jewish institutions in the US maintain some kind of security systems, not all of them do. Mostly because it’s an expensive proposition – securing every last Jewish house of worship, school, old age home, business, newspaper. Such an effort would require the kind of community unity that may no longer be there.
The Etz Chayim synagogue in Pittsburgh was attacked by a gunman on Shabbat, Oct. 27, 2018
Those most critical issues aside, the Shabbat murders clearly illustrated an escalation of political and social violence in America, a process that did not begin with the current administration. According to the ADL, the deadliest previous attack specifically targeting Jews happened in 1985, when Charles Goldmark, an attorney from Seattle, was murdered along with his wife, Annie, and their two sons. An unemployed steelworker named David Morse Rice was convicted of the murders.
All the other specific attacks on Jewish targets did not end up in murder, to the best of our knowledge. Still, according to the FBI, in 2016, Jews were the victims of more hate crimes than any other religious minority – 684 reports, more than all the other hate incidents against religious minorities put together.
President Donald J. Trump, who has been accused by the left of stirring up the political and social environment that made the massacre possible, condemned the shooting as an “evil anti-Semitic attack.” Trump ordered flags at federal buildings throughout the country to be flown at half-staff until Oct. 31 in “solemn respect” for the victims.
“This is a case where, if they had an armed guard inside, they might have been able to stop him immediately,” Trump said. “Maybe there would have been nobody killed, except for him, frankly. So it’s a very, very – a very difficult situation.”
“The world is a violent world,” he said before his speech. “And you think when you’re over it, it just sort of goes away, but then it comes back in the form of a madman, a wacko. … They had a maniac walk in and they didn’t have any protection and that is just so sad to see, so sad to see.”
Trump said US lawmakers “should very much bring the death penalty into vogue” so that people who attack synagogues and churches “really should suffer the ultimate price.”
The Economist did not spare the rod, declaring: “A massacre in Pittsburgh illustrates America’s disunity,” with the sub headline: “A leader without morals cannot provide moral leadership.” This attack, typical of leftwing attacks on President Trump on previous occasions of violent eruptions and mass murders, appeared unfair on its face, for reasons the newspaper itself mentioned:
“Robert Bowers, the 46-year-old anti-Semite who is alleged to have shot up the Tree of Life synagogue, was not a Trump supporter,” the Economist admitted, noting that “Jews, unlike immigrants and women, have not been subject to attack by Mr Trump. He bears no responsibility for this attack.”
Nevertheless, the newspaper insisted, “his response to it reveals the toll he is taking on American national life. The occupant of the presidency is supposed to provide moral as well as political leadership. His job is to provide reassurance in terms of crisis—as George W. Bush did after the 9/11 attacks, and Ronald Reagan during the cold war. Mr. Trump’s response to one of the worst anti-Semitic attacks in America’s modern history shows how incapable he is of this.”
Regardless of his previous responses, this time President Trump did not drop the ball in his comments on the Pittsburgh massacre:
Speaking to a convention of the Future Farmers of America in Indianapolis, Trump called on the country to come together, and invited a pastor and rabbi to pray on stage. He blamed the Pittsburgh attack on anti-Semitism, unlike his remarks following clashes between left and right demonstrators in Charlottesville, VA, in 2017.
More than 3,000 people turned out in Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh, for a Saturday night for an interfaith candlelight vigil with Hebrew and English songs and hymns to honor the Etz Chayim 11 victims, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported. The vigil began at Sixth Presbyterian Church, located across the street from the Jewish Community Center.
The Rev. Vincent Kolb drew a standing ovation when he declared: “We gather because we are heartbroken but also to show zero tolerance for anti-Semitic speech, anti-Semitic behavior and anti-Semitic violence.”
Wasi Mohamed, executive director of the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh, said Muslims had already raised $15,000 to aid the Pittsburgh Jewish community. “Obviously we’re all heartbroken, but how many of you are angry?” he asked, and answered, as many hands had been raised in response, “And how could we not be? People were stolen from us.”
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I go on ZeroHedge sometimes. The level of anti-Semitism you see in the comments there is just off the charts. It’s something you almost never see on FR.
Yet another “news” source blaming President Trump.
Un-Fricking Believable.
No. Not any more. I do believe it. They are trying to start a civil war, and trying to pin it on President Trump.
Mark
Will the American Jews who placed their love of Marxism over the USA, their religion, Israel, by twice voting for a Muslim Marxist Community Agitator with ZERO Executive experience by over 70%, blame Obama for this???????????????
After all, Obama was no friend of Jews or Israel.
I believe they are “justifying” killing a high ranking democratically elected official.
Thank you for noting that Trump “did not drop the ball on this one”
The platforms used by the Baseball Game shooter:
I wonder when THEY get shut down.
I wonder when BERNIE gets lambasted by the MSM.
...?
If the feds and state governments want to get control of crime, the best way is to bring back quick executions by noose and “Old Sparky” within two months of the crime.
Today’s DNA forensics gives virtual assurance of the guilt of the persons who commit the crime.
Antisemitism is a sign the person is a sicko who can’t think straight.
They cant have their cake and eat it too. They need some soul searching. Either we have a strong America with Judeo Christian values, safety, strength and prosperity or we delve into the liberal socialist Marxist agenda and all its dark undercurrents. The imposter would have never been if the jewish vote went the other way
I am not sure how anyone honest can claim Trump is antisemtic. He was always helpful to the Jewish community in NYC. The majority of his grandchildren are Jewish. His eldest daughter is Jewish.
And this killer hated Trump almost as much as he hated Jewish people for those reasons.
this flying the flag at half staff for non military deaths has gotten out of hand. it diminishes the act. i feel the same way about a football player making a great game winning catch and being hailed as a hero. words and symbols mean things and when they are used inappropriately their impact is lessened.
It is all Trump’s fault, for getting them so mad that they want to start a civil war, rather than enjoy the good life he’s making possible with his economic renaissance. He made them mad. Now the whole country must pay./not sarc. This is a parody of what they call justification.
I agree, though it’s been going on for as long as I remember. Frequently locally.
That's because FR doesn't tolerate it. ZeroHedge and many others do.
Posting without reading the article makes one look foolish. The author doesn't blame Trump.
Yes, under any objective standard Trump is as much an anti-Semite as Obama is pro-gun. But that won't stop the opposition from lying. Indeed, I saw Linda Sarsour on Twitter bemoaning the attack...
No. I'm a Jew who didn't vote for Obama and I don't blame him. Or Hillary, or Bernie. You seem to have an anger problem when it comes to Jews
>> “ ... if they had an armed guard inside, they might have been able to stop him immediately,” ...
Great idea - quick, write that down.
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