Pittsburgh

By Jeff Long

In our ever-churning news cycle, the title of this column may not be immediately understood. Let me remind readers. One week ago, a 46-year old anti-Semitic gunman walked into a Saturday morning Shabbat service and opened fire on worshippers at Tree of Life synagogue -- mortally wounding 11 people and injuring still more.

That synagogue is in my hometown. I've walked past it.

I left Pittsburgh a long time ago. Missouri has been home for the last 30 years. My wife and I intend to live out the rest of our days here and when transition comes, we'll be buried in northwestern Pennsylvania. We'll be laid to rest in lots already purchased and which lay just over a stone's throw from the house in which Lois spent her teenaged years. When death comes, we'll go home -- and home, for us, is the greater Pittsburgh area.

Pittsburgh is a city of neighborhoods. The Squirrel Hill neighborhood is the most solidly Jewish enclave in the city. In my time there, the sight of men wearing yarmulkes, the smell of fish, and the sound of commerce were commonplace.

In Pennsylvania, the sale of hard liquor is confined to what are called "state stores." There is such a store at the base of Squirrel Hill. It's a landmark of sorts. From there, you walk straight up a steep incline, past stores, homes, and at least one bullet-ravaged synagogue.

The Tree of Life synagogue actually houses three small Jewish congregations, which all meet at the same time in different parts of the building. It's a matter of economics. Bricks and mortar cost money. The biggest threat to the survival of American Judaism is not hate crimes -- as awful as October 27 was -- but assimilation. Judaism is not an evangelical faith, so there is no active proselytizing, and in a predominantly Christian culture, its numbers are steadily in decline. You do what you can to keep going.

I keep reading that anti-Semitism is on the rise in America. Those hostile to Jewish folk and who claim the name Christian ought to remember that the Jesus of history was a Jew from birth to death. A religion was founded in Jesus' name but he was resolutely a member of the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I'm often surprised how many Christians don't know that basic fact. If you love Jesus, it is inconceivable how you can also hate Jews. The truth is, if you hate Jews, you can't truly love Jesus Christ.

The life of Jesus, as portrayed in the New Testament, our only real source for information about him, shows a man of peace: "Do not resist an evil person" (Matthew 5:39a); "If a man slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him your left as well" (Matthew 5:39b); "Those who live by the sword will die by the sword" (Matthew 26:52).

It is hard for me, considering the above verses, to imagine Jesus condoning advice about how to respond to the latest act of terrorism -- which is to put an armed guard in the synagogue. Meet force with force. Shoot.

Pittsburgh's mayor, Bill Peduto, immediately rejected that thought as ineffective.

I've been a member of a rifle club. My wife and our daughters have fired weapons at targets. I'm no opponent of guns. But it is one thing to fire at inanimate objects. It is still another to turn a weapon on another human being in a crisis situation, with only seconds to make a decision, with no time to deliberate, and pull a trigger.

Last week it was Pittsburgh. Soon it will be another American city or town. There's got to be another solution than simply meeting force with force. There's got to be a better way than simply pull the trigger. Some suggest put more money in state mental health budgets. That'll help, surely. But there's a faster way -- empower law enforcement at the federal level with rapid response teams when hateful speech is put on social media. Yes, it'll cost more than putting a rent-a-cop inside a place of worship. A few folks on my own Facebook feed sometimes post some awfully dark and troubling thoughts. I suppose, reader, you could say the same. The deranged use these online tools too. The killer of nearly a dozen people in Pittsburgh last weekend did. Social media has become more reliable than a resume. Will we start embracing methods that have a real chance of stopping these atrocities? We haven't yet -- and I sense it won't happen in my lifetime.