Mike Elk interviews Jonathan Mayo at a No Kings Protest (Amos Levy)
PITTSBURGH, PA - When I ran into local Jewish activist Jonathan Mayo at a protest wearing an "Immigrant Justice is a Jewish Value" T-shirt from Bend the Arc, I was excited as a Jewish Pittsburgher to see it.
I ran into Mayo just a week before the 7th anniversary of the murder of 11 Jews on October 27, 2018, the Pittsburgh Synagogue Massacre. Every year on the anniversary, I find myself frustrated that few mention that the shooter, Robert Bowers, said that he targeted the organization for their support of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS). The shooter accused local Jews of bringing in the caravan.
Mayo, who lived two blocks away from the massacre, said he likes to wear the shirt around the Squirrel Hill community, where he lives, to remind people of how the neighborhood's collective trauma was linked to Jewish support for immigrants' rights.
"I think we have to remember that, and I don't think enough people in my community do that," says Mayo. "It was a horrific antisemitic attack. But what was underneath that is the thing that is forgotten like the great replacement theory kind of things, that the Jews (are) bringing in these people. I mean that ‘the Jews shall not replace us,’ in Charlottesville. All of that lies underneath the motives of the shooter there."
Eleven Jews, from three different congregations that held services in the building, were killed that day in the largest Jewish massacre in United States history. One of those killed was Dr. Jerry Rabonwitz, a member of Dor Hadash, where I often attend High Holiday services.
Symone Saul had her bat mitzvah in Dor Hadash and knew Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz. She works for the Jewish immigrants' rights advocacy group Never Again Action and frequently likes to remind people of why her congregation was targeted during the massacre.
"It's something that I've been trying to continue to lift up because at the time of the shooting, the news was really flooded with the images of tens of thousands of immigrants walking to the US. They're calling it caravans," says Saul, who works for the group. "And it seems that the shooter Robert Bowers had been exposed to this great replacement theory, claiming the Jews want to replace white people by bringing people of color into the US. And so his response to these caravans was to blame and murder 11 Jews."
Saul says that the memory of those killed in the massacre has motivated her to get more involved in the immigrant rights struggle.
"I believe the best way to honor lives lost through acts of injustice is committing acts of justice. So that's how I try to honor the 11 human beings killed on October 27," says Saul.
Recently, with Trump attacking immigrants, many in the Jewish community have been getting involved in the struggle for immigrants' rights. Earlier this year, some members of Dor Hadash and Jewish activists from Bend the Arc helped to organize a fundraiser that raised more than $18,000 for the Casa San Jose Rapid Response Deportation Defense Network.
The fundraiser was taking place right around the 86th anniversary of the United States turning away the SS St. Louis, which was carrying over 900 Jewish refugees fleeing Hitler. They were denied entry to the United States, and 254 of the passengers would later be killed in the Holocaust when they were returned to Europe.
Harry Hochheiser, a member of Dor Hadash who helped to organize the fundraiser, said Jews, are primarily motivated to help immigrants due to their own history of persecution.
"It's knowing your history, and it's looking back to think, ‘Hey, you know what, what was it like for my grandparents,'" he said. "I can't imagine being turned back or turned away."
His congregation, Dor Hadash, has continued to work with the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society and the Community Sponsorship Program of Jewish Family and Community Services to settle refugees in Pittsburgh. They help find housing, jobs, and medical care, and provide support for families immigrating from other countries.
"There were pleasurable things, too, like sharing meals, museum trips, soccer games, and walks in the park," Dr. Richard Weinberg, chair of Dor Hadasah's social action committee, told the Jewish Chronicle earlier this year. "We orient people to Pittsburgh and show them what the community is about."
Dor Hadash's continued advocacy on behalf of refugees following the massacre has led the congregation to be recognized by the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.
"Even with the trauma that occurred in their community, Dor Hadash has remained deeply committed," said HIAS Rabbi-In-Residence Sarah Bassin in announcing the award. "You could see an organization saying, 'It isn't worth it,' but Dor Hadash leveraged the tragedy to double down on its mission."
Symone Saul says that the memory of those who died continues to inspire her work with the Jewish immigrant advocacy organization Never Again Action.
"Growing up I was surrounded by people like Jerry Rabbinovitz, may his memory be a blessing. Dan Leger, who was brutally shot, but thankfully survived," says Saul. "And just like so many of the members of Dor Hadasah, who see problems in the world, and I continue to look for ways to help and stand up for immigrants’ rights."
