PITTSBURGH – Members of the Tree of Life community, including survivors and family members of victims of the worst antisemitic attack on U.S. soil, today welcomed the launch of a national strategy to counter antisemitism.

“Curtailing and eventually ending antisemitism cannot wait. Our family has been touched by antisemitism in a very profound way, and if the federal government can create programs to help reduce this proliferation then we offer support wherever and however we can,” said the Mallinger family, which includes Andrea Wedner, Alan Mallinger and Stanley Mallinger. Their mother, Rose Mallinger, was among the eleven Jews from three congregations murdered while worshiping on October 27, 2018. Andrea survived the incident.

Rabbi Jeffrey Myers of the Tree of Life Congregation, who also survived the attack, added: “My community knows the pain of antisemitic violence all too well and we continue to grapple with its long-reaching consequences. The launch of the National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism affirms what I’ve long known to be true: Antisemitism is not just a Jewish problem. It is everyone’s problem, and we are all bound to actively work toward its end. While I welcome the national plan, today is a bittersweet moment for me – I am proud that our leaders understand the urgency and importance of countering antisemitism in a comprehensive way, but grieve the levels of antisemitism in the country that required the need for a plan in the first place.”

Carole Zawatsky, CEO of the Tree of Life, a national institution dedicated to uprooting antisemitism housed at the site of the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, said: “The launch of a comprehensive strategy to root out antisemitism in this country is historic. In the United States, antisemitism is especially insidious. It destroys lives and families, and is woven into how people view the world, fueling mistrust and undermining democracy. The plan’s four pillars – which mirror our mission at the new Tree of Life – are evidence that this administration understands how critical it is to improve education and understanding while also mobilizing people of all ages and backgrounds to take action against identity-based hate. Jewish tradition teaches us that while we may not complete the work, neither can we desist from it. Our work then in pursuit of a more perfect union is to be an active participant in the effort to rebuild a world without antisemitism and hate. It will take all of us and we look forward to working in collaboration with the administration to uproot antisemitism and build caring communities rooted in love and hope.”

Michael Bernstein, chair of the Tree of Life Interim Governance Committee: “Over the past four and a half years since the attack, as incidents of antisemitism rose, many of us – myself included – have felt compelled to do something, to take action in response to the antisemitism populating our headlines and the smaller incidents that go unreported but still cause immense harm. Antisemitism and hate are learned at the kitchen table and reinforced, even if unintentionally, in classrooms across the country because of disinvestment in and subversion of historical and humanities education. The plan unveiled today by the Biden Administration begins to reverse that trend by promising a strategic approach to improve understanding of antisemitism and the threat to us all and to build community solidarity that seeds collective action.”

May 25, 2023

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