Statement by Congregation Dor Hadash on the May 14, 2022 mass shooting in Buffalo, NY
The Congregation of Dor Hadash grieves for the victims of the horrific shooting in Buffalo, NY. For the families, we share your loss. For the Black community of upstate New York, we stand in solidarity with you during this awful time.
We call out the false virulently racist and antisemitic ‘Great Replacement’ conspiracy theory espoused by the white supremacist who targeted mostly Black victims, killing 10 and wounding three more. We have seen this before. This racist massacre is the most recent in a string of such attacks. These attacks are inspired by such fantasy conspiracy theories and enabled by the easy availability of firearms with massive destructive power. We remember the killing of nine Black parishioners at the Emanuel AME church in Charleston, SC in 2015, the murder of 11 of our fellow Jews at our synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018, the murder of 51 Muslims at two mosques in ChristChurch, N.Z. in 2019, and the massacre of 23 largely Latino victims at a Walmart in El Paso, TX in 2019. The Great Replacement Theory has been cited by four mass shooters – including those who committed the massacres in Oslo, Norway; Christchurch, NZ; Dayton, OH; and El Paso, TX. Shockingly, nearly one in three Americans now believes this lie.
We must do more to fight back against the racist and antisemitic violence of the far right. We must call out white supremacism wherever it rears its ugly head. Whether online or by conspiracy theorists with platforms on major networks, such as Tucker Carlson’s program on Fox News, the pandering and enabling must stop. We must elect legislators - at all levels of government - who will fight against racism and unfounded conspiracy theories of white replacement. We must elect legislators who will pass common sense gun legislation supported by most Americans, to ensure that white supremacists do not have the means to carry out these horrific massacres.
We must stand together because none of us are safe until all of us are safe.
Who We Are
Congregation Dor Hadash is Pittsburgh’s only Reconstructionist Jewish Congregation. We are inclusive, egalitarian, and member-led. We are an active, socially engaged, community-oriented congregation, and we are passionate about repairing the world (tikkun olam). We are proud of our history of advocating for our vision of a shared society in which diversity is celebrated. Through community and social action, we strive to tear down the walls that divide us while seeking to build a more just, thriving, and inclusive world for all of us.
Our congregants are Jews by birth or by choice; they are single or part of family units; they include people of different races, places of birth, sexual orientations, and gender identities; and they live in households that are of the same or different faiths. Volunteerism and active participation are central to the religious, educational, and cultural life of Dor Hadash.
Our congregants share in the responsibility for ritual programs and in all of the administrative aspects of congregational life.
Covid Safety
Dor Hadash requires in-person attendees to wear high quality masks (KN95, N95, etc.) and be fully vaccinated.
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