Pittsburgh representatives visit Bondi Beach 6 months after terror attack
“All you want is never again,” she said. “Never again should any family have to go through this kind of trauma and tragedy.”
Nearly six months after a Chanukah celebration in Australia was targeted in an antisemitic attack that left 15 people dead, members of Pittsburgh’s Jewish community visited Bondi Beach, Australia, as part of a solidarity mission organized by the Jewish Federations of North America.
Jeff Finkelstein, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, and Maggie Feinstein, executive director of the 10.27 Healing Partnership, took part in the three-day trip.
“It happened because Eric Fingerhut, CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, and Alain Hasson, CEO of the Jewish Communal Appeal, had been talking about a solidarity mission with Federation leadership,” Finkelstein said. “I think Alain was hoping to learn some things from our American Federation and from what’s happened here in Pittsburgh, which is why I went with Maggie Feinstein.”
After visiting The Great Synagogue in Sydney and learning about the history of the Australian Jewish community, Finkelstein said the group traveled to Bondi Beach and Archer Park, where the shooting took place.
“We were on a bridge where one of the shooters was,” he said. “We walked that bridge into the park exactly where everybody had congregated and gathered. We heard a survivor speak and we heard from leadership in the community, as well.”
The group placed a wreath in memory of those murdered and both Finkelstein and Feinstein placed small stones painted by Pittsburgh children at a nearby memorial — a large menorah similar to the one that was being lit at the celebration at the time of the attack.
Finkelstein said being at the site of another mass shooting targeting the Jewish community left him with “a mix of emotions.”
“It’s retraumatizing and triggering to be on the site where 15 attendees at the event were gunned down, because I’ve been in the Tree of Life building. It’s very triggering to see this stuff. On the other hand, it’s really empowering to be there with the community and to be able to meet the leadership of what is, frankly, one of the greatest Jewish communities in the world,” he said.
Feinstein called the cycle of mass shootings “incredibly disheartening.”
“All you want is never again,” she said. “Never again should any family have to go through this kind of trauma and tragedy.”
She said that while each person affected is on their own journey, the Sydney Jewish community is on a “healing journey.”
“There are some similarities [to Pittsburgh] because it is an attack on the ability to gather as a Jewish community joyfully and ritualistically in a way that is meaningful to our people and religion. That’s what was attacked. So, they’re trying to figure out what that means and how do they heal. They’ve started to ask questions about how to support the victims and look at the long-term community healing.”
Finkelstein and Feinstein delivered two presentations while in Australia, something Feinstein found meaningful.
The first presentation, facilitated by Finkelstein, was centered on what happened in Pittsburgh on Oct. 27, 2018, and the community’s immediate response. The second, led by Feinstein, was about the trauma work that’s been done as a community.
She said the two were able to talk about some of the lessons learned after the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting.
“The community had a ton of questions because they knew what to ask. They knew what they’re worried about,” she said.
It’s a unique role that leaders in Pittsburgh and other cities of mass shootings can take on, Feinstein noted, especially concerning the lessons learned and how leadership looks after experiencing a tragic event like the attack in the Tree of Life building. Eleven worshippers from three congregations — Dor Hadash, New Light and Tree of Life — were murdered that day, and six others suffered serious injuries.
“We can give and share with other leaders who understand what problems and challenges there are and we can offer some tangible solutions,” she said.
Nearly 50% of Jewish students attend a Jewish day school in Sydney. Finkelstein and Feinstein visited one of those schools, which was deeply affected by the attack: Nine students lost their fathers, two students were shot, 90 students witnessed the attack, and eight staff members were at the scene of the shooting. Another 50 students were in Israel.
The Pittsburghers also visited the Chabad at Bondi, led by Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who organized the Chanukah event. Schlanger was killed in the attack, but the pair met his widow and father-in-law, who oversees the Chabad center.
And while it may seem like those visiting the Australian Jewish community gave more than they received, Feinstein said that wasn’t true.
“I found incredible meaning and better understanding of those directly impacted and a way to honor the Jewish lives that were taken, and a better understanding of Jewish life in Australia and a sense of shared responsibility to protect one another,” she said.
Finkelstein and Hasson have created a stronger bond, something that began when Finkelstein emailed the JCA head just hours after the Bondi Beach shooting. After his initial email and Hasson’s reply, Finkelstein sent another email with seven points that needed to be considered in the days following the attack.
“We all have our own experiences; their experience is different from ours,” Finkelstein said. “The only thing we can do is tell them what we did really well and the places where we maybe could have done better, and for them to figure out what applies to their community.”
The two have stayed in touch and created what Finkelstein calls a “nice friendship.”
“We’re now part of this club that no one wants to be a member of,” he said. “I think that club is even tighter when it comes to Jewish communities.”
Feinstein said she brought back more than the lessons learned in Australia and memories of the trip.
“I have a whole new understanding of what Federation is beyond Pittsburgh,” she said. “I work a lot with our local Federation, but I don’t think I knew as much about the JFNA until this experience. It provided an understanding of the large work of the Federations.” PJC
David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
comments