{"id":273230,"date":"2026-05-16T07:02:51","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T07:02:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/273230\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T07:02:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T07:02:51","slug":"nsu-exhibit-offers-new-perspectives-on-pittsburgh-synagogue-massacre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/273230\/","title":{"rendered":"NSU exhibit offers new perspectives on Pittsburgh synagogue massacre"},"content":{"rendered":"

After the 2018 shootings at the Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh, gifts of solace arrived from all over the country.<\/p>\n

Among them were 11 canvas ribbons, in shades of purple, from Temple Beth Orr in Coral Springs. They were inscribed with the words, \u201cBlessings Abound\u201d and \u201cIn Remembrance There is Life.\u201d A letter from the congregation, just a few miles from Parkland, notes that members were inspired to reach out by the reassurance they felt from similar donations following the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shootings<\/a> just eight months earlier.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the greatest comforts our community found in the months after our tragedy was the knowledge that other communities were holding us in their hearts,\u201d wrote Marci Bloch<\/a>, the congregation\u2019s rabbi at the time.<\/p>\n

Many gifts such as these made their way to Pittsburgh and were saved by Tree of Life<\/a> members. The heartfelt donations, almost all handmade, are part of an exhibit, \u201cLessons from The Tree of Life: Lighting the Path Forward,\u201d which has opened at Nova Southeastern University in Davie and will be on display through June 21.<\/p>\n

The collection uses photos, graphics and these lovingly crafted pieces to show what happened at the synagogue, the history of antisemitism in America and a glimpse into the Tree of Life\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter Parkland, and after Pittsburgh eight months later, people came together and recognized their shared humanity,\u201d said Tree of Life CEO Carole Zawatsky. \u201cIt gave Pittsburgh the strength to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA remembrance wall with photos of the 11 people who died in the Tree of Life Congregation shootings is shown at the Alvin Sherman Library at Nova Southeastern University in Davie on Monday, May 11, 2026. (Amy Beth Bennett\/South Florida Sun Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Eleven worshipers, ages 54 to 97, were killed in the shootings on Oct. 27, 2018, considered the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history. Robert Bowers, a truck driver who \u201cmeticulously planned his attack based on his violently antisemitic beliefs,\u201d according to the U.S. Department of Justice<\/a>, was convicted in 2023 of barging into a Tree of Life Sabbath service and opening fire. Seven others were injured, including five police officers.<\/p>\n

The exhibit shows the outpouring of quilts, drawings, paintings and notes of sympathy that arrived in the mail and on the synagogue\u2019s sidewalks from around the world. The display also includes a prayer book torn by a bullet, a candle held by a community member at a vigil and a drawing of a sad Fred Rogers, the Pittsburgher and late TV star known as \u201cMr. Rogers,\u201d that went viral on social media.<\/p>\n

\"AOn display: a Siddur that was damaged by gunfire during the Tree of Life Congregation shootings in Pittsburgh. (Amy Beth Bennett\/South Florida Sun Sentinel)<\/p>\n

The synagogue has been vacant since the shootings but is undergoing a renovation that will make the building home to a museum, theater, classrooms, library and sanctuary, designed by renowned architect Daniel Libeskind. Zawatsky said construction is expected to be completed in 2 1\/2 years.<\/p>\n

If you go: \u201cLessons from the Tree of Life: Lighting the Path Forward\u201d is on display through June 21 at Nova Southeastern University\u2019s Alvin Sherman Library, 3100 Ray Ferrero Jr. Blvd., Davie. Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays to Sundays. Admission is free. Visit libguides.nova.edu\/tree-of-life<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"CaroleCarole Zawatsky, right, gives a media preview of an upcoming exhibit, \u201cLessons from the Tree of Life: Lighting the Path Forward\u201d at the Alvin Sherman Library at Nova Southeastern University in Davie on Monday, May 11, 2026. The exhibit explores antisemitism in America, the Pittsburgh synagogue shootings in 2018, and the path forward since.(Amy Beth Bennett \/ Sun Sentinel)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After the 2018 shootings at the Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh, gifts of solace arrived from all…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":273231,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[506,5075,19412,28,5076,249,251,250,114,266,106],"class_list":["post-273230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-broward-county","tag-broward-jewish-news","tag-davie","tag-florida","tag-florida-jewish-journal","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-things-to-do"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=273230"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273230\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/273231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=273230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=273230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=273230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}