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Pittsburgh marks eight years since Tree of Life synagogue shooting

Stars of David at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh
Local residents knitted and hung Stars of David along the Murray Avenue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh after the mass shooting at the Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Pittsburgh, Pa. will hold a public ceremony on Tuesday to commemorate the Oct. 27, 2018 mass shooting a the city’s Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Congregation.

Eleven Jewish worshippers were killed in the antisemitic attack, the deadliest in U.S. history.

On Sunday, volunteers took part in various charitable activities, including serving meals and cleaning up Jewish cemeteries, WPXI-TV News Pittsburgh reported.

The activities were carried out through the 10.27 Healing Partnership, a group that supports those impacted by the synagogue shooting, and the Friendship Circle of Pittsburgh, whose mission is to build a more inclusive community.

“So many of the kids here come because this is just what we do now, and it’s been eight years, so a lot of these young kids that are here commemorating with us are really just commemorating values they’ve grown up with,” said Rivkee Rudolph, the Friendship Circle’s director and co-founder.

More than 50 people cleaned grave sites at Beth Abraham Cemetery in the city’s Carrick neighborhood, WPXI-TV reported.

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