Holocaust survivor haunted by Pittsburgh temple shooting attends vigil in Miami Beach
The mass shooting at the Pittsburgh synagogue that left 11 Jews dead, brought Israel J. Sachs back to his childhood in Poland, waking up in the morning wondering if he was safe.
The 93-year-old Holocaust survivor, was only 13 when the war began. He was shuffled between four concentration camps, but “luckily” made it out alive. His parents, brother and other members of his family weren’t so lucky.
When he came to the United States in his early 20s he was amazed that people could live together in harmony.
“This is an event that I never wanted to see in the United States,” said Sachs, who was one of thousands who attended an interfaith solidarity vigil Tuesday night at the Holocaust Memorial on Miami Beach. People filled Meridian Avenue as Miami Beach police blocked the street and stood guard from the tops of buildings.
With the permanent sculpture of the outstretched arm dotted with human figures and the memorial wall honoring the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust as the backdrop, attendees prayed, sang and promised to come together against hate.
“The shooting is a very visible reminder that there are tangible consequences to the toxic divide that is plaguing our country,” said Jacob Solomon, CEO of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation. “Hatred is a disease and it can only be combated with love.”
The attack at the Tree of Life Congregation during a bris — ceremony to mark the birth of a boy — Saturday morning is considered the largest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history.
And while it did not happen in South Florida, many of those who attended said there is a kinship. With there being over 600,000 Jews in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, Solomon said many in the community felt as if “the family” had been attacked.
“Instead of hiding in fear, we are making a very public statement that we are here and we won’t tolerate hate,” Solomon said.
Over four days, the Greater Miami Jewish Federation along with its Jewish Community Relations Council teamed up with the Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach, the Consul General of Israel to Florida and Puerto Rico, the Rabbinical Association of Greater Miami, the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, MCCJ and the City of Miami Beach to hold a Community-Wide Solidarity Vigil: An Interfaith Gathering Against Anti-Semitism & Hate.
Representatives from every faith and politicians on both sides of the aisle stood shoulder to shoulder in solidarity. Father Patrick O’Neill, a Catholic priest with the Archdiocese of Miami, said “we live life together, we mourn with each other.”
“We can not separate ourselves because of religious beliefs,” he said. “We are all one family under God.”
During the ceremony, attendees lit candles and sang Hineh Mah Tov U’ Mah Naim Shevet Achim Gam Yachad (How good and pleasant it is if people could dwell in Unity).
“They are a reminder to all of us that life is precious and nothing is promised,” said Jeffrey Scheck, president of the board of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation after reading the names of the 11 victims.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat from Sunrise targeted last week along with other political figures in a mail bomb campaign that federal investigators say was run by a strident supporter of President Donald Trump, said the location couldn’t be more appropriate for the vigil because it stands as a “monument against hate.”
“We have to fight hate and the only way to do that is if we stand united together,” said Wasserman Schultz. “When there is an attack on one of us, these vigils show all the haters that it’s an attack on all of us.”
Tuesday’s gathering was one of several that was held or will be held across South Florida. On Sunday, dozens gathered at Temple Beth Sholom in Miami Beach as a way to honor the victims.
Liz Becker, who attended Tuesday night’s vigil with her 14-year-old son Mikel, said it was important for him to be there “because it’s his generation that will be responsible for the change that is needed.”
The ceremony ended with the crowd joining arms and singing the civil rights anthem “We Shall Overcome.”
We shall overcome
We shall overcome
We shall overcome, some day
This story was originally published October 30, 2018 at 9:40 PM.