Now more than ever, Jewish Pittsburgh must lead with grace and truth
The Chronicle strives to counter false narratives while amplifying facts.
The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle was proud to be recognized last week by StandWithUs with its Lion of Truth in Journalism Award.
Our small but dedicated staff is tasked with a lot, and our work has become even more challenging since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, unleashing a torrent of antisemitism around the world — including in Pittsburgh. We greatly appreciate our efforts being acknowledged by StandWithUs, an organization dedicated to fighting antisemitism and supporting Israel.
As Israel continues to battle entities determined to extinguish its very existence, lies about the Jewish state — and Jews generally — are spreading rapidly on social media and even through many mainstream news sources. The Chronicle strives to counter these false narratives while amplifying the facts.
Our core mission is to provide local Jewish news. While we run some articles from other Jewish media sources about Israel and Jewish communities around the world — as well stories about the impact of world events on our community — it is not our primary objective to report on events outside of Pittsburgh. Consequently, our coverage of Jewish news happening outside of Pittsburgh is not exhaustive.
We know not all of our readers agree with our editorial decisions all the time. We know this because they tell us — in letters to the editor, private emails and in-person conversations. Frequently, we hear from our left-leaning readers that we are a tool of the right. Conversely, readers who lean right often accuse us of ignoring their concerns and serving as a mouthpiece for the left.
We work intentionally to provide balanced reporting and to publish news articles as well as opinion pieces which represent our diverse community and diverse perspectives. That said, we reject pieces that propagate misinformation about Israel and incite antisemitism. While criticism of the Israeli government and its policies is often legitimate, we do not give a platform to those who deny Israel’s right to exist as a homeland for the Jewish people or to those who espouse opinions that will read as antisemitic to most Jewish Pittsburghers.
In this climate of sharp political and philosophical differences, we have seen rifts in our typically cohesive community. Sometimes, the rhetoric becomes unpleasant, or even inappropriate. As we approach the High Holidays, we urge Jewish Pittsburghers to lean into tolerance, civility and dialogue.
Perhaps that all starts with forgiveness.
As the late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks wrote: “In a world without forgiveness, evil begets evil, harm generates harm, and there is no way short of exhaustion or forgetfulness of breaking the sequence. Forgiveness breaks the chain. It introduces into the logic of interpersonal encounter the unpredictability of grace. It represents a decision not to do what instinct and passion urge us to do. It answers hate with a refusal-to-hate, animosity with generosity…
“Forgiveness means that we are not destined endlessly to replay the grievances of yesterday. It is the ability to live with the past without being held captive by the past. … In the face of tragedy, forgiveness is the counternarrative of hope. It is not a moral luxury, an option for saints. At times it is the only path through the thickets of hate to the open spaces of coexistence.”
We ask our readers for forgiveness if these pages have offended, if we don’t always get it right. Likewise, we urge our community to forgive each other during the upcoming Days of Awe, and to commit to beginning the new year with open minds and open hearts.
As 5786 commences, we pray for many things over which we have little control: the safe return of the hostages in Gaza, a rapid and successful conclusion to the war, and the end of global antisemitism.
And we pray for the things over which we do have control: respect, moral clarity and tolerance of each other.
L’shana tova. PJC
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