Sierra Club President Loren Blackford and National Program Director Jesse Simons
Ten days ago, on Saturday, October 27, a gunman with a semi-automatic rifle walked into a Pittsburgh synagogue and opened fire, screaming, “All Jews must die!” The rampage, which killed 11 and left six more wounded, is thought to be the deadliest attack on Jewish-Americans ever on U.S. soil. In solidarity and in sorrow, we offer two essays from the Sierra Club's most senior-ranking volunteer and staff leaders of Jewish heritage and faith: President Loren Blackford, who authored Tree of Life, and National Program Director Jesse Simons, who penned Mourning and Finding Solace After the Tree of Life Shooting.
Flowers placed in memory of the victims outside the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. Photo countesy of Wikimedia Commons.