More than 35 people gathered on Syracuse University’s Quad on Tuesday afternoon to share messages of hope in the wake of the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.   

The Chabad House at SU and the Winnick Hillel Center organized the event after 11 people were killed on Saturday in the most deadly attack on Jewish people in United States history. On Sunday, students, faculty and religious leaders mourned the victims of the shooting during a vigil on the steps of Hendricks Chapel.  

At the Quad event, Zalman Ives, associate rabbi and program director at the Chabad House, stressed the importance of doing good deeds in public to benefit the world directly, and not to be intimidated into silence. He urged Jews to continue wearing their Kippahs and Chai necklaces, signs of Jewish faith.  

“The act of terror has two effects,” he said. “There’s the past that we can’t change, but there’s the future which we hold in our hands.” 

Several students walking by took a piece of chalk and began writing words, phrases and symbols on the pavement that represented themes of love, pride, peace and coexistence. 

Levi Kovach, a sophomore environmental engineering major at SUNY-ESF, drew a dove and an olive branch. Underneath he wrote “shalom,” meaning peace in Hebrew. 

Kovach said he wasn’t surprised when he heard about the shooting because “people hate people, and that’s just the reality of where we are today.”  

He said he hopes that the messages left on the Quad will make people think about what they can do to prevent tragedies, and if they’re Jewish, to think about what it means to be a Jew.   

Abigail Ilizirov, a sophomore psychology major, wrote “only peace” in Hebrew with students from her Hebrew class. Ilizirov said the way the victims were killed during Shabbat services scares her. She goes to synagogue every week, she said.  

“The lack of tolerance is unacceptable, especially in a country that’s supposed to represent freedom and freedom of the practice of religion,” Ilizirov said. 

Sunday’s vigil left Ilizirov with a determination to continue attending services, not to be scared, and to spread light and hope because of recent events, she said.  

Zach Weisleder, a freshman broadcast and digital journalism major, also came with his Hebrew class. News of the shooting reminded Weisleder of his family’s history, he said. Weisleder is the grandson of four Holocaust survivors. His grandparents fled Nazi-occupied Europe and came to the U.S. in search of a better life, he said.  

“They lived through mankind’s darkest hour and they came here just to make sure their future generations would not have to deal with this,” he said. “It hurts me to see this happening in a country that so often has been described as one that practices freedom.” 

Jessica Lemons, interim executive director of Hillel, said the Jewish community was appalled, but that they are fortunate to have a strong community in Syracuse.  

“I know that anything that happens to one of us as a people happens to all of us,” she said.  

The most important thing was coming together with Chabad House and being available for the 2,500 Jewish students on campus, she said.  

Lemons said the first step toward healing is understanding other religious and ethnic affiliations to the point where every difference “melts away” and people are seen just as human beings. 

Some people shared messages of optimism.  

“This is an opportunity for us to continue to be resilient and an opportunity for us rise above, to go beyond the call of duty and just show the world that we are a powerful religion,” Weisleder said.

Published on October 30, 2018 at 9:53 pm

Contact Carolina: crespina@syr.edu