By Charly SHELTON

Last Saturday, the last day of Passover, a man entered Chabad of Poway and opened fire.

“The evidence indicated that the defendant fired eight to 10 rounds before the rifle appeared to jam or malfunction, and the defendant was unable to clear the weapon,” San Diego County Deputy District Attorney Leonard Trinh said in court.

Even with so few shots fired, he still did considerable damage – wounding the rabbi and two other people in the temple, including an 8-year-old girl, and killing Lori Gilbert Kaye, who was there to pray for her deceased mother.

Chabad of Poway is located in California, just south of Escondido in the San Diego area. This shooting is much closer to home for the Jewish community of Los Angeles, and the feeling is palpable.

“I think that the community is in shock yet again, just because this time it’s a little closer and that it happened again. I think that’s the sense I have been getting from talking with people,” said Jason Moss, executive director of the Jewish Federation of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys. “I think people are sad and concerned just in general because I think now it’s just another example of ‘It could happen here.’ I think people are worried about the possibility of that.”

Shootings and bombings in synagogues and mosques are becoming more common, with reports in recent years coming out of Copenhagen, Quebec, Bloomington, Michigan, Christchurch, New Zealand, Zürich, Pittsburgh and now Poway. This dangerous trend of anti-Semitic and anti-Islamic hatred is widespread and, Moss said, it has an impact on the Jewish community and the population overall who may come to see this as acceptable.

“I think that, for the Jewish community, my perspective is that we have seen a significant rise in hate in general and people feeling like it’s okay to espouse opinions and views that they once kept to themselves. They are finding the ability and the openness to share it. You couch that with the feeling of the fear of the ‘other,’ still to this day, that I think is something we’re all paying attention to. I think the frequency and the number of shootings, and the fact that it now occurs at houses of worship at a more frequent rate, is alarming. These are places that people go to seek solace and peace, and to come to terms with a variety of other things. It is a sad state that these places that used to be a safe haven are becoming targets. You think about it – the word sanctuary, which most of our religious institutions have – and it’s really not feeling like a true sanctuary in the definition of the terminology.”

After events like the one in Poway, there is media attention but, usually, the news cycle moves on and a solution for change is never found. But another recent devastating event at a house of worship has been handled quickly – Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris burned two weeks ago and, within three days of the fire, over $1 billion was raised to rebuild. This issue was addressed quickly and will see the damages repaired as best they can be.

But shootings are a different story, Moss said. There is no easy way to fix this.

“I think that, with the church, specifically Notre Dame, it’s the idea that people can give to something that they can see rebuilt. When an attack happens like we saw in Poway, money doesn’t fix it. We’re talking about emotional stress and pain and anguish that people don’t know how to give or what is really needed,” Moss said. “I think, with the attacks, were saying it’s a very different thing. People are coming out to show their support in solidarity, and money can’t really suffice in that way. I think in many ways what we saw in San Diego [on Monday], not only at the funeral but at the vigil that took place, you had people coming together because I think there’s an understanding that when one religious institution is attacked, we all are.”

But the road to recovery is paved not with donations and lip service but with true understanding and love, Moss said. While the acts that have been committed cannot be undone, the silver lining can be a lesson learned on the importance of coming together in support of that which all religions and all good people hold dear – love, respect and compassion.

“I think one of the things we need to remember is that the more we listen and respect one another – not tolerate [but] respect – understanding our different beliefs and recognizing that, in most cases, everyone wants the same thing,” Moss said. “And we may pray to different gods and we may pray in different religious houses of worship, but the fact is that all religions are striving for the same idea and that is the idea of peace and love.”

  Charly Shelton