Jeff Salkin

Holding Fast Jeff Salkin

On October 27, 2018, a domestic terrorist murdered 11 Jews during Shabbat services at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. This was both the worst Anti-Semitic attack in America's history and the 12th shooting massacre at an American house of worship in 3 years. Too much blood has spilled, killing upwards of 30,000 Americans every year. The Pittsburgh Shooting Massacre was both Jewish trauma and American blasphemy. The voices assembled in this collection - teens, rabbis, and others - reflect a particular Jewish experience of hatred as well as the understanding that the United States of America is in the midst of a Gun Violence epidemic that violates both sanctuary and street. Every Shabbat Jews pray "It is a Tree of Life for all who hold fast to it." We hold fast to each other - fellow ravaged citizens - as we cry out for more than the necessary healing. We demand an end to the ongoing Gun Violence Epidemic plaguing our nation.