‘I didn’t see evil’
Temple killer’s Jewish nurse speaks
A Jewish nurse who treated the anti-Semitic Pittsburgh synagogue shooting suspect after the massacre “didn’t see evil” when he looked into the killer’s eyes — and acted out of “love” to save his life.
Ari Mahler, an ER nurse at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, wrote a lengthy Facebook post about his actions to save Robert Bowers, 46, who was taken to the hospital after allegedly killing 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue on Oct. 27.
“I am The Jewish Nurse,” his 843-word message began. “Yes, that Jewish Nurse . . . The trauma nurse in the ER that cared for Robert Bowers who yelled, ‘Death to all Jews,’ as he was wheeled into the hospital.”
Mahler acknowledged his anxiety at revealing himself as one of the unidentified Jewish medical workers reported to have tended to wounds Bowers sustained in a shootout with police.
“I just know I feel alone right now, and the irony of the world talking about me doesn’t seem fair without the chance to speak for myself,” Mahler said in the post, which had been shared more than 160,000 times as of Monday.
He attributed his actionon to love, which “in the face of evil gives others hope.”
“The meaning of life is to give meaning to life, , and love is the ultimate e force that connects all l living beings,” he said.
He recalled his own ex-experience with anti-Sem- - itism growing up as a rabbi’s son. “I found drawings on my desks of my family being marched into gas chambers, swastikas drawn on mmy locker, and notes sh shoved inside of it saying, in ‘Die Jew. Love, Hitle ler,’ ” Mahler wrote. His father, Mark Joel Mahler,M retired in June a as rabbi of Temple Emanuel of South Hills, also in Pittsburgh, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Ari Mahler also admitted that the shooting “doesn’t shock me.”
“It’s only a matter of time before the next one happens . . . My heart yearns for change, but today’s climate doesn’t foster nurturing, tolerance, or civility,” he said.
Bowers has pleaded not guilty to all charges, including murder and hate crimes, in the slaughter, which has been called the worst anti-Semitic attack in US history.
Still, Mahler said, “To be honest, I didn’t see evil when I looked into Robert Bowers’ eyes. I saw something else.”
Citing medical privacy laws, he did not elaborate.
He said he was certain Bowers was unaware he was Jewish.
“Why thank a Jewish nurse, when 15 minutes beforehand, you’d shoot me in the head with no remorse?” Mahler wrote.
“I didn’t say a word to him about my religion. I chose not to say anything to him the entire time. I wanted him to feel compassion. I chose to show him empathy. I felt that the best way to honor his victims was for a Jew to prove him wrong.”