“Unfortunately, Jews aren’t safe in a lot of places in the world,” Slaton said. “Security in many European countries — France particularly, there’s been a spate of murder of Jews, not on the scale that we’ve seen here but it’s happened before and we’re just devastated.”
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Slaton said he planned to keep a joint community vigil Monday evening between Beth Israel and Middletown’s Temple Beth Sholom “small and local.” A community vigil held Sunday evening at the Mayerson JCC in Amberley Village saw more than 1,200 people participating, according to the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati.
“It was very heartening,” Slaton said. “There were also Christians there, there were Sikhs, there were Muslims … someone said they saw someone from the Buddhist community … so it was really quite something to see this support from across the religious spectrum.”
Beth Israel Congregation received emails from a number of ministers and, on Sunday, flowers on the front step of the synagogue with a note saying: “I stand with you, I stand for you. With love, Arlene from Fairfield.”
“All people of good will and faith are horrified by this,” Slaton said.
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Slaton said Beth Israel Congregation is also heartened by the Hamilton Police Department, which told him officers would be checking on the synagogue and its congregants to ensure they are safe.
Rabbi Haviva Horvitz of Middletown’s Temple Beth Sholom said she has received phone calls and text messages from the area’s non-Jewish clergy — some of whom she knows and others that she does not — showing signs of support in the wake of Saturday’s tragedy.
“It’s been very heartwarming … very comforting,” Horvitz said.
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The Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati issued a statement Sunday that its members are “horrified and deeply saddened by the hateful, evil shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.”
The center, which is located in Butler County’s West Chester Twp., offered its condolences for the innocent lives taken and said it stands “in full support with solidarity towards our Jewish brothers and sisters.”
“Hate against one is hate against all of us,” read the organization’s statement. “We will not stand for any such hate as people of faith and as a nation.”
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ICGC said it’s imperative that people of all faiths stand up and condemn all such acts of terror and that it stands to protect the sanctity of all houses of worship.
The Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati stays “firmly committed” to its long history of Muslim-Jewish dialogue and collaboration with our regional Jewish partners, according to Shakila Ahmad, chair of the center’s board.
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“I personally am recommitting myself stronger than ever to be even more deeply engaged at the national level with the Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council, a collaborative venture between the American Jewish Committee and the Islamic Society of North America along with 80 national leaders, whose purpose is to combat hate crimes against our minority communities and to celebrate the contributions of each,” Ahmad said. “This is needed more than ever and we ask all to join us in this critical work.”
At a vigil held Sunday night at Mason’s Jewish Discovery Center Sunday, Rabbi Yosef Kalmanson quoted King Solomon saying “a little light dispels a lot of darkness.”
“Positive actions that we do today are acts of light and goodness that will dispel some of the darkness,” Kalmanson said. “As Jews, every act of violence should be a catalyst to promote even greater peace and understanding between human beings. Every act of darkness should inspire us to increase with even more acts of light, goodness and kindness.”
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Jewish people, Kalmanson said, will continue to walk to their synagogues proudly.
“We will not cower in fear, for to allow fear to dominate our thinking and feelings is to give in to the hatred of those around us,” Kalmanson said. “We will double down in our security procedures and act responsibly to protect ourselves, but to move into a fear state and start barricading ourselves is regression back to times that are now in our history. We live in a kind and benevolent country and we ought to use the goodness that lives in the hearts of so many around us to nurture a more loving and kind world.
“We will move forward with strength and resolve, as we have done many times over our long history.”
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Rabbi Noah Ferro, of Northern Hills Synagogue-Congregation B’nai Avraham in Deerfield Twp., said several members of the synagogue attended Sunday’s vigil at the Mayerson JCC.
“We were deeply moved by the sympathy and solidarity which came from beyond the boundaries of our extended Jewish family,” Ferro said. “With all the love and support of our friends and neighbors in Muslim, Sikh, Christian, and other communities, we will continue to gather in prayer, study, and celebration. As we move forward from this dark moment, our hearts are filled not with fear, but with hope.”
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