Pittsburgh Jewish leaders react to attack on Pennsylvania Governor's Residence

CBS News

15-04-2025

As Jews across Pennsylvania continue to observe Passover, they can't help but think about what happened to Gov. Josh Shapiro this past weekend as he celebrated his faith.
Leaders in Pittsburgh's Jewish community are hesitant to draw conclusions, as state police have yet to release a motive in
the arson fire at the governor's mansion
in Harrisburg.
What's clear is that this attack took place hours after Shapiro and his family celebrated the first night of Passover.
Two days after a fire ripped through the governor's mansion, there's heartache among Jews in Pittsburgh, including Rabbi Jeffrey Myers and his congregants, who experienced
the worst antisemitic attack in U.S. history
at the Tree of Life synagogue in 2018.
"This can be a moment where it rips the scars off again and continues to provide more reasons for trauma," Rabbi Myers said. "Clearly, we can see that this is h-motivated."
Rabbi Myers doesn't like to use that h-word, which state police use to describe the suspect's feelings about Shapiro. Specifically, they said he "
harbored hatred
" toward Shapiro and planned to beat him with a hammer if he saw him.
At this time, that's what we know, as investigators continue to look into why the man allegedly firebombed the home, shortly after the governor held a seder for Passover.
"It's inevitable that… particularly in the Jewish community, we're going to do a different kind of math and immediately make assumptions," Rabbi Myers said.
Both he and David Heyman, with the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, agree that the timing is peculiar, on top of a drastic rise in antisemitism since the Hamas attack in Israel, but they're waiting to see the investigation play out.
"It's been a continual series of events that the community has had to deal with," Heyman said. "It's possible that the timing was coincidental for Passover. It's possible that the suspect held a grudge against Gov. Shapiro for other reasons."
Heyman said the federation's security team doesn't believe there are any current threats to the area. Nonetheless, as Shapiro put it, Jews will continue to see the light in the darkness and rise above.
"Judaism is not about victimhood. Judaism is joyous, and we're not going to let that stop us," Rabbi Myers said.
Anyone in need of support can seek counseling through the
10/27 Healing Partnership
, created after the attack on the Tree of Life.