According to a report by CBS 42, members of Alabama’s Jewish community have been deeply shaken after a gunman murdered 11 people at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh on Saturday.
“When I first heard about it, I thought, ‘my goodness, that could have been us,’” Dan Weinrib, President of Temple Beth-El in Birmingham, emphasized.
Even though the horrific shooting happened hundreds of miles away, the tragedy is hitting close to home for Birmingham-area residents like Weinrib and Jimmy Krell.
“My home that I grew up in was about a mile and a half from the synagogue and my elementary school was less than a quarter of a mile from the Pittsburgh synagogue,” Krell explained. “I walked by it many times. I was in that synagogue many times. I was there for bar and bat mitzvahs and other friends events.”
“The realities of the day are that hatred and anti-Semitism are things that the Jewish community are sadly accustomed to dealing with,” Dr. Al Cohn, President of Temple Emanu-El in Birmingham, advised.
Samantha Dubrinsky, of the Levite Jewish Community Center, told CBS 42 that the LJCC had four bomb threats last year. However, through the threats and devastation in Pittsburgh, Dubrinsky reportedly remains unwavering in her convictions.
She also outlined that the terrorists win when we give in to fear.
“I’m not scared,” Dubrinsky said. “You know the thing about what happened yesterday is that that could have happened [in Birmingham] at Temple Emanu-El or Temple Beth-El, and I think we can’t be scared because that’s what people want to have happen when they commit these crimes.”
A vigil will be held at Temple Beth-El in Birmingham on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. to stand in solidarity in the wake of Saturday’s shooting, and all are welcome to attend.
Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
