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In the aftermath of the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre and after learning of the tragedy, Pittsburgh resident Tom Hindes, 40, sat down at his computer and created an image that has now gone viral.
Hindes’ image is based on the old U.S. Steel logo, “now popularized by the Pittsburgh Steelers’ helmets,” and includes The Star of David and the words “Stronger Than Hate,” the official motto of the Shoah Foundation.
On his Facebook page, Mr. Hindes says:
Now, for anyone reading this unfamiliar with Pittsburgh, there’s something you should know — we don’t get rattled easily. This fortitude was instilled in our community by our pierogi-pinching grandmothers who didn’t take any crap from any jagoffs. We were strong before this tragedy. A tragedy like this just makes us stronger. Just like you can’t break steel, you can’t break the resiliency of a Pittsburgher. We are stronger than hate.
You can download “Stronger Than Hate” here.
Also “strong” is the message the Pittsburgh affiliate of the national “Bend the Arc” organization has sent to Trump.
Bend the Arc is a national Jewish movement to help build a country that lives up to our values of justice and equality for all.
Here is the open letter:
President Trump:
Yesterday, a gunman slaughtered 11 Americans during Shabbat morning services. We mourn with the victims’ families and pray for the wounded. Here in Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood, we express gratitude for the first responders and for the outpouring of support from our neighbors near and far. We are committed to healing as a community while we recommit ourselves to repairing our nation.
For the past three years your words and your policies have emboldened a growing white nationalist movement. You yourself called the murderer evil, but yesterday’s violence is the direct culmination of your influence.
President Trump, you are not welcome in Pittsburgh until you fully denounce white nationalism.
Our Jewish community is not the only group you have targeted. You have also deliberately undermined the safety of people of color, Muslims, LGBTQ people, and people with disabilities. Yesterday’s massacre is not the first act of terror you incited against a minority group in our country.
President Trump, you are not welcome in Pittsburgh until you stop targeting and endangering all minorities.
The murderer’s last public statement invoked the compassionate work of the Jewish refugee service HIAS at the end of a week in which you spread lies and sowed fear about migrant families in Central America. He killed Jews in order to undermine the efforts of all those who find shared humanity with immigrants and refugees.
President Trump, you are not welcome in Pittsburgh until you cease your assault on immigrants and refugees.
The Torah teaches that every human being is made b’tzelem Elohim, in the image of God.
This means all of us.
In our neighbors, Americans, and people worldwide who have reached out to give our community strength, there we find the image of God. While we cannot speak for all Pittsburghers, or even all Jewish Pittsburghers, we know we speak for a diverse and unified group when we say:
President Trump, you are not welcome in Pittsburgh until you commit yourself to compassionate, democratic policies that recognize the dignity of all of us.
Signed,
Bend the Arc: Pittsburgh Steering Committee
UPDATE:
As of Monday evening, more than 44,000 people had signed the open letter to Trump, according to The Hill.
Mayor William Peduto, D, has said that Trump “should wait, citing security considerations and sensitivity for those who are suffering.”
“If the president is looking to come to Pittsburgh, I would ask that he not do so while we are burying the dead,” Peduto said.
