Letters to the editor
Readers respond
Omission in Joan Apt news obituary
Despite her many civic accomplishments detailed in several recent obituaries, I believe one of Joan’s most honored achievements was her devotion to her late daughter and my late wife Judy (who passed away in 2000). I was deeply disappointed to see that Judy’s name was omitted from your cover article in the February 28 Chronicle (“Joan Apt, arts patron who transformed Pittsburgh theater, dies at 93”). To the Pittsburgh community, who knew both of them very well, this was a blaring omission.
Richard Nathenson
Monroeville
Death penalty for shooter
It is hard for me to believe that anyone in their right mind would not want the death penalty for the Tree of Life shooter. When you prefer life in prison for the shooter, in essence, you are saying that the lives killed meant nothing to themselves or anyone else.
Rochel and I enjoyed many Shabbat and yom tov meals with Sylvan and Bernice Simon at our house. They were like parents to us. We no longer have that precious relationship. Rabbi Harvey and Sandy Brotsky, Rochel and I will no longer have a relationship with our cousin Melvin Wax. Rabbi Harvey and Sandy Brotsky will no longer have a relationship with their closest friend, Daniel Stein.
The 11 people did not deserve to be killed. They were praying to G-d. They didn’t know the shooter, nor did anything to the shooter or against him.
The shooter must be held accountable for his horrendous, cowardly actions. Spending 30 to 40 years or more in prison is not the answer. It would be a slap on the wrist. Don’t forget, if the shooter wasn’t stopped at the Tree of Life, I believe without a doubt that the shooter would have gone to another synagogue or synagogues and wounded and killed more people.
Baruch McDoodle
Pittsburgh
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