Demolition begins Wednesday at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, site of the worst anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history, as part of an effort to reimagine the building as a memorial to the 11 people killed there in 2018. Ta.
Demolition work began slowly, with workers removing the exterior of the building.
Most of the building will be removed, but some of the sanctuary walls will be preserved. The new building will include spaces for worship, a museum, an education center and a movie theater.
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Carol Zawadzki, president of the new nonprofit overseeing the project, was at the site as demolition began. She said she had mixed feelings, she was bittersweet knowing why the old building would be demolished, and at the same time she was very excited to see the project move forward. She said it was a sobering feeling and a sign of physical healing.
“This is a great symbol of great resilience and progress,” she said.
A temporary memorial stands outside the Tree of Life Synagogue, the target of the Oct. 29, 2018, shooting that killed 11 people in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
The attack on October 27, 2018 claimed the lives of 11 members of three congregations, Dol Hadash, New Light, and Tree of Life, who had gathered at the synagogue. Since then, the three have continued to meet at a nearby synagogue.
A related project is a memorial to the victims planned just outside the synagogue.
The planning process for the memorial was left to representatives of the congregation and the families of the victims.
The design calls for a pathway that leads visitors to the garden's memorial, which features 11 carved open books, each representing one of those killed.
They represent the “Book of Life,” in which, according to Jewish tradition, the names of the righteous are written.
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The man who murdered the worshipers was sentenced to death last year after a long-delayed federal trial.
