SPOKANE, Wash. — Several vigils are planned in Spokane on Tuesday to honor 11 people who lost their lives in a shooting at The Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The first of 11 funerals for those victims began in Pittsburgh on Tuesday morning. Six others were injured in the shooting.
In Spokane, Temple Beth Shalom is holding a vigil on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. The temple wrote this message on Facebook:
"Please join us for a community vigil tomorrow, Tuesday, October 30th at 5:30 pm at Temple Beth Shalom - 1322 E 30th Ave Spokane, WA. 99203 to grieve the loss of our brothers and sisters in what the ADL believes is the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the history of the United States. We send prayers of comfort and consolation to the families of those who have died and to those wounded, including the police officers who risked their lives responding, and to the entire Jewish community of Pittsburgh.
We ask our broader Spokane community and its leaders to stand with us. We urge our fellow Americans to condemn bigotry and hate without hesitation.
All are welcome."
Gonzaga University will also offer a time of prayer, short memorial service and moment of silence for the victims. The Office of Mission and Ministry, along with Gonzaga's Jewish Chaplain and members of the Gonzaga Jewish community, are inviting community members to the Hemmingson Rotunda at 12:15 p.m.
"This is an opportunity to stand in solidarity with our Jewish colleagues and peers; I invite your prayerful presence tomorrow," Gonzaga University President Thayne McCulloh wrote.
A Holocaust survivor is also sharing her story in Spokane on Tuesday night. Marion Blumenthal Lazan has been a New York resident for almost 58 years. She spends much of her time sharing her childhood Holocaust experiences – and story of perseverance, faith and hope – in schools throughout the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Israel and the Netherlands.
You can see Lazan speak at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Spokane Convention Center. Tickets are $18, $50 for preferred seating and $360 for VIP seating. The VIP experience gives you up to an hour with the speaker in a small setting and a complimentary book.
You can purchase tickets through TicketsWest.
For more information, visit the event page on Facebook.
A Holocaust survivor last spoke in Spokane in June. Nissan Krakinowski was a survivor of Auschwitz and a number of other concentration camps. He and his brother Chaim were the only ones in his family to survive the war.