Jewish Center Expresses Gratitude For Community Comfort and Support
To the Editor:
On behalf of the members of our congregation and the Jewish community of Princeton, we wanted to express our sincere gratitude to the countless members of the greater Princeton community who were in touch with us after the shooting at the Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh. When we read news stories like this, the first reaction of so many is shock and horror — how can something like this happen in our country, in a house of worship, or in a school or any other place that is supposed to be safe. When we heard the news, we felt scared and we wondered how best to reassure the people in our congregation that we are safe here in Princeton. The feelings of fear and shock and sadness were quickly met with feelings of comfort and support and love that we received from so many local friends. Many religious leaders reached out to us immediately to express their sorrow and to offer their comfort to us. Mayor Lempert of Princeton and Chief Sutter of the Princeton Police were among the first people to contact us after the attack to offer assistance. As we mourned the loss of life and renewed our conversations about security, it felt good to know that we have so many friends and allies in this local community. It meant so much to join with over 700 people at the special Community Prayer Service on the day following the attack that our friends hosted for the community at the Nassau Presbyterian Church.
This past weekend, our Solidarity Shabbat services were filled with guests and supporters from so many parts of the greater community including our Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, ministers and priests from some of the local churches and many, many members of Princeton religious institutions who came to worship with us. We cannot express to you how much that means to us. In speaking to our congregation, we stated that any act of hate against any one group in this community is an act of hate against all of us. We must keep in mind that the opposite should also be true — any act of love felt by one group should be shared and felt by every group in our community. We all need to speak out and stand up against acts of violence and hatred including hatred against African Americans, Asians, members of the LGBTQ community, Hispanics, women, and acts of anti-Semitism like the vicious attack in Pittsburgh. We are grateful to everyone who expressed their support and respect for our local Jewish community and we feel so fortunate to be a part of this great town. We look forward to continuing these important conversations in the coming days.
Rabbi Adam Feldman and Linda Meisel,
President of The Jewish Center