October 25, 2024 | 23 Tishrei 5785
NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Lenda volorei ciendi non re nus Sustaining local news
Candlelighting 6:07 p.m. | Havdalah 7:05 p.m. | Vol. 67, No. 43 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
Voices of resilience: 10/27 survivors share their stories to combat hate
D REACH as her calling. For the first year after her father was killed, "I tried to figure out how to honor his legacy, how to turn my pain into something purposeful,” Kart told the audience. "I knew I had a story to tell but I didn’t know how to make that happen.” She has spoken at her son’s high school twice. “One of the most powerful, and unexpected, things are the students’ reactions,” she said. “They approach us with insightful questions. They share their own traumas and ask how we heal.” Kart’s message is that love and compassion will always triumph over hate. “If I can share my message and make one person a little kinder I will have succeeded,” she said. Wedner said the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting story needs to be told, and people want to hear it. “In my engagements, I emphasize actionable steps,” said Wedner, whose husband, Ron, joined her on stage. “We ask everyone to go forward with us…to go beyond the suffering.” Wedner still grapples with the memory of how her mother died, and said being part of REACH is a way to honor her. Following her presentation, Wedner recounted how students in the Northgate School District were eager to hug her and other presenters. “One girl had just lost her mother,” she said. “We console each other.”
uring an Oct. 9 meeting, the University of Pittsburgh’s Faculty Assembly addressed antisemitism on campus. Faculty Assembly President Robin Kear said the agenda item was a reaction to the recent physical attacks of Pitt students and other antisemitic events in the city, especially in Squirrel Hill, where many faculty members and students live. “I have heard urgent calls for the security of our Jewish students during the month of October, especially,” she said. “I have heard urgent calls for increased attention to antisemitism efforts more broadly on campus, including administratively.” An ad hoc committee on antisemitism will be formed in November to respond to antisemitic incidents affecting Jewish students, Kear added. Addressing those in attendance in person and on Zoom, Ted Fritz, vice chancellor of public safety, said that his core mission is “to protect the faculty, staff and students” of the university, regardless of their beliefs, affiliations or views. Fritz stressed the importance of reporting suspicious activity to the university and its police department, urging people to report anything raising concern, “even if you’re not sure.” Communication is important to the safety of everyone on campus, he said, noting that the university’s social media sites often have information posted about protests and other non-urgent items. The university, Fritz said, has a campus climate assessment team, made up of people from many different schools and departments, tasked with gathering information about what is happening on campus and informing the public safety team about things for which they should be on the lookout. Fritz said that the university also has a threat assessment team that considers risks
Please see Summit, page 14
Please see Pitt, page 14
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Audrey Glickman (left), Andrea Wedner and Ron Wedner were panelists at the Eradicate Hate Global Summit on Oct. 21. Photo by Sally Maxson/Eradicate Hate Global Summit By Deborah Weisberg | Special to the Chronicle
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A look back at the "Workshop" SPECIAL SECTION
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Guidance and advice
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Pitt’s Faculty Assembly addresses antisemitism on campus By David Rullo | Senior Staff Writer
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Musician and educator joins Yom Limmud
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oon after Rose Mallinger was murdered with 10 others in the Tree of Life building on Oct. 27, 2018, her granddaughter Amy Mallinger knew that she needed to tell the story of her loss. “I wanted to keep my bubby’s spirit alive,” said Mallinger, 31, whose aunt Andrea Wedner, Rose’s daughter, was severely wounded in the mass shooting. “It was very healing, and I found that other survivors wanted to tell their stories, too.” With that belief, Mallinger co-founded REACH (Remembering, Educating and Combating Hate), a speakers bureau of the 10.27 Healing Partnership, whose mission includes providing communities with resources of resilience and strength, and inspiring others to combat hate in all forms. Since REACH’s launch, with the Partnership’s Ranisa Davidson, just over a year ago, Mallinger and other survivors have visited more than a dozen schools and organizations in western Pennsylvania and beyond, with more planned, including in Salt Lake City in November. REACH volunteers discussed the growing impact of their work on a panel “Investing in Survivor Narrative: Building a Sustainable Speakers Platform” Oct. 21 at the Eradicate Hate Global Summit 2024 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Jodi Kart, 58, lost her father, Mel Wax, in the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting and regards
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