By Maya Rosenberg

Students were shocked and devastated by the tragic shooting that killed 11 Jews during worship at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh Oct. 27.

But some students quickly turned that anger and grief into action. Maryland Hillel, in coordination with other Jewish groups on campus, held a vigil on McKeldin Mall Oct. 29 to reflect upon the shooting as a community and remember those who lost their lives.

“[Tree of Life] is where I spent almost every Saturday to get a gold star at Shabbat services, and it’s where I became a Bar Mitzvah,” MJ Kurs-Lasky, 2010 marking graduate and director of student life at Hillel, said at the vigil. “A mere 72 hours ago, my memories of Tree of Life were those of…my childhood years. Now, it has taken on a whole new meaning in my personal Jewish story.”

Multiple students and Jewish religious figures spoke during the vigil, sharing personal stories about their connection to the Tree of Life community, psalms of healing and prayers of remembrance. The names of the 11 victims were read aloud, and a moment of silence was held after.

“This shooting definitely hit me harder than some of the other recent mass shootings,” freshman communications major Julie Ostroff said. “Being from Pennsylvania, I know a lot of people from Pittsburgh, and have a number of friends currently attending University of Pittsburgh, so I felt especially concerned. The fact that this shooting happened within my home state and at a synagogue made it feel a lot more personal to me.”

According to a March 2018 Hillel article, UMD has the fourth highest Jewish population among public universities in the country, with an undergraduate Jewish population of about 19 percent. The Jewish community at UMD is very large, with a myriad of different student groups such as Hillel, Meor, Chabad, Jewish Student Union and more. A number of these groups were present at the vigil, with different Rabbis from Meor and Chabad providing remarks.

Both Jewish and non-Jewish students attended the vigil and denounced anti-semitism and violence.

“The fact [the shooting] was an act of anti-semitism [made] this shooting really stand out to me,” freshman psychology major Shannon Cleary said. “You hear about anti-semitism, and we learn about the Holocaust and genocide of Jewish individuals in school, but you never think that anyone still feels that way.”

Although Cleary isn’t Jewish, she said it “breaks [her] heart that this happened, but it saddens [her] even more that it happened as a result of antisemitism.”

There was a noticeable police presence at the vigil, as well as media outlets.

According to Kurs-Lasky, while the vigil was sponsored by Maryland Hillel, it was a result of collaboration with several different groups. Hillel worked with the Stamp Student Union to secure McKeldin Mall as a site for the vigil, and also collaborated with the University of Maryland Police Department (UMPD) for security and fire permits for the candles at the vigil. In addition, Hillel partnered with other Jewish groups on campus such as Chabad and Meor in order to be inclusive of the entire Jewish community.

The vigil came together quickly, but there was still a large turnout of students, faculty and community members. It lasted about 30 minutes, and started around 8 p.m.

“Since I’m not Jewish, I didn’t understand many of the Hebrew and religious portions of the vigil, however the overall message was extremely touching,” Cleary said. “Just being surrounded by my peers all standing together in solidarity for the same cause was inspiring to me and gave me hope for our futures. Overall, I really loved the message of the vigil because it paid respects for the victims and touched on how we can move on from this and push forward for change.”

The vigil served as a place for students to process and respond to the shooting in Pittsburgh.

“After finding out about the [antisemitic intent] of the shooter, it makes me feel less safe as a Jew in America, and second guess if wearing my Jewish star necklace or Hebrew on my shirt is a good idea,” Ostroff said. “Attending the vigil gave me a sense of community after this tragic event, and it was so comforting to see people of all faiths there. I thought the vigil was nice despite being put together in such a short amount of time, and it was really nice to see the turnout and be around others who felt the same way.”