Toronto’s Mel Lastman Square was a sea of flickering candles Monday night, as 5,000 people packed the plaza to remember those killed a few days earlier in a Pittsburgh synagogue.
“Now is a time for healing, for standing together with those experiencing inconsolable pain, for saluting the bravery of law enforcement officials and for remembering individuals whose lives so mirror our own,” Adam Minsky, president and CEO of UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, told the crowd.
Eleven people were killed and six injured when a gunman invaded Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue during Shabbat services on Oct. 27.
Minsky urged the crowd to attend synagogue this Shabbat, as a rebuke to hatred and anti-Semitism. “Jewish federations across North America are encouraging everyone to participate in a solidarity Shabbat this coming weekend,” he said. “The deadliest act of anti-Semitism in North American history requires the greatest act of solidarity in response. …