Latest / NO FILTER / _We are all still devastated and grieving__ Jewish community calls for unity after D.C. shooting(MP3_160K)

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_We are all still devastated and grieving__ Jewish community calls for unity after D.C. shooting(MP3_160K) · NO FILTER

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Just over an hour ago, the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington,
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: d C. Opened to the public for the first time
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  Speaker 1: since last week's shooting that killed two Israeli embassy staffers.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: This morning, the museum held a memorial ceremony for your
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: own Leshinsky and Sarah Milgram, who were shot there last
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  Speaker 1: Wednesday and is now being investigated as a hate crime
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  Speaker 1: as well as act of terror.
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  Speaker 2: A senseless act of violence took from us two bright lights,
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  Speaker 2: two individuals dedicated to the ideals this museum stands for. Today,
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  Speaker 2: as we mourn, we also gather to reaffirm the unwavering
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  Speaker 2: commitment of the Capital Jewish Museum to its founding mission
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  Speaker 2: to preserve history, to foster understanding, and to build bridges
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  Speaker 2: with diverse communities that make up our community. This commitment
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  Speaker 2: is now more important than ever.
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  Speaker 1: The FBI says the suspect told an arresting officer that quote,
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  Speaker 1: I did it for Palestine. I did it for Gaza.
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  Speaker 1: He is being held without bond and faces multiple charges,
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  Speaker 1: including first degree murder. The executive director of the Capital
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  Speaker 1: Jewish Museum, be Trice Gerwitz, joins me, Now, thank you
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  Speaker 1: so much you said today the attack cannot be the
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  Speaker 1: museum's last chapter. I wonder what it means to reopen
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  Speaker 1: the museum today, but also the emotion that must have
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  Speaker 1: been surrounding everything.
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  Speaker 3: So absolutely, I will start off by saying that we
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  Speaker 3: are all still devastated and all still grieving, and our
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  Speaker 3: hearts are going out to your own and Sarah's family
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  Speaker 3: and friends and colleagues, and we also know that we
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  Speaker 3: need to reopen the museum, welcome people in and share
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  Speaker 3: the stories of Jewish Washington. This is a museum dedicated
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  Speaker 3: to exploring the rich and diverse and vibrant Jewish life here,
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  Speaker 3: and when we're confronted with anti Semitism, is more important
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  Speaker 3: than ever to share these stories with a broad public
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  Speaker 3: and use these stories as an opportunity to build community
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  Speaker 3: and foster dialogue.
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  Speaker 1: When you talk about building community, often, unfortunately, it does
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  Speaker 1: involve grief, It involves mourning, it involves anti Semitism. So
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  Speaker 1: this morning, honoring your own and Sarah, how important was
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  Speaker 1: that moment to bring the community together, to remember to
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  Speaker 1: have an opportunity for people to have conversations.
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  Speaker 3: We were so pleased to bring people together, and it
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  Speaker 3: felt like we were bringing together all of these different
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  Speaker 3: parts of our overlapping community. We had our closest neighbors,
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  Speaker 3: our next door neighbors, across the street neighbors. We had
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  Speaker 3: our Jewish community, we had our museum community, and we
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  Speaker 3: had an interfaith community. And then we were so pleased
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  Speaker 3: to be joined by Muriel Baser who spoke with us
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  Speaker 3: this morning as well, and having that opportunity to bring
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  Speaker 3: people together to more in the lives and also to
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  Speaker 3: feel their support as we continue forward and the work
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  Speaker 3: we are doing, the work we need to do. That
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  Speaker 3: was enormously bolstering.
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: The grief. There are practical considerations, and just before the shooting,
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  Speaker 1: your museum was approved for a new security grant. Do
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  Speaker 1: you feel confident of your ability to make changes that
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  Speaker 1: can allow staff and visitors to feel safe.
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  Speaker 3: We are working very closely with law enforcement, with the
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  Speaker 3: Mayor's office, and also with private security to enhance our
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  Speaker 3: security procedures at this juncture, as are so many other
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  Speaker 3: institutions around town after this incident, and we will continue
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  Speaker 3: to be doing that and drawing our attention to it,
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  Speaker 3: and we really are looking forward to welcoming people back
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  Speaker 3: in the door and feeling the vibrancy in the space again.
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  Speaker 3: And we are especially pleased to be doing so, as
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  Speaker 3: we have a new special exhibition up that's just opened
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  Speaker 3: two weeks ago about Lgbtjews in the Federal City. You
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: just saw footage of the mayor touring that exhibition. We
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  Speaker 3: have important stories to tell, and we really hope to
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  Speaker 3: welcome people in so that we can share those stories.
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  Speaker 1: One of the speakers today, I was told, called the
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  Speaker 1: shooting a wake up call. I wonder if it is,
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  Speaker 1: and if so, is there a story? From what I've heard,
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  Speaker 1: you had two young people who believed very much in
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  Speaker 1: the mission of bringing people from very diverse backgrounds to
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  Speaker 1: diverse beliefs together, and I wonder what the story is
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  Speaker 1: that might come out of this.
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  Speaker 3: As we've learned more about Sarah and your own over
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  Speaker 3: the past couple of weeks, we have learned that they
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  Speaker 3: were bridge builders, that they were diplomats, and that they
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  Speaker 3: were extremely dedicated to bringing different communities together. We are
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  Speaker 3: also as a museum, and I think that they give
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: us inspiration as we move forward. We have committed ourselves
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  Speaker 3: to honoring their legacy by continuing to bring communities together
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  Speaker 3: in our space and to explore together Jewish story is
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  Speaker 3: so I would say that they will be, they will
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  Speaker 3: stay with us, and we will do our best to
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  Speaker 3: honor their legacy going forward.
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  Speaker 1: Beach for Skerwitz on what I know must have been
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  Speaker 1: a very emotional day. We wish you all the best
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  Speaker 1: moving forward, and thank you for taking the time to
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  Speaker 1: talk to us.
• 5:32
  Speaker 3: Thank you so much for having me