Pittsburgh, PA—A Jewish community commemoration planning committee today announced initial plans for the upcoming one-year commemoration of the lives lost when three Pittsburgh Jewish congregations—Congregation Dor Hadash, New Light Congregation and Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Congregation—were attacked on October 27, 2018, in the worst anti-Semitic act of violence in U.S. history. The planned events will highlight the theme of the day, “Remember. Repair. Together.”

A public memorial service to remember the lives lost will be held at 5 p.m. at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood. Other activities available to the public earlier in the day will include Torah (Jewish sacred text) study sessions and community service opportunities.

The planning committee arranging the theme and activities for October 27 includes many different organizations affected by the attack, including representatives of the eleven victims’ families; the three congregations in the building at the time of the attack—Congregation Dor Hadash, New Light Congregation, and Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Congregation; the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh; the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh; Jewish Family and Community Services of Pittsburgh; and the Center for Victims. Other representatives included the City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety, the director of the Pittsburgh resiliency center, and other advisors.

“On October 27, 2019, we will commemorate one year since the attack with public events to honor the memories of the deceased and those most closely impacted,” said Rabbi Amy Bardack, planning committee chair and director of Jewish Life & Learning at the Jewish Federation.

“The theme encompasses three elements. ‘Remember’ means recalling the lives that we lost and remembering the attack so that we can prevent future attacks. ‘Repair’ means both repairing emotional wounds in the community and repairing our sense of brokenness in ourselves and in the world. ‘Together’ means that we were heartened by the support we felt from the city, county, many different faith communities and diverse communities, and all over the world. ‘Together’ also means that we are not in this alone.”

Rabbi Amy Bardack, planning committee chair and director of Jewish Life & Learning at the Jewish Federation

Schedules for these events and others still in the planning stage will be available on the official website, PittsburghOct27.org. In addition, the intent of the website is to provide a central location listing the many groups and organizations in and outside Pittsburgh planning events for that weekend.