People in Pittsburgh gather for service remembering Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The Jewish Community Center in Pittsburgh hosted a service on Monday for those killed in Israel during the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack.
About 1,200 people were killed one year ago Monday, and more than 250 other people were taken hostage. It touched off the war in Gaza, leading to the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians.
On Monday at the JCC in Squirrel Hill, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh remembered the lives lost. Jeff Lebovitz was at the service.
"A lot of sadness for how it began and started what happened to all of these people," Lebovitz said.
A wife and mother of 10 and her husband visiting a military base not far from Gaza described the horror of seeing a soldier who was guarding a doorway killed. Then she came face to face with a Hamas terrorist. She was shot three times.
"I was shot with three bullets: one in my stomach, one here in my chest and one in my hand," Mihal Alon said. "I was just thinking about my kids watching me."
More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. And the violence has spread to Lebanon.
Rabbi Daniel Fellman of Temple Sinai blasted a joint statement released on social media by Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato and U.S. Congresswoman Summer Lee.
"Today is a day marking the largest killing of Jews since the Holocaust," Fellman said. "To begin to politicize it, to begin to start saying that the massacre of Palestinians misses the point entirely. And it says to the Jewish community, 'We don't care that you are marginalized and we don't care."
Gainey responded to the rabbi's concerns. In a statement to KDKA-TV, he said, in part:
"Our tears are abundant enough to mourn all of the lives lost, and our hearts are big enough to care for all of those who continue to suffer because of this conflict. And I fervently believe that we need one another to be safe. That is why yesterday I joined with Congresswoman Lee and County Executive Innamorato in amplifying the calls for peace being made by Palestinians, Israelis, and millions of people of good conscience across the world. I will continue to prioritize safety, equality, and justice for everyone, and to advocate for an end to violence and hatred of every kind."
A spokesperson for Innamorato said they have no further comment, and KDKA-TV did not hear back from Lee's office on Monday.