A Sad Day For Jews; A Sad Day for America

This is very likely the deadliest attack of our people in American history. One FBI official said it was the most horrific crime scene he has seen in his 22 years of service.

When I was told of this massacre my heart immediately sank and my eyes watered. I thought about the unsuspecting victims who had every reason to live with no expectations of anything remotely near this kind of thing happening to them. 11 healthy Jews – gone in moment of wild rage by a deranged rabid antisemite who viewed us as an ‘infestation’ upon America; as ‘hostile invaders out to kill our people!’

Moments before they and their loved ones were celebrating the beginning of life itself – attending a Shabbos Bris. And suddenly 11 lives ended – mass murdered by a man so full of hate, that he threw caution to the wind (…he must have known that law enforcement would soon respond) for the sole purpose of killing as many Jews as he could.

I cannot begin to imagine the state of shock family members must be in. Nor the grief they will surely feel when that shock wears off. My heart goes out to them. I realize that I can’t possibly know what they must be going through. And yet as a fellow Jew – and fellow human being - I grieve with my people when they go through something like this.

Why did this happen? It is true that antisemitism has increased over the past 2 years. But nothing like this has remotely happened. It was mostly in the form of rhetoric and vandalism by fringe groups on the right. Whose percentage of the American population is minuscule.  But as this event clearly shows us, all it takes is one. There is no evidence that this antisemitic mass murderer was part of any particular hate group. As of now it seems that he acted alone.

I should add that it would be tempting to place some of the blame on the President for this. It is true that his rhetoric has emboldened haters on the fringes of society to become more public in their hate. Which in turn has generated a variety of antisemitic activity.  But in this particular case Bowers hates the President as much as he hates us. I therefore do not see blaming the President at all in this case.   

I’m not sure how we can protect ourselves from attacks like this. Not anymore than schools like Sandy Hook Elementary School or Stoneman Douglas High School can.

But surely sensible gun laws would help. There is no way that automatic or semi-automatic weapons (that are easily converted to automatic weapons) should be legal in this country. The penalty of owning or selling one should be severe.

There are others that say that better security would help. I believe that too. Every Shul should have security people at all their entrances and at least one responsible individual Shul member in the pews trained in the use of firearms carrying a gun hidden from view with a conceal/carry permit. Even on Shabbos. A similar precaution like that should be established in schools, churches, mosques...and anywhere else where large groups of people congregate regularly.

Had this been the case here, it may not have prevented Bowers from coming in. But it surely would have stopped him a lot sooner and saved more lives. 

I am firmly convinced that both of these things should be done. This will not help the bereaved. But it might help prevent something like this in the future. Or at least lessen the number of victims.

If there is a silver lining in any of this, it is that my faith in the American people has been strengthened. The outpouring of sympathy from all corners of American society is evident. We, the American people are unified. E Pluribus Unum. From the many – one!  

It came from the right and from the left. From black and from white. From Democrats and from Republicans. From senators, governors and mayors. From law enforcement and from the common man. From Jew and From non Jew. It was sincere. There is a solidarity that the American people have with each other than is unlike that of any other country.  The nation mourns together.

This event should remind us that we – the Jewish people – are one people. It doesn’t matter if we are Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, or even non denominational. We need to remember that even as we articulate our differences. It is just too bad that it takes a horrific event like this to remind us of that.

Here is a list of the victims (source: USA Today)

Irving Younger, 69.

And to the mourners: