Huntington residents of different faiths packed Kehillath Shalom Synagogue in Cold Spring Harbor Sunday night to mourn the 11 Jewish congregants slain Saturday in Pittsburgh.
The gathering included prayers, songs, recitations of the names of the dead and a call to remember that love trumps hate.
Rabbi Lina Zerbarini, who is scheduled to be installed as the synagogue’s leader on Nov. 4, said the 11 are “martyrs, murdered at prayer, their synagogue attacked for their commitment to love,” she said. “Today the angels are crying.”
Assemblyman Steve Stern and Suffolk County Legislator William “Doc” Spencer, a member of Kehillath Shalom Synagogue, Dr. Eve Krief, and Tom Lieber, an Oyster Bay lawyer who grew up in the Pittsburgh Tree of Life synagogue that was attacked, were among those who spoke of loss and determination.
“Hate cannot, will not triumph,” Spencer said. “We will not succumb to a radical faction.”
Several spoke of the importance of support by those of other faiths, thanking, among others, the Rev. Mark Bigelow of the Congregational Church of Huntington for reaching out to the Jewish community.
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- Cantor Alison Levine, Cantor Israel Gordan and Rabbi Jeff Clopper
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- Rabbi Ari Saks of the Huntington Jewish Center at the service.
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- Mourners listen to Assemblyman Steve Stern.
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- Cantor Alison Levine, Cantor Israel Gordan and Rabbi Jeff Clopper