Tree of Life: Commemorating the 11 lives lost 4 years ago in 2018 synagogue shooting

Four years after the attack, the synagogue remains closed to the public.

Architect Daniel Libeskind has been chosen to design the future of the site, as a memorial space will be created at Tree of Life.

Libeskind was behind the master plan for the World Trade Center site after 9/11 and he also designed the Jewish Museum in Berlin.

The congregation wants the building to be used as a place of worship again, as well as a place for people to learn about confronting hate.

The sanctuary will be renovated while other parts of the campus will be demolished.

There is no timetable for when the project will be completed.

On a somber day in Pittsburgh, songs and prayers filled the air at Schenley Park.

The community commemorated the 11 lives lost in an antisemitic attack on three congregations — Congregation Dor Hadash, New Light Congregation and Tree of Life or L'Simcha Congregation — at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood on Oct. 27, 2018.

During the 10.27 Healing Partnership's commemoration ceremony on Thursday, 11 candles were lit by loved ones. Those who survived the attack were also recognized.

"We say the 11 names, we want to make sure people know their names and make sure their legacies are carried on by all of us, " said Maggie Feinstein, director of the 10.27 Healing Partnership.

"It's important for us because they were our friends. We want to honor their memory and what they did for us," said Alan Hausman, president of the Tree of Life Congregation.

Hausman has been a first responder for three decades. He and other speakers Thursday thanked the police officers, EMS, and firefighters for their bravery that day.

"Police officers responded first, they encountered the bad guy. Paramedics assisted them and went into the building. While officers took the suspect into custody, EMS treated the injured including some of the officers injured," Hausman said. 

Lauren Bairnsfather, the executive director of the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh, said the community remembers every day but on Oct. 27 everyone gathers to remember together. The community showed how Pittsburgh is still stronger than hate.

"It was powerful for me. That's how it was four years ago, everybody wrapped their arms around us. And to be able to be with so many people here today and remember that and feel that love that continues four years later, we are a stronger community, we are stronger together," Bairnsfather said.

Dozens of events, including volunteer opportunities, were organized leading up to Thursday's commemoration ceremony.

The director of the 10.27 Healing Partnership said she wants people to know they're going to continue the ceremony in Schenley Park every year because it's a safe space that allows people to unite in nature.

The commemoration ceremony at Schenley Park celebrated the 11 lives taken in the antisemitic attack on three congregations at the Tree of Life Synagogue. The people who survived and those who helped that day four years ago were also honored. 

The names of those who were killed were read and family members and friends lit candles in memory of them.
There were remarks honoring first responders who risked their lives that day.

Jewish community leaders offered prayers and Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and Councilperson Erika Strassburger said a prayer for our country.

The 10.27 Healing Partnership invited the three congregations impacted, community organizations and the Pittsburgh community to Schenley Park to remember and reflect in spirit and in action. 

Lauren Bairnsfather, the director of the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh also mentioned Judah Samet, who survived the Holocaust and the shooting. 

"I would be remiss if I were not to mention Judah Samet, twice a survivor and noticeably absent from this program today as everyone knows," she said. "He too showed us how to get up and get dressed in the morning after surviving unfathomable tragedy, how to be defiant in the face of those who would harm us. May Judah's memory forever be a blessing." 

The congregations and partner organizations in the Jewish community organized dozens of events with the victims' families leading up to today, including volunteer opportunities, which were coordinated by Repair the World Pittsburgh.

It's one of the darkest days in Pittsburgh history. Four years ago, a gunman went into the Tree of Life Synagogue and started shooting. He killed 11 people from three different congregations: New Light, Tree of Life and Dor Hadash.  

With the rise in antisemitism recently, people are concerned about more hate-filled acts. That rise in hatred is concerning to many people, including the congregations that called the synagogue home.  

In the aftermath of the tragedy at the Tree of Life Synagogue, we saw some of the best in humanity.  

"It's been a very uplifting part of this experience," Dor Hadash congregate Donna Coufal said.  

Neighbors were there for each other and total strangers were offering helping hands to the area's Jewish community during their darkest hour.  

"They have been able to come and support us and help us in our grief in moving forward," New Light Co-President Stephen Cohen said.  

Four years later and some of the hate that led to the attack has been on the rise, and the victimized congregations say it can't go unchecked.  

"It's very important for us to speak out against any injustice, against gun violence, against hatred of any kind," Coufal said.  

"What is necessary is the ability to be able to speak out and when it happens, say something," Cohen said.  

Even people stopping by to pay their respects Thursday say antisemitism is something that needs to be dealt with seriously. It can't be allowed to grow and fester.  

"With what's going on in the Jewish community, they need people to be more supportive of them. I feel that every year, it's in me as a human being to support others going through tough times," D'Rae Wise from Edgewood said.  

Cohen still lives with the trauma of that day. He said we must never forget this tragedy or the lives lost will be in vain.  

"And they have not died in vain. Their memory will last forever," Cohen said.  

Signs outside the synagogue said, "hate has no place here."  People still push to live out the motto made famous after the tragedy of "Stronger than Hate." 

As Pittsburgh looks back on a day the city will never forget, Mayor Ed Gainey reiterated the belief that Pittsburgh is stronger than hate. 

"Four years ago our Jewish Community and city were attacked," Mayor Gainey said in a statement. "Today we commemorate the 11 lives taken from us at the attack at the Tree of Live synagogue and recommit ourselves to the hard work of ending violence, discrimination, and antisemitism every single day.

"As a city, we come together in times of hardship because Pittsburgh is stronger than hate. We as Pittsburghers are welcoming, loving, and accepting of all people – that will never change.

"I hope everyone in Pittsburgh will join us in reflection and remembrance of the 11 lives taken from us and join me in speaking out against the vile hate and antisemitism that continues to this day. May their lives be a blessing for all of us, now and forever."

In a sign of solidarity, the Penguins, Pirates, and Steelers stood together on social media, sending a unified message that Pittsburgh must be #StrongerThanHate. 

Today marks four years to the day since a gunman walked into the Tree of Life Synagogue and killed 11 people on a Saturday morning. 

President Joe Biden released a statement, which you can read in full below. 

On October 27, 2018, a quiet Shabbat morning was shattered by gunfire and hate, and a place of sanctuary became a place of carnage. Twenty-two people were worshipping at the Tree of Life Congregation that day; eleven of them would never return home to their families. Six more were wounded, including four police officers who responded to the scene, in addition to countless others forever scarred by this heinous assault.
 
In the four years since that terrible day, the people of Pittsburgh have shown us what it means to be stronger than hate. Welcoming the community to Torah study sessions. Showing their support for refugees and immigrants. Reimagining the Tree of Life synagogue as both sanctuary and memorial. The courage and character of the Pittsburgh community remains an inspiration to us all.
 
As we grieve this deadliest act of antisemitism in American history, we stand with the community of Squirrel Hill—and Jewish communities across America and around the world—in resolving to combat antisemitism and hate in all of its forms. This is especially true as we witness an ugly increase in antisemitism in America. That's why I established the first Ambassador-level Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism and appointed the renowned Holocaust expert Deborah Lipstadt to the role. My Administration worked with Congress to secure the largest-ever increase in funding for the security of synagogues and other religious institutions. And, at last month's United We Stand Summit, my Administration announced a series of actions and commitments to take on hate-fueled violence. 
 
We are also determined to tackle the scourge of gun violence that has stolen lives from Pittsburgh to Poway, from Newtown to Charleston, from Buffalo to Uvalde, and from countless other communities in between. I've taken historic executive action to reduce gun violence, including by reining in the proliferation of ghost guns. This summer, the Senate confirmed the first permanent head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in more than seven years, and my Administration brought together Republicans and Democrats to pass the most significant gun safety legislation in nearly 30 years. I am committed to building on that progress by banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines—we've done it before, and we can do it again.
 
The Rabbis teach that "what comes from the heart, enters the heart." On this difficult day, our hearts are with the families of the victims, the survivors, and all those impacted by the Tree of Life shooting. May their memories be a blessing, and may we continue to bridge the gap between the world we see and the future we seek.

The Commemoration Ceremony will take place at 4:00 pm on Thursday, October 27, 2022, on Prospect Drive in Schenley Park. 

The space will open to the public starting at 3:00 pm and will feature community activities for all ages, as well as displays of artwork and solidarity.   

"It has been four years, and our healing journey continues. On October 27 we look back, we look around us, and we look forward. We look back to that day and to the feeling of distinct loss; we will always remember and honor the 11 who were taken. We look around, to recognize the new bridges we have built as individuals and as a community. Finally we look forward, to the younger generation that someday will take the lead as we create a world without hate," said Maggie Feinstein, Director of the 10.27 Healing Partnership.

On Wednesday night, a new documentary surrounding the Tree of Life shooting's impact on the community debuted on HBO.

HBO describes the film as 'a deeply personal portrait of the survivors, victims, and family members, who share their harrowing first-hand accounts of the shooting's impact on the community.' For more, click here.

Eleven worshippers were killed during the attack on the synagogue.

They were mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cherished friends.  

PHOTO GALLERY: Remembering The Victims

Pittsburgh's darkest day began as a rainy and dreary October morning like any other in the fall -- but the world's eyes would soon turn to Squirrel Hill, as unthinkable hatred shattered one of the city's most peaceful neighborhoods.

Eleven worshippers were shot and killed inside the Synagogue, as they attended services at each of the three congregations in the building -- Tree of Life, New Light, and Dor Hadash.

KDKA'S Andy Sheehan's report on Oct. 27

Later that evening, it was the young people of Squirrel Hill, students from Taylor Allderdice High School who brought the community together to begin the long process of healing, one which continues today.

The streets of Mister Rogers' neighborhood filled with mourners wanting to pray, sing, cry and remember the lives lost and the lives forever impacted by the terror that rang out earlier that same day.