September 6, 2024 | 3 Elul 5784
Candlelighting 7:25 p.m. | Havdalah 8:22 p.m. | Vol. 67, No. 36 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Lenda voloreiinciendi A community unity non re nus
Hillel Academy celebrates the grand opening of the Yitzy Sutofsky Campus
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Two Jewish students attacked at Pitt
Hundreds attend vigil in memory of slain hostages Et odictiumqui andae amusam Page 2 quistium si de net voloritat Q&A The imperative of local news LOCAL
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Ovit, ommodi remos ero
An interview with celebrated journalist Martin Baron
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LOCAL Fodictiumqui autinentis andae asimuss Lessons learned Israel
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LOCAL Minto volupta ssimim
Students move onward following internships LOCAL
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“A Patchwork Life” Lenda nus dolorum re pro mi, cuptati ntibus.
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Artist Louise Silk’s retrospective
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Hillel Academy celebrated the renaming of its campus and grand opening on Sept. 1.
Photo by David Rullo
By David Rullo | Senior Staff Writer
H
ow do you commemorate the completion of an $11.5 construction project? If you are Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh, you throw a party with hundreds of your closest friends that includes a Hachnasas Sefer Torah parade, the renaming of your campus, a breakfast honoring the naming of your girls’ high school and a concert featuring musician Eitan Katz. The Sept. 1 celebration occurred less than a week after the beginning of the new academic year and marked the grounds being renamed the Hillel Academy Yitzy Sutofsky Campus. Yitzy was a Hillel Academy student who died in 2023. Principal and Education Director Rabbi Sam Weinberg said he was “emblematic of the school.” “He was an amazing kid and personality, a real role model,” Weinberg said. “He embodied the mission of the school and was someone who was also a great athlete. He loved Torah, loved learning and was a role model and inspiration to a lot of people.” Yitzy’s father, Akiva Sutofsky, who works at the school as a counselor, said the renaming of the campus was “very humbling” and that,
while his emotions were still raw at the loss of his son, he felt blessed. “To name the school that I work at, that my kids went to, that we care so much about, it just means everything to us,” he said. Sutofsky noted that his son, one of five children, loved learning and Torah. It was one of his last wishes that a Torah be written in his honor. The new scroll, “Yitzy’s Torah,” was unveiled at the celebration. Hundreds of people, from as far away as Chicago and New York, attended the ceremony, which took place at the Sutofskys’ home. A parade marched the new Torah through several blocks to Hillel, where it will be housed in the school’s new shul. The celebration attracted not only members of the Jewish community but also several local politicians. City Controller Rachael Heisler said she wanted to be there to honor Yitzy. “What happened to him was absolutely tragic,” she said. “When you can honor someone’s memory in this way it’s very kind.” City Councilmember Barb Warwick said she learned of the event from fellow council
Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh
Photo by Notyourbroom, creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
By David Rullo | Senior Staff Writer
J
arrett Buba, who was arrested on Aug. 30 after allegedly attacking two Jewish students at the University of Pittsburgh, has been denied bail and ordered by Magisterial District Judge Nick Martini to complete a behavioral clinic evaluation at the Allegheny County Jail. The students, who were wearing yarmulkes, were on their way to the Hillel Jewish University Center building for Shabbat dinner after a pre-Shabbos gathering at Hemingway’s Café, according to Daniel Marcus, executive director and CEO of Hillel Jewish University Center of Pittsburgh. Wearing a keffiyeh and a red shirt, Buba allegedly assaulted the students with a glass bottle, hitting them from behind. One of the students eventually wrestled him to the ground and held him until the police arrived. Despite his pro-Palestinian garb — commonly
Please see Hillel, page 10
Home Improvement Special section coming Sept. 13
Andy Dean/Adobe Stock
Please see Attack, page 10