Residents of Monmouth County are being encouraged to “change the conversation” to promote peace after 11 people were killed and several others were injured by a gunman during an Oct. 27 attack at a Pittsburgh, Pa., synagogue.
On Oct. 29, two days after an individual opened fire while Sabbath services were being conducted in a Jewish house of worship in the western Pennsylvania city, hundreds of people gathered at the Monmouth Reform Temple, Tinton Falls, not only to address a national tragedy, but to combat the alleged hate crime with dignity and offer a response as peacemakers.
“Peace won’t stand still or come visit if we answer the waves of madness with anger,” poet Diem Jones said.
Rabbi Marc Kline of the Monmouth Reform Temple led members of his congregation and other attendees in prayer and offered words of comfort to more than 100 people who came to mourn the lives that were lost in Pittsburgh.
“If you want to know what’s right with this country, take a look at everyone here,” Kline said, noting the diversity of those who were in attendance. That evening, representatives from different religions, political parties and walks of life offered a united front.
“The goal tonight is not to just mourn the loss, because when you mourn the loss, you get stuck in pain … We need to change the conversation to make sure we find ourselves with people we have not been with and to have conversations we have not been willing to have,” the rabbi said.
“We need to listen where we have not been willing to listen because we think in walking through our narrow world we have the answers. If each of us was right, if we had the answers, we all wouldn’t be as divided as we are,” Kline said.
Rev. Nicolle Harris, representing the AME Zion Church, Atlantic City, gave a powerful speech to those in attendance.
“Tonight, we are here because someone violated our sacred spaces,” Harris said. “God does not just dwell in these buildings. He dwells in the person sitting next to you. The person sitting next to you is a scared space.”
In a statement, Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), whose Congressional district includes many municipalities in Monmouth County, said anti-Semitism cannot be addressed by silence. Smith said individuals should outwardly condemn those who make hateful advances toward people of any religion.
“Words are inadequate to convey my, our, outrage and profound sorrow over the loss of 11 precious lives and the wounding of six others, including four courageous police officers, at the Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh.
“Attacked simply because they were Jewish, this barbaric manifestation of anti-Semitism underscores a dangerous and escalating trend both here in the United States and throughout the world. Americans must unite as never before against anti-Semitism in all of its ugly forms,” Smith said.