Hi John,
This week marks four years since one of the worst attacks on the Jewish community in our country’s history: The mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA. That day, 11 people were murdered by a gunman armed with an AR-15 style assault weapon — a gun designed for war and mass destruction.
I remember this day vividly. It happened on Shabbat, a holy day for the Jewish community. I had joined friends for a Shabbat meal that evening, and the next morning I awoke to the news of this horrific attack on Pittsburgh’s Jewish community. But this tragedy rippled throughout Jewish communities across the country, because all Jews know the fear of being persecuted for our religion.
Each murder by gun violence tears at my soul, but this one hits particularly deep. It is easy to see my small, Midwestern Jewish community and my college Jewish community in Tree of Life’s community. Antisemitism should have no home in the United States or anywhere, neither should gun violence.
But we are in a moment where antisemitism is rising by the highest margin in years and hate crimes are at an all-time high. And 2022 is on track to be the deadliest year for gun violence in recent memory. We are a country in crisis, and it’s up to us to take action and stop it.
That’s why I’m asking you to act today, to honor the 11 lives that were viciously stolen at Tree of Life and to stop other communities from being changed forever. Will you add your name now and demand that the U.S. Senate ban assault weapons like that one that was used in the Pittsburgh mass shooting? These weapons of war have no place in our communities, and your senator needs to ensure that.
