Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders joined Americans across the country Wednesday night in a virtual livestreaming event hosted by Jewish activist group Bend the Arc to commemorate the 11 victims of the 2018 massacre at Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill.
In their mourning, Mr. Sanders — alongside other Jewish leaders, rabbis, clergy members from multiple faiths, social justice activists and elected officials — urged viewers to fight against anti-Semitism and white supremacy by voting in the general election on Nov. 3.
“Today, we pause to mourn the 11 beautiful people who were murdered two years ago in that holy place,” Mr. Sanders said during the livestream. “Tomorrow we dedicate ourselves to build a country that embodies the values of equality, democracy and dignity of all people.”
With less than one week before the general election, Mr. Sanders reassured viewers that they “will stand together and say loudly and clearly on Nov. 3rd that we will never, ever be intimidated by those who try to make us afraid of each other.”
“I know very well where white supremacy leads and what can happen when people do not speak up against it,” Mr. Sanders said. “We have to be clear that while anti-Semitism is a threat to Jews everywhere, it is also a threat to democratic governance itself.”
Mr. Sanders discussed his roots as a “proud Jewish American.”
“My father emigrated from Poland to the United States in 1921 at the age of 17 to escape the poverty and widespread anti-Semitism in his home country,” Mr. Sanders said. “Those in his family who remained in Poland after Hitler came to power were murdered.”
Mr. Sanders said he’s noticed a rise of white supremacy that targets Jews, people of color, immigrants, LGBTQ people, women and “anyone else who stands in the way of their bigotry and racist ideology.”
“They don’t just hate Jews, they hate the idea of multiracial democracy,” Mr. Sanders said. “They hate the idea of political equality.”
The event, hosted by Bend the Arc chief strategy officer Ginna Green, started at 8 p.m.
Rabbi Sharon Brous — senior and founding rabbi of IKAR, a Jewish congregation in Los Angeles — led a mourner’s Kaddish prayer. Several speakers — including Steelers right tackle Zach Banner and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison — discussed the importance of standing in solidarity among the Jewish community and communities of color.
The event also hosted a candle lighting in solidarity with people in cities across the country affected by white nationalist violence.
Pittsburgh community members Keshira haLev Fife and Sara Stock Mayo also performed a song during the virtual event.
The livestream event ended with remarks from Bend the Arc: Pittsburgh’s volunteer leader Jonathan Mayo, who discussed how he lives just around the corner from the Tree of Life synagogue.
“One thing we learned when we took to the streets following the shooting at the Tree of Life was that it’s up to us to build a future where we can all be safe and free,” Mr. Mayo said.
Mr. Mayo urged viewers to vote and make sure their loved ones also have a plan to vote.
“People like Donald Trump and those who support him would like nothing more for us to turn inward and not reach out to anyone else. That’s how they win,” Mr. Mayo said. “But we can win as long as we continue to reach out to everybody … there’s much more that brings us together than divides us.”
According to Bend the Arc, more than 6,000 people attended the online event.
Lauren Lee: llee@post-gazette.com; @lauren_llee.
First Published: October 29, 2020, 8:59 a.m.
