May 5, 2023 | 14 Iyar 5783
Candlelighting 8:02 p.m. | Havdalah 9:06 p.m. | Vol. 66, No. 17 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Chronicle to receive to Lenda volorei ciendi Service non re nus Journalism Award
Day one of the synagogue shooting trial: Judge Colville begins questioning of potential jurors
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Looking ahead, Tree of Life ends one chapter and begins another
Paper recognized for 60-year dedication odictiumqui amusam Et to its readershipandae and community quistium si de net voloritat Page X 5 Page
LOCAL LOCAL Expanding horizons while helping Ovit, ommodi remos ero others
p Alan Hausman, president of the Tree of Life congregation, and Rabbi Jeffrey Myers embrace after the Tree of Life Congregation’s “L’hitraot Ceremony” on April 23.
Photo by Alexandra Wimley/Union Progress
Local teens visit Israel with a purpose, thanks to Classrooms Without Borders Fodictiumqui aut entis andae asimuss
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LOCAL LOCAL Choosing nonviolence as the path to peace Minto volupta ssimim
Palestinian former resistance fighter finds another way forward nus dolorum re pro mi, cuptati Lenda ntibus.
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p Members of the media stand outside of the federal courthouse on Grant Street, on Monday, April 24, ahead of the start of the federal death penalty trial for the man accused of killing 11 worshippers from three congregations at the Tree of Life synagogue building in 2018. Photo by Alexandra Wimley/Union Progress By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer
E
ight floors above Grant Street, inside the Joseph F. Weis Jr. U.S. Courthouse, the deliverance of justice began in the case involving the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. Day one of the trial featured the questioning of potential jurors about the death penalty, their experiences with law enforcement and anticipated hardships if selected for service. Dressed in a black robe and seated on the bench beside an eagle-topped American flag in Courtroom 8C, U.S. District Judge Robert Colville welcomed seven prospective jurors. Jury service is among the “highest and most important duties of the U.S.,” Colville said. “The integrity of this process depends on your truthfulness.” Colville outlined three phases of what could be a “four-month” trial process. Jury selection is expected to take several weeks. Before dismissing prospective jurors to an adjacent room, Colville instructed the group
to avoid discussing the case or the defendant with others. The judge removed his robe, descended from the bench and sat at a desk between attorneys from both parties. Individual jurors were asked to reenter the courtroom. Colville stood, extended his hand and greeted each prospective juror before sharing a copy of the individual’s juror questionnaire, a multipage document — completed weeks earlier — with prompts detailing a prospective juror’s views and potential conflicts. Both Colville and the prospective juror then sat. Colville reminded each juror that despite the awkwardness involved, the intent was to have a general and pleasant, but “serious,” conversation. In doing so, Colville continued, the court and attorneys could determine a prospective juror’s views on the death penalty and ability to dutifully serve in this case.
By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer
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tanding before community members, survivors and loved ones of those killed in the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, Tree of Life Congregation’s Rabbi Jeffrey Myers said “l’hitraot” (goodbye for now) to a beloved space at a ceremony outside the Tree of Life building in Squirrel Hill on April 23. After 71 years of daily religious services — and countless weddings, circumcisions and b’nei mitzvot — significant portions of the structure will be demolished and built again. Myers signaled the transition, and the end of a congregational chapter, by referencing various biblical usages of “etz chayim” (tree of life). “It’s an interesting phrase,” he said. There is a tree of life mentioned in the Garden of Eden. In Proverbs, the words are used to describe wisdom. The Torah — “the source of what makes us Jewish” — is also referred to as a “tree of life,” Myers said. Since its 1864 founding, the congregation has called itself “Etz Chayim,” Myers said, and, like a tree’s manifold leaves, so are the “innumerable joyous celebrations” that have occurred there.
Please see Trial, page 10
Please see Tree of Life, page 10
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