On Squirrel Hill

On Saturday morning, 11 Jews were murdered in a synagogue in Pittsburgh. Like Jews and their friends everywhere, we were heartbroken by this heinous anti-Semitic massacre, the first-ever large-scale attack against Jews on American soil. To grieve with our brothers and sisters in Pittsburgh and hear their stories, we traveled to Squirrel Hill, the city’s Jewish enclave, along with a team from Tablet.

What we found was a unique and committed Jewish community, where congregations are intertwined and neighbors check in on each other and young adults return to raise their families. A close-knit community, within a larger city, now reeling from the weekend’s senseless horror.

In this special episode, we bring you the voices we captured, from the French family who fled violence in Paris only to meet it again in Pennsylvania, to the rabbis whose congregations were targeted, to the neighbors and community members who now face the daunting task of mourning the dead and rebuilding all that was destroyed.

If you want to share thoughts or stories about Pittsburgh’s Jewish community, email us at [email protected] or leave a message at our new listener line: 914-570-4869.

Unorthodox is a smart, fresh, fun weekly take on Jewish news and culture hosted by Mark Oppenheimer, Stephanie Butnick, and Liel Leibovitz. You can listen to episodes here or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Google Podcasts.