Coming together out of ‘darkness’

In the aftermath of the heinous anti-Semitic killings in Pittsburgh, the reaction in this region was an appropriate blend of grief, anger, concern for personal safety and, most importantly, a coming together. Good people spoke up and stared down the hatred that manifested itself Saturday in the shooting rampage at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh that claimed the lives of 11 Jews gathered for Shabbat.

On Saturday, it was a professed hatred of Jews that led to the slaughter.

But hatred lurks in dark places throughout the country and can erupt against just about any group.

We’re in a burst of this venom now. Witness the political attacks of just days ago, with more than a dozen pipe bombs sent to Democratic Party figures, other private individuals who have been critical of President Trump, and a media outlet.

Witness the 2017 shooting attack in Virginia on Republican members of Congress practicing for a charity baseball game.

Yes, we can tighten security.

But armed guards in every synagogue, church or mosque — or, for that matter, every school, movie theater, baseball field, restaurant, library and so on — is simply not possible, nor, many experts agree, much of a defense at all.

Even a trained police officer would be in an untenable situation should a madman with an assault rifle burst on the scene, semi-automatic weapon blazing.

Once again, it is a complex problem.

Certainly there will be renewed calls for gun control, particularly focusing on the role of a weapon designed for speedy, maximum killing, in the hands of civilians.

The accused killer in Pittsburgh was armed with not only three handguns, but also with an AR-15, what an FBI investigator called an “assault rifle.”

Congress, though, remains in paralysis on the topic.

Locally, Jewish leaders from various congregations, like Rabbi Jim Prosnit, of Bridgeport’s Congregation B’nai Israel, and Simeon Wohlberg, president of Congregation Agudath Sholom in Stamford, have spoken of increased police protection for their facilities.

Though Saturday’s attack was aimed at Jews, the simmering hatred has many targets.

In Bridgeport, the attack was unsettling to its considerable Muslim community, which expressed condolences for — and solidarity with — the Jewish community.

Ahmed Ibrahim, a Fairfield University economics professor who is the head of the Bridgeport Islamic Community Center, noted that his community also lives with an ever-present concern of security.

He expressed this sentiment: “We stand with our Jewish friends. They, like us, need to be proud of who they are, and we can’t be intimidated by these horrible acts of violence.”

Perhaps Rabbi Shlame Landa, co-director of Chabad of Fairfield best summed up the need for unity in response to evil: “You’re never going to defeat darkness with more darkness.”

On Saturday, it was a professed hatred of Jews that led to the slaughter. But hatred lurks in dark places throughout the country and can erupt against just about any group.