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Jewish president of hospital that treated alleged shooter: ‘My job isn’t to judge him’

Dr. Jeff Cohen, president of Allegheny General Hospital, said “many of the people who attended to him were Jewish. And they’re heroes.”

Dr. Jeff Cohen, president of the hospital that treated Robert Bowers, the suspect behind the 11 Jewish worshippers shot and killed at Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018. Source: Screenshot.
Dr. Jeff Cohen, president of the hospital that treated Robert Bowers, the suspect behind the 11 Jewish worshippers shot and killed at Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018. Source: Screenshot.

The doctor who treated the alleged gunman who killed 11 Jewish worshippers on Saturday at Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Synagogue in Pittsburgh said Robert Bowers was treated like any other patient.

“Quite honestly, he’s just a guy,” Dr. Jeff Cohen, president of Allegheny General Hospital, told Israel’s Channel 4 in an interview that has gone viral. “He’s some mother’s son. And how did he get from that to where he is today? That’s going to be a large debate that we have to wrestle with as a society.”

Cohen said “my job isn’t to judge him … My job is to take care of him.”

Also a parishioner at Tree of Life, Cohen noted that “many of the people who attended to him were Jewish. And they’re heroes.”

The doctor received acclaim on Twitter for his remarks.

“As sickening as the attack was, our nation is great, compassionate and tolerant,” said former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer. “People like Dr. Cohen are proof.”

Out of depravity, comes humanity. As evil as some people can be, there are more good people who do the right thing, no matter the circumstance. As sickening as the attack was, our nation is great, compassionate and tolerant. People like Dr. Cohen are proof. https://t.co/WXcIvjv2ZC — Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) October 29, 2018

“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” the U.S. president stated. “I am doing something with Iran, right now, that other nations, or presidents, should have done long ago.”
The attacker yelled “free Palestine” at the victim, Israel Bachar, the Israeli consul general to the Pacific Southwest, told JNS.
The Israeli foreign minister stated that one would expect a country to submit a legal request before posting on social media.
“We want Skokie to act firmly and rapidly to try and prevent more incidents like this from happening,” Susan Haggard, president of the Chicago Jewish Alliance, told JNS.
Hamas “must irreversibly surrender their path of terror,” Mike Waltz, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said.
“One of the lines of inquiry is whether this attack was deliberately targeting the Jewish community in London,” the department said.