April 21, 2023 | 30 Nissan 5783
Candlelighting 7:47 p.m. | Havdalah 8:49 p.m. | Vol. 66, No. 16 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
NOTEWORTHY LOCAL “Know something, something, Lenda volorei ciendido non re nus be something”
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Family of Pittsburgh synagogue Rabbis Barbara shooting victims supports and Ron Symons pursuing death penalty against to leave accused gunman Pittsburgh in 2024
Allderdice classandae of ’73amusam gives back Et odictiumqui quistium si de net voloritat
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LOCAL LOCAL A foodie’s take on the land of milk and Ovit,honey ommodi remos ero
p Rabbi Ron Symons (left), Rabbi Barbara Symons and their children
Photo provided by Barbara Symons.
p Rosenthal family
Culinary delights in the Jewish state Fodictiumqui aut entis andae asimuss
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LOCAL LOCAL Jewish films from around the world Mintoto volupta ssimim come Pittsburgh
JFilm Festival celebrates 30 years Lenda nus dolorum re pro mi, cuptati ntibus.
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By Andrew Goldstein | Contributing Writer
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he sisters of two victims of the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue massacre said Friday that they supported the federal government seeking the death penalty against the accused gunman in his upcoming trial. Diane and Michele Rosenthal said in brief remarks that they wanted the suspect to face the death penalty, despite reports claiming families of all of the victims do not believe the government should pursue capital punishment. “Many of the news articles and broadcasts claim to represent the deceased victims’ families’ decision on the trial and the death penalty, but those views have not come from the families affected,” Diane Rosenthal said. “Instead, they’ve come from individuals of the congregations, elected officials and others who think they know what’s best for the families.” The Rosenthal sisters lost their brothers, Cecil and David, in the Oct. 27, 2018, massacre that left 11 dead in total between the three congregations holding services inside of the Tree of Life building: Tree of Life*Or
Photo courtesy of the Rosenthal family
L’Simcha, New Light and Dor Hadash. Six other people were wounded in the attack, including four Pittsburgh police officers. Jury selection, for the trial that is expected to last several months, is set to start Monday. Some have expressed concerns the trial could retraumatize survivors, families of victims and the community, and that a plea deal could be made that spares the suspect’s life and avoids further court procedures. But Michele Rosenthal said the idea runs counter to her family’s wishes and “plays right into the hands of the ongoing transparent strategy by the defense to delay in hopes of achieving this result.” “Our family has suffered long and hard over the last four-and-a-half years,” she continued. “We don’t want to have to continue to defend ourselves and our position. We want justice. We want the legal system to work as it should and have the perpetrator brought to trial and judged by a jury based on the facts of the case.” Diane Rosenthal also noted seven of Please see Rosenthal, page 8
By David Rullo | Staff Writer
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fter 17 years serving as the spiritual leader of Reform congregation Temple David in Monroeville, Rabbi Barbara Symons said that she will step away from the bima when her contract ends in June 2024. Symons said she plans to move to New York with her husband, Rabbi Ron Symons, senior director of Jewish Life at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh. “We have no push factors. We only have pull factors,” she said. “Our family, which now includes our kids, are in New York or more likely to be in New York than Pittsburgh. Our extended families are in the New York City area largely, and our lifelong friends are in that area. That is why we decided to make this move.” Symons is originally from upstate New York, and her husband is from Long Island. Both rabbis attended Hebrew Union College in New York. Rabbi Ron Symons, who founded the Center for Loving Kindness at Pittsburgh’s JCC, said that over the next 15 months he will work with the organization’s leadership to advance the center’s cause “so that it exists beyond my presence here.” His imminent departure comes during a period of transition for the JCC. Longtime Please see Symons, page 8
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