Pittsburgh Synagogue Leader: Trump, Don’t Come
Image by Getty Images
By Helen Chernikoff October 29, 2018
Lynnette Lederman, past president of Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue, knew many of the victims of the Shabbat-morning shooting by Robert Bowers that killed 11 people and wounded others.
She’s heard that President Trump is talking about visiting the city and the synagogue and has one word for him: “Don’t.”
“He is the purveyor of hate speech,” she said. His words of sympathy are “hypocritical” and meaningless, she added.
The rabbi of the synagogue, however, said Trump is welcome, but hate is not.
“We’ve got to stop hate and it can’t just be to say we need to stop hate,” he said. “Hate is not welcome here in Pittsburgh. It should not be welcome in our borders at all.”
Contact Helen Chernikoff at [email protected] or on Twitter @thesimplechild
A message from our editor-in-chief Jodi Rudoren
We're building on 127 years of independent journalism to help you develop deeper connections to what it means to be Jewish today.
With so much at stake for the Jewish people right now — war, rising antisemitism, a high-stakes U.S. presidential election — American Jews depend on the Forward's perspective, integrity and courage.
— Jodi Rudoren, Editor-in-Chief
