It broke my heart recently watching NPR’s profiling of the victims of the Tree of Life Synagogue shootings in Pittsburgh. I have never seen a group of 11 people with such outstanding backgrounds and kinder faces.
Since the shooting I have been trying to read everything I can about what happened and why it happened. To me, it’s very important that we all understand why this horrific event happened in order to prevent it from happening again. One article I read in The Wall Street Journal that was titled “Inside the Synagogue as Shots Rang” detailed what happened to the survivors and police during the shootings.
“He’s got an automatic weapon. He’s firing out in front of the synagogue,” said a police officer.
“I’ve never heard a sound like that before,” said Carol Black, a survivor.
“They are being attacked,” said a police dispatcher. “Multiple gunshots are heard from the lobby, possibly 20 to 30 shots.”
And finally, “All these Jews need to die,” said Robert Bowers, the shooter.
As my wife and I were crossing Nevada after visiting my grandson’s sushi restaurant in San Francisco, I asked her, “Why is there so much hatred of Jews?” She replied, “The Jews were the only people that the Christians would allow to handle money because it was unclean.”
What Christians failed to recognize was that by having the Jews handle money, they were creating a small population that would handle all financial transactions, thus creating a privileged group that would be envied by many. Handling money also allowed the Jews to educate their children and live in the cities.
Through the ages, Jews have prospered because of their work ethics, their superior education, their honesty and their banding together in a community. Salt Lake City has an outstanding Jewish community. A Jewish friend of mine and I often partake of lunch at a local Jewish delicatessen. While there, he is constantly saying hello to his Jewish acquaintances and, without fail, the owner will come over and tell us Jewish jokes.
The United States is not the only place where Jews are being killed. According to an article in The Atlantic called “Is It Time for Jews to leave Europe?” in 2015, “In 2014 Jews in Europe were killed, murdered, raped, beaten, stalked, chased, harassed, spat on and insulted for being Jewish.”
And don’t forget what is going on in the Israel. The Palestinians are killing Jews left and right. In fact, the whole Middle East has, for centuries, been killing Jews.
It was sad to see the press blame Pres. Trump for the Pittsburgh shooting. Mind you, I am upset, as many of you are, by the way Trump is constantly lashing out at people and organizations. But in order to draw attention to Trump by using the Tree of Life tragedy, the media is adding fuel to the fire. I just read an article on the website National Media Research, Planning and Placement titled “Most Voters Say the Press Has Divided the Country More Than Trump,” which notes that “ 64 percent of voters say the press has done more to divide, compared to 36 percent who said the same about Trump.”
The most egregious act of anti-Semitism during my lifetime was in Nazi Germany during World War II. Hitler and his cronies exterminated 6 million Jews and it all began in Vienna. Hitler tried to become an artist in Vienna and was exposed to many anti-Semitic politicians and newspapers. The defeat of Germany in World War I had a great effect on Hitler and like others, he blamed the defeat on socialists, communists and Jews. If you read Hitler’s Mein Kampf, you will find many anti-Jewish passages.
So, what should we do? We must never forget the Holocaust and what happened at the Tree of Life Synagogue and continue to keep reminding people that anti-Semitism is not to be tolerated.
Robert Pembroke is the former chairman and CEO of Pembroke’s Inc. in Salt Lake City.