Sophomore Carly Shoneman was shocked when she woke up Saturday to news of a deadly shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue. As someone from Philadelphia with friends in Pittsburgh, she spent the day checking on loved ones to make sure they were OK and processing the news herself.
Robert Bowers, 46, allegedly shot and killed 11 people and wounded six Saturday at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. It is the deadliest attack on Jewish people in U.S. history, according to a statement from the Anti-Defamation League, a group that tracks anti-Semitic incidents.
The Hillel Center organized a vigil Saturday night in honor of the victims. Rabbi Sue Silberberg, executive director of IU Hillel, said about 50 students attended. She said although it was abruptly planned, they wanted to provide a place for students to be together after Saturday morning’s events. Students came with a mix of feelings.
“I think it’s a combination of fear, sympathy for the victims and everyone who knew them and uncertainty,” Silberberg said.
Senior Michael Vivier helped organize the Saturday night vigil and said the act of solidarity and unity it represented was special.
“It was bigger and more impactful than I ever could have imagined,” Vivier said. “I was really overwhelmed.”
Silberberg said another service is planned for 7 p.m. Monday at the Hillel Center in memory of those who were killed. It will be open to everyone, and there will be a speaker, music, prayers and opportunities for students to speak.
Shoneman, a member on the programming team at the Hillel Center, is from Philadelphia. She has friends who attend the University of Pittsburgh, just a 10 minute drive from the Tree of Life synagogue. She immediately reached out to them. None of her friends attend the synagogue where the shooting occurred.
“We’ve always learned about the Holocaust but this is the first time we’ve experienced anything like this in our lifetime,” Shoneman said. “This is the stuff we read about in textbooks and learned from our grandparents but never saw ourselves.”
Shoneman said it’s important for students in the Jewish community to stick together in times like this. She mentioned the anti-Semitism on campus that they’ve had to face such as an anti-Semitic post on Greekrank earlier this semester. As an active member at the Hillel Center, Shoneman attends many of the services and gatherings there. But now she’s afraid.
“It makes me nervous to go,” Shoneman said. “It makes me question what to do next.”
Vivier said although Saturday’s events shook him to the core, the response has been overwhelmingly one of solidarity and defiance to the hate that the shooting represents.
“I’m even prouder to be a part of the Jewish community here now,” Vivier said. “We’re going to stand together, and we’re going to stand strong and get through this just like we’ve gotten through everything else.”
