Pittsburgh organizations get federal funds for costs related to 10/27 massacre
Funding goes to nine organizations, including the three congregations attacked
Nine local organizations received just over $3.86 million from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime through the Antiterrorism and Emergency Assistance Program (AEAP) to reimburse for costs resulting from the Oct. 27, 2018 attack on three Squirrel Hill congregations that left 11 people dead and seven seriously injured.
The organizations receiving funds are: the Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives at the Senator John Heinz History Center, the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, Jewish Family and Community Services, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, the Center for Victims, Congregation Dor Hadash, New Light Congregation, Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Congregation, and the 10.27 Healing Partnership.
The 10.27 Healing Partnership was founded after the attack “to be a resource for people who are dealing with grief and other emotions as a result of hate-induced violence, and for the larger community in its ongoing response to violence and more specifically to the attack at the Tree of Life synagogue building,” said Maggie Feinstein, director of the 10.27 Healing Partnership in a prepared statement. “This funding is instrumental in being able to fulfill this mission and continue working with our incredible partners in the community and we are humbled to work with so many wonderful community partners.”
The Rauh Jewish Archives will use the funding it receives to archive and digitize items of support sent from around the world, and to create a website showcasing those items and letters.
“These objects are filled with humanity – grief, love, heartache, friendship, pain, and hope,” said Eric Lidji, director of the Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives, in a prepared statement. “We are so grateful for the opportunity to preserve and share these objects, and we hope that this project will help people in their ongoing effort to heal.”
The three congregations that were attacked on Oct. 27, 2018, will receive funds to help defray the costs associated with the anti-Semitic attack.
Funds also will go to organizations that help both the Jewish community at large and people outside the Jewish community, including the Center for Victims, JFCS, the JCC and the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.
“We were honored to help coordinate the one-year commemoration of our city’s solidarity against this terrible, anti-Semitic attack,” says Jeffrey Finkelstein, president and CEO of the Federation in a prepared statement. “Reimbursement of expenses we incurred in the aftermath of the attack will enable us to continue to help Jewish Pittsburgh heal and will free up critical funds for people in need.” PJC
– Toby Tabachnick
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