Andrew Watt

The Pittsburgh Synagogue shooting

It has been a dark week for Jewish communities across the world, following the shootings within the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pennsylvania, on Saturday 27 October. As Emanuel families have links to the Pittsburgh diaspora, we took some time in our High School assembly to pause and reflect together on this tragic and senseless loss of life. I will share below some thoughts that I shared with our staff and students.

“So what actually happened? The synagogue is located in a quiet, leafy suburb called Squirrel Hill. This is an historic Jewish enclave, and the centre for Jewish life in Pittsburgh. At 9.55 am, with rain falling outside, the baby naming event at the morning Shabbat service was interrupted when a gunman burst into the room and began shooting indiscriminately. Unlike at Australian synagogues, there was no armed guards – the doors were always open, to welcome all to join with them in prayer. The people inside scattered and hid – but 11 died and a number were injured, including four Policemen. Of the victims, 97 year old Rose Malinger was a Holocaust survivor. The shooter, Robert Bowers, is aged 46 and had carried an AR-15 rifle and three handguns. Bowers was known to have posted anti-Semitic messages regularly over the past year, in a US State where these sorts of hate messages were growing in their virulence. This was the deadliest attacks against a Jewish community in US history.

So how do we make sense of this horrific crime, premeditated and committed in cold blood? We are not alone in this struggle to make sense – Senior Rabbi of the Temple Synagogue, Atlanta, Peter Berg, cried out: How could this keep happening in our world?; and Chuck Diamond, former Rabbi at Tree of Life, simply observed: There’s a lot of hate out there… an understatement. When asked how the shooting had impacted her, Rabbi Doris Dyen said: I usually say morning blessings, and I started saying the ones you usually say, and I realised I couldn’t say them. I just talked to God directly and I said, God I am really having trouble here. I cannot pray because I’m broken, and I can’t pray.  William Peduto, Mayor of Pittsburgh resolved to embrace the Jewish community within the broader community, when he declared: We as a society are better than this; we know that hatred will never win out; that those who try to divide us ….by the way we pray… or where our families are from around the world…. will lose. The response to the shootings from the local community has been overwhelming: piles of flowers and cards have been left near the synagogue; thousands gathered to hold vigil to mourn the victims –  both in Pittsburgh and across the world –  united in their resolve to remember and to make sure that this does not happen again; thousands of dollars have been raised for the shooting victims, in go-fund-me campaigns … and the Pittsburgh’s Muslim community were quick to stand alongside the Jews, united in their stance against religious hatred, speaking out for tolerance and peace, also raising over $150 000 for the victim’s families.

This issue is not about something wrong that the Pittsburgh Jewish diaspora did – it is about gun control laws; it is also about abuse of freedom of speech; it is about blind prejudice and ignorance, often deep seated, that generates hatred. There will be no easy answers or quick fixes. Rabbi Betsy Forester, from Beth Israel Centre stated: We are shocked and grieving; our hearts go out to the Tree of Life – this attack was appalling; it was wrong. Rather than respond to hate with hate, she went on to say….We feel strongly that the Jewish faith is about love, and compassion, and justice … and our resolve is just as strong as it ever was, about bringing those values into this world. We are about doing good, bringing good, bringing love and light into our world…. That is what we do …  that is all that we do. What a wonderful response to a terrible circumstance. We look forward to the day when all religions can live safely and worship freely, and live in harmony together”.

Business Creators in Action

Following on the tight-fought marketing battle between the baked potatoes and the veggie burgers earlier in the year, our Year 9 Business Creators moved on to the next challenge, the Generation Entrepreneur initiative. The whole-day program involved each group designing a pitch for a start-up business. Our budding entrepreneurs were guided through the process by first thinking of a problem that needed to be solved. They then described how individuals currently deal with this issue. Finally, they developed their own idea that would assist people to resolve this problem. Logos and target markets were then discussed. Students were taught to ideate, collaborate, communicate and create.

Aiden Poswell and Kai Biton with the Generation Entrepreneur team

Many of our students designed apps that could be used to solve a range of difficulties that people face, including applications that allowed students to sell or swap their study notes, drivers to rent out parking spaces, bike riders to find the most scenic or safe routes through a city and an app that would assist students to plan and monitor their study habits. At the end of the day students pitched their ideas and received expert feedback on the commercial prospects of their start-up. The winning pitch was from Dean Reuveny, Maya Armstrong, Saskia Auerbach and Aaron Lemberg. It involved an app that they named Bolt! which allowed members of a school community to effortlessly arrange lifts to and from campus by parents who live in the same or neighbouring suburbs.

The Constitutional Convention at State Parliament House

Natasha Gering (Year 12, photo opposite) represented Emanuel at the convention and I wanted to share her reflections on the day:

“The topic of discussion was over whether Section 44 of the Constitution – which has sparked lots of debate recently, as seven members of Parliament have been disqualified for it over dual citizenship. Students came from all over NSW, travelling hours and some even flying. It was an extremely informative and fascinating experience as we commenced with a speaker who has written seven books on the subject, worked as a judge in the High Court and is a professor of Law at The UNSW. We were then separated into groups to discuss the issue and had our own referendum. We ended with an announcement of the results (70% in favour) and a soap box as to why everyone voted what they did. What stood out for me was the wealth of knowledge, passion and excitement from the students who were all extremely amicable and friendly.”

Save the dates

Wednesday 12 December

9 am: Years K-2 Presentation Day in the MPH

6 pm:  Years 3-6 Presentation Night in the MPH

Thursday 13 December

7 pm: Years 7-12 Annual Speech Night and prize giving at the The Sir John Clancy Auditorium, The UNSW

These events are compulsory for students and parents are very welcome to attend.

Mazal tov

•  to the Primary gymnastics team who had success at the recent IPSHA competition and to Sharon Fairfax for her coaching and leadership. Full story on IPSHA Gymnastics page.

 Quote of the week

“There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humour and hurt.”

Erma Bombeck