Pittsburgh synagogue shooting survivors advocate for ‘survivor narratives’ at Eradicate Hate Global Summit

Laura Esposito / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Every time Andrea Wedner feels a familiar twinge of pain in her arm, it’s a reminder.

Not of the gunshot wound she’ll likely never completely recover from, but of the more profound pain she feels over the death of her mother, Rose Mallinger, and the 10 others shot and killed beside her nearly six years ago.

Ms. Wedner was the only Tree of Life congregant left alive in the Pervin Chapel after the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting on Oct. 27, 2018, the deadliest act of antisemitism on American soil.

While she grappled with her grief, Ms. Wedner also struggled to find a path forward, one that would honor her mother’s memory. Eventually, she found her way through the REACH program (Remember, Educate, and Combat Hate), a newly formed bureau of survivors and family members who lost loved ones in the shooting.

“Keeping [Mallinger’s] spirit alive fuels my commitment to make a positive impact in the lives of others,” Ms. Wedner said Monday morning, standing beside her husband on stage at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

She and other survivors spoke about the importance of survivor narratives during the first day of the fourth annual Eradicate Hate Summit, a comprehensive anti-hate conference created in 2021 in response to the synagogue shooting. The summit draws hate-speech experts, leaders and survivors of hate crimes from around the globe.

Facilitated through the 10.27 Healing Partnership, REACH speakers — there are about a dozen, according to the website — travel to middle and high schools throughout the region and share firsthand accounts of the Squirrel Hill shooting as a way of providing students with memories and experiences that cement their understanding around antisemitism and hate-filled violence. 

Despite a nationwide decrease in violent crime last year — including the most significant drop in homicide in two decades — hate crimes have been on the rise, with more than 11,000 incidents reported in 2023, according to a September report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Jodi Kart, whose father, Melvin Wax, was killed in the shooting, said she tells students that their differences should be celebrated, not hated.

“If I can get my message across to just one person and make them a little bit kinder, then I feel like I’ve accomplished my goal,” she said.

The speaking engagements have also been healing for many of the survivors, like Sharyn Stein, whose husband, Daniel Stein, was killed.

“With the support of my family, friends, the 10.27 Healing Partnership, REACH program, and the amazing community of Squirrel Hill, even though it is difficult and emotional for me, I [can] speak up and tell the story of that fateful day,” she said.

“I want everyone to remember that there are good people in the world.”

There was a significant focus on combating antisemitism throughout the first day of the summit, which took place two weeks after the one-year mark of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack in Israel. In the year since, the Pittsburgh region has seen an increase in reports of antisemitic assaults and vandalism.

During her keynote speech, Tara Levine, president of the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, stressed the importance of reaching large audiences. She said the foundation recently convened with commissioners from major sports leagues to “harness the power of sports as a platform for change.”

“Every single commissioner signed up to join this campaign,” she said.

She said the result was a staggeringly large audience to their anti-hate messaging.

“And this is just the beginning,” she said.

Audrey Glickman, another survivor, said she considers her passion for quelling hate the only path forward.

“It’s kind of bringing forward what’s been laid on us,” she said. “We didn’t choose to be shot at. Having survived, we have a reason to do what we’re doing.”

On Tuesday, the summit will feature a session that aims to “elevate the stories of those campuses where peace prevailed [amid protests over the Israel-Hamas war].”

Former Arizona congresswoman and shooting survivor Gabrielle Giffords — who now leads Giffords, the gun violence prevention organization she co-founded — will deliver a keynote speech.