Ground was broken for a new building at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life Synagogue on Sunday that will include a memorial and museum showcasing the evils of antisemitism at the site of the 2018 shooting in which 11 worshippers were killed and six others wounded, CNN reported.
"Almost six years ago, a white supremacist committed the deadliest attack on American Jews in our nation's history right here," said second gentleman Doug Emhoff at the groundbreaking ceremony. "It was [an] unspeakable act of terror, of violence, barbarism, fueled by antisemitic hate."
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he hoped this will "be a place where individuals find strength to bolster the collective and to root out evil" and noted that there has been a rise in antisemitism across the United States in the past year.
CNN's Wolf Blitzer, who was also among the speakers at the ceremony, said, "The new Tree of Life will not only be a tribute to those we lost and a hope for the Pittsburgh Jewish community for generations to come, it will also be a place to teach and share profoundly important lessons."
On Oct. 27, 2018, Robert Bowers burst into the synagogue and shot congregants. Four police officers who responded to the shooting were among those injured, CNN reported. Last August, Bowers was sentenced to death.
Earlier this year most of the synagogue was demolished, and the project to construct the new building is expected to be completed in 2026, according to the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle.
"As we embark on this next chapter in our journey forward, our hope is that the Tree of Life becomes a beacon of hope, a symbol of resilience in this community, and a call not only to take bold actions against extreme forms of bias but a beckoning to all of us to do one extra good deed each day in honor of each of the 11 who were taken from us," said Jeffrey Solomon, a board member of the Tree of Life rebuilding committee, the Pittsburgh Union Progress reported.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.