With the verdict announced in the trial of the perpetrator of the attack on worshippers at Congregation Dor Hadash, New Light Congregation and Tree of Life Congregation, our sympathy and prayers go to the families of the victims, survivors and first responders directly affected; to these congregations who lost loved members; and to all of the people traumatized by this crime. We remember and honor the eleven victims: Joyce Fienberg, Richard Gottfried, Rose Mallinger, Jerry Rabinowitz, Cecil Rosenthal, David Rosenthal, Bernice Simon, Sylvan Simon, Daniel Stein, Melvin Wax and Irving Younger.

We are grateful to the prosecution team for their meticulous process to seek justice for the victims, and we are grateful to the jury for their time and dedication in reaching this sentence. This trial shows that our justice system can work by giving a voice to the voiceless and by ensuring that we, as a society, can bring the perpetrator of this horrendous attack to account.

As this chapter comes to a close, we reflect on the strength and resilience of Pittsburgh’s Jewish community and the entire community. Although healing is not a linear process, together we have supported people in need of mental health services and ensured that we stay safe from harm. In the wake of the horrors of the worst antisemitic attack in U.S. history, our community neither retreated from participating in Jewish life nor suppressed our Jewishness. Instead, our community embraced our Jewish values—strengthening Jewish life, supporting those in need, and building a safer, more inclusive world.

We will continue to help people through the long healing process and to honor those who were taken from us by remaining a proud, vibrant, visible, strong, and connected Jewish community, now and for generations to come.