Leaders call for funding to combat antisemitism and hate
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — On the second day of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial, it's eerily quiet outside the Tree of Life synagogue, but U.S. Representative Summer Lee is getting loud, saying it's time to fight for funding to educate against antisemitism and hate.
KDKA-TV's Meghan Schiller talked to Laura Cherner, who spends each day doing just that and calls the funding "crucial."
"We've seen the success of Holocaust education and raising awareness. We talk about never again and making sure that we have access to resources to be able to tell the story of antisemitism throughout history is a crucial component in being able to combat it," said Laura Cherner, director of the community relations council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.
That's why Lee is fighting for $3 million for the Tree of Life Foundation. She wants the funding to help create a community gathering and education space to teach about antisemitism.
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She also hopes to secure $547,212 for the 10.27 Healing Partnership to respond to and address ongoing trauma. The federal funding is running out in the middle of the trial.
"(For) resiliency centers, often funding runs out after a few years, whether that's three years or five years, and the unfortunate part about that is studies show that at the five-year mark that's often when a community whose experienced a mass casualty event needs supports like resiliency centers the most," said Cherner.
KDKA-TV's Meghan Schiller talked one-on-one with Maggie Feinstein, the executive director of the 10.27 Healing Partnership, about the importance of securing funding.
"The real intent of a resiliency center is that it's not meant to be a bigger burden to the community impacted, right? So we need to be able to find funding from larger organizations, larger groups that can continue the work for a larger period of time," said Feinstein.
Feinstein tells KDKA-TV's Meghan Schiller she believes that will happen and they will find the funding. The partnership's budget is between $500,000 and $600,000 each year.