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New England Patriots pay respect to Tree of Life synagogue victims

New England Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft visited the Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Synagogue in Pittsburgh to pay his respects to the 11 Jewish victims of the Oct. 27 shooting there before his team played the Steelers on Sunday. (The Steelers won 17-10.)

Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman wore these cleats on Dec. 16, 2018 to remember the 11 Jewish victims of the Oct. 27, 2018 shooting at the Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Synagogue in Pittsburgh. Credit: Julian Edelman/Twitter.
Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman wore these cleats on Dec. 16, 2018 to remember the 11 Jewish victims of the Oct. 27, 2018 shooting at the Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Synagogue in Pittsburgh. Credit: Julian Edelman/Twitter.

Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, visited the Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Synagogue in Pittsburgh on Saturday to pay his respects to the 11 victims of the deadliest shooting in American Jewish history.

The visit was followed by attending Rodef Shalom, another synagogue in the area, where Kraft—a longtime philanthropist and active member of the Jewish community in Boston, as was his late wife, Myra—was invited by the rabbi to address the congregation.

The following day, Kraft’s team played the Pittsburgh Steelers. Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman wore customized cleats, honoring the victims, as part of the NFL’s “My Cause, My Cleats” campaign.

In Remembrance. בזיכרון עץ חיים#StrongerThanHate Joyce Feinberg Richard Gottfried Rose Mallinger Jerry Rabinowitz Cecil Rosenthal David Rosenthal Bernice Simon Sylvan Simon Daniel Stein Melvin Wax Irving Younger ???? @MACHE275 ???? @CJPBoston ???????? pic.twitter.com/PUUszklkUz — Julian Edelman (@Edelman11) December 16, 2018

The Steelers won 17-10.

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Jonathan Sarna, of Brandeis University, told JNS that the partnership “vividly displays the benefits of the free marketplace of competing synagogues in the American setting.”
The meeting “focused on strategies to strengthen Jewish safety and belonging, maintain candid lines of communication and collaborate on issues where we have shared values and goals,” Phylisa Wisdom, executive director of the Mayor’s office to Combat Antisemitism, told JNS.