Tree of Life Congregation leaders, including a rabbi who survived the Pittsburgh synagogue mass shooting, said they hope the community can heal and move forward after convicted shooter Robert Bowers was sentenced to death Wednesday.
Rabbi Jeffrey Myers of the Tree of Life Congregation, who survived the 2018 attack, thanked the jury for its work in a statement.
“In the years we have spent waiting for this trial to take place, many of us have been stuck in neutral,” Myers wrote in a statement. “It was a challenge to move forward with the looming specter of a murder trial. Now that the trial is nearly over and the jury has recommended a death sentence, it is my hope that we can begin to heal and move forward.”
Alan Hausman, president of the Tree of Life Congregation, said Wednesday’s decision “marks a new chapter at Tree of Life.”
“I am thankful for the thoughtful deliberation and hard work of all who got us to today’s decision,” Hausman said. “Nothing about this process has been easy. I will forever be grateful for all those who have helped our congregation these past four-plus years: the public safety department and law enforcement officers, our fellow Pittsburghers, and people of all faiths and backgrounds from across the country and around the world.”
