Tree Of Life Leaders Offer Support For Lewiston While Preparing For Five-Year Commemoration Of Synagogue Attack

By Madeline Bartos, CBS Pittsburgh

October 26, 2023

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Leaders of the Tree of Life congregation say news of the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, is reopening wounds as they prepare to mark five years since the attack on their synagogue.

On Friday, it will be five years since a gunman opened fire at a synagogue in Squirrel Hill where three congregations worshipped, killing 11 people. Less than 48 hours before, the governor of Maine said a mass shooting left at least 18 people dead and 13 others injured.

Carole Zawatsky, CEO of the reimagined Tree of Life, and survivor Rabbi Jeffrey Myers of the Tree of Life Congregation released statements on Thursday, saying their planning and remembrance commemorating five years since the attack was interrupted by the news of another mass shooting.

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