Local Jewish leaders, community hold prayers, send letters of support to Pittsburgh

Local leaders in the Jewish community are holding prayer groups and sending letters to support those affected by the shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh on Saturday that killed 11 and wounded six.

Law enforcement officials say Robert D. Bowers allegedly shot into the crowd for several minutes while shouting anti-Semitic slurs inside the Tree of Life Congregation, according to the Associated Press and other media reports this weekend.

Rabbi Avremi Yarmush, at the Rohr Center for Jewish Life in Bellingham, held a public moment of prayer Monday night at the center at 102 Highland Drive.

“All Jews are family, and when something like this happens, when any tragedy happens among family, we get together to be with each other, to help each other, to comfort each other and to cry with each other, and I wanted to make an availability for everybody to grieve, but at the same time use this energy to grow together as well,” Yarmush said in an interview with The Bellingham Herald Monday.

Yarmush said Bellingham police tried to call Saturday after news broke of the shooting, but because they were observing Shabbat, or the Jewish day of rest, they didn’t answer the phone. Bellingham police then sent an officer to the Chabad house to explain what had happened and to provide whatever support was needed and extra security throughout the day, Yarmush said.

Yarmush said he believes there is enormous support within Whatcom County from people fighting against anti-Semitism. He said he wants everyone to know anti-Semitism is real, and that fighting it is essential to fighting all forms of hatred against minority communities.

“There are a few bad people but it can definitely be overcome. A large amount of darkness can be overcome by a small amount of light. But we have a large amount of light in Bellingham and people who fight against bigotry, hatred and are willing to stand up against it,” Yarmush said.

Yarmush encourages people to speak to leaders, members and friends in the Jewish community to find out what is needed, and to do so not only after tragedies. He also said it’s important for parents to teach their children not to make Holocaust jokes. If someone sees anti-Semitism, or any other form of bigotry or hatred, they should stand up and say something, and “be courageous,” Yarmush said.

“There’s a saying in Hebrew ‘Am Yisrael Chai — The Jewish Nation lives.’ No matter what anybody tries to do — somebody can walk into a synagogue and say ‘All Jews must die’ and start firing — we are going to be here and we are going to be making a difference, and a positive one,” Yarmush said.

In 2017, there were 531 hate crime incidents reported in Washington state, which was a 37.6 percent increase from the previous year, according to 2017 annual statewide crime data from the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. There were at least 21 anti-Semitic incidents reported, according to the data.

In March, several books were damaged and defaced with anti-Semitic language in the Jewish Studies section of the Wilson Library at Western Washington University, according to a previous story in The Bellingham Herald. A swastika was also drawn in ink or marker on a poster outside a faculty member’s office in the Communications building, according to the story.

The Leaf & Ladle, a sandwich, soup and salad shop in downtown Bellingham also had swastikas, Aryan pride symbols and other vandalism drawn on a chalkboard in the bathroom in August of last year, according to a previous story in The Bellingham Herald.

Local hate crime statistics for Whatcom County were not immediately available.

Rabbi Joshua Samuels of Congregation Beth Israel said the outpouring of community support has been heartwarming. Samuels said he’s received a lot of calls, emails and said the first texts he got were from other clergy members from churches throughout Whatcom County, as well as members from the Sikh community.

“It was really wonderful having this outreach and support from leaders of other different faiths and traditions in our community. I relayed that sentiment to my community and I think everyone felt that they’re not alone in this and everyone is thinking about us,” Samuels said. “It’s been really heartwarming to receive so much support. Even though we’re a thousand miles away from Pittsburgh, people are thinking about us and caring about us.”

Samuels said the local community doesn’t have to deal too often with violent anti-Semitic attacks, but did note that some things people say casually can be a trigger for those in the Jewish community. Samuels said after news of the massacre spread, he saw a Facebook post from a local congregant whose teenage son said he felt scared to come to the synagogue for Sunday religious school services. After Samuels reached out, the boy attended services.

“I reached out and said this is exactly the time to come together and support each other and hold each other up. We’re united and we’re not afraid and we should never be afraid to express who we are as a Jewish community,” Samuels said. “We’re a very resilient bunch.”

Congregation Beth Israel held a service Sunday morning at 10 a.m., where they had a brief vigil memorial, and about 100 people showed up, Samuels said. They also plan to get together to write letters to those in Pittsburgh as a signal of support, Samuels said, adding they sent letters of support to Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina after Dylann Roof shot and killed nine people there in 2015.

Samuels said the congregation is taking the security measures they feel necessary after the events in Pittsburgh.

“It feels so good to not be alone. This is not just an attack on the Jewish community, it’s an attack on every minority. We’re all in this together and we’re all going to hold each other up,” Samuels said.

This story was originally published October 30, 2018 at 5:00 AM.