NOVEMBER 2, 2018
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Head of School’s Statement on Tree of Life Synagogue Tragedy “We are seeking every day to connect our students and our school to people, organizations, and initiatives that reflect a belief in the promise of humanity.”
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hroughout this past week, St. Andrew’s has joined the nation and the world in mourning and in reflection upon the shootings in the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. Two of our current families live in the community surrounding the synagogue, and Saturday evening members of the Jewish community at St. Andrew’s gathered in the Chapel to grieve and pray for the victims and their families. Last Sunday and today in Chapel, the full school community joined together in prayer, seeking to express solidarity, support, love, and courage to all those victimized and threatened by the poison of anti-Semitism. We know very well that the scourge of hatred and intolerance still lives in our land and in the human heart, strengthened and affirmed by the desperate voices gathering on social media platforms and by the gap created by the increasing division, polarity, and incivility of our world. We saw last week and last summer in Charlottesville, Virginia what happens when prejudice, violence, racism, and anti-Semitism move out of the darkest shadows into the public square. In a matter of moments, as author Nathan Englander observed last summer, it seemed as if nearly a century of progress, enlightenment, and reconciliation had disappeared. Just last week, I learned of the powerful memorial service that took place in the National Cathedral for Matthew Shepard, tortured and killed twenty years ago in a horrible hate crime that awakened the country to the violence and contempt directed at the LGBTQ community. Two decades ago, Matthew Shepard’s parents could not be sure that their son’s remains would be respected by hate groups who appeared at his funeral carrying rude and offensive signs. And so they waited until the call from the National Cathedral came and 77
