A message from Bend the Arc and Jewish educator Raven Schwam-Curtis — watch the video here.
Seven years ago, the deadliest act of antisemitic violence in American history took the lives of 11 beloved Jewish community members in Pittsburgh.
As we mark today’s yahrzeit, my prayer is that we continue to work together for a country where every person can live with freedom, safety, and belonging — no matter how we pray, what we look like, or where we come from.
We explain in our new video how the antisemitic, anti-immigrant, and racist lies spread by Trump and MAGA politicians motivated the shooter in 2018, and continue to pose a threat to our collective safety today.
We recorded this video with our friend and Jewish educator Raven Schwam-Curtis to explain more.
While we must fight antisemitism wherever we see it, I have deep clarity that the greatest threats to Jewish safety in the U.S. today are Trump and the Republican party. At Bend the Arc, our work to defeat their hateful movement is rooted in a deep love for our families, our neighbors, and our futures.
But we can’t do it alone. The Pittsburgh synagogue shooting is one of the clearest examples we have of how — as Jews, immigrants, people of color, and allies — our fights for safety are intertwined.
We knew then and we know now that our safety lies in solidarity. Our opposition will use every tactic to try to pull apart our pro-democracy movement, from smokescreen antisemitism to anti-Muslim bigotry and racism. We must see through these attempts and stay in coalition (even across disagreement) to win the future we dream of.
As Raven shares in the video, “May the memories of our mishpacha be a blessing, and a catalyst for the solidarity required for safety and equity.”
Watch and share our new video marking the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting yahrzeit here.
In mourning and eternal hope,
Jamie Beran
CEO, Bend the Arc
May their memories be for a blessing:
Joyce Fienberg
Richard Gottfried
Rose Mallinger
Jerry Rabinowitz
Cecil Rosenthal
David Rosenthal
Bernice Simon
Sylvan Simon
Daniel Stein
Melvin Wax
Irving Younger
May the Tree Of Life, Dor Hadash, and New Light congregations be surrounded by love and support.
