'We Are Not Alone': A Week After Deadly Synagogue Shooting, Jewish Leaders Invite People of All Beliefs to #ShowUpForShabbat

An international Jewish advocacy group is urging Americans of all faiths and belief systems to attend Shabbat services at synagogues across the country this weekend, a week after 11 people were shot to death in an anti-Semitic attack at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.

Calling on Americans to join themovement in a show of unity against anti-Semitism and violence, the New York-based American Jewish Committee (AJC) has reached out to religious leaders, elected officials, and other leaders to support the campaign. Many rabbis are expected to dedicate their Shabbat sermons to the initiative.

“The doors of synagogues are open to all,” wrote Seffi Kogen, AJC’s global director of young leadership. “If you consider yourself an ally of the Jewish people, join us in synagogue on Saturday morning. Elected officials: Come stand in solidarity with your constituents… Diplomats: Come and show that your country stands with Jews all over the world. Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, people of any faith and of none: Come and show up for Shabbat with us this Saturday morning.”

“What could be a more fitting response to the terror in Pittsburgh?” David Harris, CEO of the Committee, said in a statement. “We are not afraid. We are not going to think twice about affirming our identity and faith. We are not alone.”

An outpouring of support from many religious communities followed the attack last Saturday, which took place in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood.

Members of the Muslim American community organized a fundraiser that as of Friday afternoon had raised more than $230,000 for the grieving families, while a Sikh leader in Oak Creek, Wisconsin urged worshipers to show the local Jewish community the same compassion that had been extended to them after a shooting at their own temple in 2012.