'Everyone Is Surprised When Something Hits Close to Home': Rabbi of Neighboring Pittsburgh Synagogue Recounts Trauma

Rabbi Aaron Bisno, leader of the Reform synagogue Rodef Shalom that is close to the Tree of Life synagogue that came under attack Sunday, tells Haaretz that 'we all knew rhetoric of hate could lead to this' and that Trump's comments were 'tone deaf'

Amir Tibon (Washington)

Oct 27, 2018 9:54 PM

WASHINGTON - Rabbi Aaron Bisno, who leads the Reform synagogue “Rodef Shalom” in Pittsburgh, told Haaretz that he wasn’t surprised by the tragic shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh,...

Comments

Sign in to join the conversation.

Sort comments by

1

ICYMI

An envelope that held a letter from Janina Iwanska to her father. The hidden message: “Five female Polish political inmates have escaped. We are preparing a new escape.”

A Brilliant Code to Tell the World About the Nazis

Queen of the Skies: How El Al flight LY001 and the 747 made the Jewish world smaller

How El Al's 747 Connected Israel and the Jewish World

Israel Defense Forces soldiers carrying the coffin of Sgt. Itamar Ilya, one of the members of the elite Shayetet naval commando unit who was killed in a raid in Lebanon on September 4, 1997.

Nasrallah Reveals New Details About Ambush, Killing of 12 Israeli Commandos

Palestinian teen Osama Hajajeh attempting to flee Israeli soldiers, Tuqu, West Bank, April 18, 2019.

Israeli Soldiers Shoot Bound, Blindfolded Palestinian Teen Trying to Flee

Sheshonq's name carved into a block of stone, possibly part of a victory stele, found in Megiddo, northern Israel

Move Over, Moses: A Pharaoh May Have Created the Ancient Kingdom of Israel

Cardinals in the Vatican.

Sex Parties, Drugs and Gay Escorts at the Pope's Residence: Undercover in the Vatican

Then Representative-elect Ilhan Omar attends a press conference in the capitol, Washington D.C., November 30, 2018.

Keep It Up, Ilhan Omar

Jordan Peterson. Has a simple explanation for his extraordinary popularity: In a culture that sanctifies victimhood, he proposes that people confront life’s inevitable pain unflinchingly.

The Enlightment According to Jordan Peterson

Jeroboam I praying to the false idols of the golden calves in the temples of Dan and Bethel, lower section of the lancet window of Solomon from under the main North Rose stained glass window, 1233, on the Northern side of the transept of Chartres Cathedral, Eure-et-Loir, France

Meet the Real King David

FILE Photo: A sloth sleeps while hanging from a tree.

Why Do We Need Sleep? Israeli Scientists Solve the Mystery

An electoral campaign poster bearing the portrait of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the Likud party. Tel Aviv, April 3, 2019

Netanyahu Deserves to Win the Election. And We Israelis Deserve Him

Cyclone Numa

The Forecast: Stronger Hurricanes in the Mediterranean

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a conference on Peace and Security in the Middle East in Warsaw, Poland, February 14, 2019.

With Poland, Netanyahu Discovers the Limits of Playing With History

ILLUSTRATION: Amos Oz

Between Zionism and Hellenism: Amos Oz on Secular Judaism

“Creation of Adam” by Michelangelo at the Sistine Chapel in Rome (c. 1508-1512).

In the Bigynnyng: A Brief History of the English Bible

Benny Gantz outside his home in Rosh Ha'ayin during a protest by members of Israel's Druze community, January 14, 2019.

Benny Gantz, the General Coming to End the Netanyahu Era

Benny Morris and his wife Leah at their home in Srigim.

'Israel Will Decline, and Jews Will Be a Persecuted Minority. Those Who Can Will Flee to America'

An artist’s rendering of Oumuamua. “It waited in place, like a buoy in the ocean, until the ‘ship’ of the solar system ran into it.”

If True, This Could Be One of the Greatest Discoveries in Human History

Iraqi and foreign mercenary members of a private security company, stand on the rooftop of a house in Baghdad, 18 September, 2007.

Infamous Private Paramilitary Firm Blackwater Planning Comeback. First Stop: Syria

The Arous brochure for European tourists.

The Mossad Ran a Fake Diving Resort for Tourists in Sudan. This Is the Incredible Story Behind It