Pittsburgh is a proud city. A peaceful city. A city that bursts with public pride in itself, its people, its beloved sports teams, and its transformation from steel to tech. It is a city profoundly dedicated to family and friends.
Today Pittsburgh mourns and we all mourn with Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh has a large Jewish community that began settling in Western Pennsylvania just before the Civil War. Saturday witnessed the largest and deadliest individual attack against Jewish Americans in the history of the United States.
The Anti-Defamation League reports a 70% increase in Anti-Semitic attacks between 2016 and 2017. We now see candidates for public office repeating in public the right-wing hateful speech of "Jewish Conspiracies". An African-American "minister" said in 2018 that Jews were his enemies and were "termites".
What happened in Pittsburgh in Saturday didn't just happen. It was bound to happen. And that is a serious problem we all need to confront and address.
Today we are all Pittsburghers.
HR
Why would Ariana Fajardo Orshan and the DOJ let Geoffrey Berman, the US attorney for the SDNY, steal the Sayoc case from her when the case clearly belongs in the SDFL?
ReplyDeleteAre we all Jews today?
ReplyDeleteI am. And I wonder.
The synagogue wasn't shot up because Pittsburgh is a dangerous city. The victims weren't targeted because they lived in Pittsburgh. Sorry, but this isn't about Pittsburgh any more than it's about Miami.
It's about us, the Jews. It's about the ongoing and increasingly virulent anti-Semitism that ripples through certain segments of our society.
We will emerge from this horror as we always have . . . . stronger and better. Because we must.
BTDT
I think I clearly identified that this was an anti-Semitic attack and that this is not unique as the ADL has identified a serious increase in anti-Semitic rhetoric and attacks since 2016 (hmm what else was a change in 2016?).
ReplyDeleteBut the attack happened in Pittsburgh and ALL of Pittsburgh (to their credit) is mourning this attack in the City they love so much. And as much as this attack needs to be identified for the anti-Semitic attack it was, limiting it to Jews-although they were the targets- is not as helpful as expanding the attack to all of Pittsburgh. When MLK was attacked on the freedom bridge with hundreds of other African Americans, the best response was that it was an attack on all of America by racists, not just an attack on black people, although they were the victims.
These weren't just Jews. They were Pittsburgh Jews and American Jews. This is an attack on all of us regardless of where we live or our religion.
SDNY prosecutors the best in the business.
ReplyDeleteYeah I don't see this as a Pittsburgh issue.
ReplyDeleteWhen Isis and Al Qaeda inspired terrorist strikes, the question was always, when was the terrorist "radicalized"? and who radicalized him? Two MAGA crazies heard their presidents "dog whistle" and struck at the targets of his complaints. One of the few crystal clear lessons of history is that you can't give Nazis any breathing room or they will surely grow a violent gang of street head breakers. Just because Trump is a jackass doesn't mean all of his damage is unintentional. He cannot and will not push back on his column of vicious racists because he counts on them to win elections. Remember,even though the named targets of Trumps attacks are latins and blacks, the dogs hearing the whistle think the Jews are behind everything anyway. I wonder how our friends who sold their soul for a tax cut are feeling today?
ReplyDeleteRUMPOLE - I am really heartbroken and sickened about the Synagogue murders. I feel shaken. I used to be an optimist, but I feel so pessimistic about our future. FEAR is endemic to our society. It wasn’t when I grew up in the 60’s and 70’s. FEAR going to pray. FEAR for innocent children in schools. America has lost its innocence. I’m scared RUMPOLE.
ReplyDeleteIs America great again yet?
ReplyDeleteWhat I love is that the Presedentissimo is still calling for attacks on CNN.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteRumpole:
I was just invited to a breakfast next week. The Guest Speaker is new US Atty Ariana Fajardo Orshan. The organization hosting the breakfast is none other than:
The Women’s White Collar Defense Association
invites the South Florida legal community
to join us in celebrating the newly confirmed
U.S. Attorney, Southern District of Florida
Ariana Fajardo Orshan
Tuesday, November 6, 2018
8:00am- 10:00am
Question Rumpole: Is there a Men's White Collar Defense Association? This is just taking it one step too far. I can live with FAWL, CABA, Gay & Lesbian, Gwen Cherry Black Lawyers, Haitian Lawyers, Jamaican American Bar, the Muslim Bar, the Italian American Bar, the Nicaraguan American Bar, the Puerto Rican Bar, the Venezuelan-American Bar, the Caribbean Bar and the Asian Pacific Bar; (I am sure I am leaving some others out). But, the "Woman's" White Collar Defense Association.
What say you Rumpole?
5:56 - I wonder if you even know how to breathe. What an inane post.
ReplyDelete