Tree of Life shirts add ‘Words Matter’ to message
New Light Congregation, one of three victimized by the Tree of Life massacre on Oct. 27, announced Monday that it has expanded the wearable message of the survivors and friends in the community by adding a second admonition to the popular “Stronger than Hate” shirts.
The new shirts, according to congregation co-president Stephen Cohen, will say both “Stronger than Hate” and “Words Matter.”
“The officially licensed black tshirt features the modified Pittsburgh Steelers logo on the front and the message ‘Words Matter – Never Forget’ with the date and the names of the affected congregations on the back,” according to New Light’s news release.
“It is my experience that words precede action,” Mr. Cohen explained in the news release. “We can only be stronger than hate when we take responsibility for the words we say and write. We must stand together against the hate speech that triggered the mass shooting at Tree of Life. We must stand together against anti-Semitism. We must stand together against all hate speech. Our losses must never be forgotten, and the messages on this t-shirt will teach and remind us all.”
According to Mr. Cohen, New Light introduced the design for the shirts during its January visit to the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C., where nine black worshippers were killed in 2015 by a white supremacist.
In the days prior to the Tree of Life massacre, social media posts attributed to Robert Bowers on the site Gab.com targeted HIAS, formerly the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, which helps federally approved refugees of all faiths to settle in the U.S. Referring to HIAS, he
posted: “You like to bring in hostile invaders to dwell among us?” On the morning of the massacre, he posted: “HIAS likes to bring invaders that kill our people. I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I’m going in.”
Mr. Bowers, 46, of Baldwin Borough, faces 63 federal criminal counts, some of which carry the death penalty, in relation to the massacre. He has pleaded not guilty. He also faces state counts, including homicide and ethnic intimidation.
“Words matter. When the public constantly receives hate messages, online, on air and in print, some people feel it is their duty to do something,” Mr. Cohen wrote in New Light’s news release.
The shirt sales benefit the congregation and its victims and families.
The new shirt is available at https://strongerthan-hate-shirt.com/ or https://www.newlightcongregation.org/.