Tree of Life members envision return to worshipping at temple
Nearly a year after the murderous assault on the Tree of Life synagogue, the congregation Friday announced a vision of returning to the worship site with a new set of civic partners.
But it still has not decided the emotionally fraught question of whether to renovate or replace the synagogue building, where the slayings of 11 worshippers occurred.
The congregation on Friday issued a lengthy statement envisioning a return of Jewish worship at the Squirrel Hill location, which has been closed since the attack Oct. 27. It also envisions a memorial to the slain and shared space or programming with the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh and Chatham University.
Particularly evocative would be a relocation of the Holocaust Center, whose expanding mission includes education on anti-Semitism, to the scene of its deadliest manifestation in U.S. history. “This is the best way we could think of to honor the 11,” said Lauren Bairnsfather, its director.
The center has signed a letter of intent to explore the partnership, which would enable it to relocate from its cramped Greenfield storefront space into an area where it could make more of its library, exhibits and programming accessible to the public.
“Since last year, so much of the time and efforts of the Holocaust Center have been in education around anti-Semitism,” she said. “You can draw a line from historic anti-Semitism to the Holocaust to what happened” Oct. 27.
In the statement Friday, Rabbi Jeffrey Myers and other officials with the Squirrel Hill congregation reaffirmed their long-stated pledge to return to “the building.”
But Barb Feige — executive director of Tree of Life / Or L’Simcha Congregation, as it is formally known — said it’s still not determined what the building plans will be.
“Will it be a renovated building or a completely new building? We don’t know. We aren’t there yet,” she said.
Several survivors and relatives of victims have said it would be difficult to resume worshipping in the parts of the Tree of Life building where the killings took place.
The only firm decision that has been made, said Jeff Letwin, co-chair of the congregation’s steering committee, is that the congregation will not abandon the current site at Wilkins and Shady avenues.
“That won’t happen,” he said. “Because the congregation wants to be there.”
So, too, do members of New Light Congregation, which currently meets at Congregation Beth Shalom in Squirrel Hill.
“We are still committed to returning to the building, but it always has been under what conditions and how, and now that they’ve announced a vision, we
are only now beginning that conversation,” said Stephen Cohen, co-president of New Light.
Dor Hadash, which along with Tree of Life is currently worshipping at Rodef Shalom Congregation in Shadyside, “plans to stay at Rodef at this time,” said its president, Donna Coufal. “We do, of course, support any effort that is inclusive of the Jewish community and look forward to sharing ideas and activities with all involved.”
Mr. Letwin said both congregations “are welcome should they decide that this would be a good home for them. If they choose another location, we would understand and wish them the best.”
Chatham University, whose campus is in Squirrel Hill, already had a connection with Tree of Life before the massacre, co-sponsoring events such as lectures and concerts.
“By all means we are willing to be a part of that exploration” into using the site in the future, said spokesman Bill Campbell.
Tree of Life president Sam Schachner told members of the congregations about the vision for the site last week during observances of Yom Kippur. “We will be resilient, and we will be strong,” he said in a statement.
Tree of Life said it is pursuing a “Community Collaborative/Cooperative” idea for the site in whatever form it ultimately takes.
The site would include memorial space created in consultation with the victims’ families, but it’s not determined yet whether a public monument would be on that site or elsewhere.
Mr. Letwin said he hopes his committee can answer by the end of March the question about whether it would need to demolish the building, or if it can renovate the existing structure to meet the needs of the vision the congregation has set out.
Either way, Tree of Life said it will need to raise money in a capital campaign beyond the several million dollars that has been contributed over the past year in the wake of the attack, for which a suspect is awaiting trial.
Tree of Life will hire a consultant to implement what it called “a national capital fundraising campaign.”
The success of that campaign could determine whether any plan can be carried out, Mr. Letwin said.
“What we build can be constrained by how much money we can raise,” he said.