IN the wake of last weeks mass shooting at an Aurora theater, shockwaves came in rapid, blunt succession shock, disbelief, anger, confusion, grief and they struck area Jews with the same ferocity as everybody else.
The words spoken by metro Denver Jewish leaders sounded very much like those uttered by many people who live in or close to Aurora, and even those very distant from it:
“A heartbreaking act.
Terrible tragedy.
Horrific and shocking.
Stunned.
United in grief.
Hard to wrap your head around.
RABBIS sermonized on the shooting during Shabbat services last weekend.
Rabbi Bruce Dollin of the Hebrew Educational Alliance called the Century Aurora killings an incredible shocking and stunning tragedy.
Everyone in the Jewish community is feeling like the rest of the community; we cant believe it happened. Life is so fragile and can end in a split second.
As president of the Rocky Mountain Rabbinical Council, Rabbi Dollin also spoke on behalf of that organization: It is beyond our understanding what would drive a young man to perpetrate this heinous crime.
During the coming Sabbath, he wrote last week, prayers will be recited in synagogues throughout the region, on behalf of the victims of this crime, their families and friends. For those who died, may their memories be a blessing. For the injured and scarred, may G-d bring them a speedy and complete healing.
More in Andrea Jacobs’ “Once again, Colorado at epicenter of violence“
Rabbi Ben Greenberg, the new rabbi at BMH-BJ, planned a moment of silence for those killed and injured, timed to coincide with Tisha bAv, coming up this weekend.
“The message of Tisha bav is that despite all the tragedies, the persecutions, despite all the suffering we still look forward to a brighter future and a better tomorrow, Rabbi Greenberg told JTA this week. We see that there can be a future despite all the darkness.
Temple Sinais executive director Ruth Cohen said that congregants were encouraged to discuss the massacre at Friday night services, and to do the same for their younger children.
It was emotional, Cohen said. There was also the bombing of the Israeli tourists and this hit home for me. I have kids who certainly have gone out to midnight movies.
According to Rabbi Dollin, many Denver-area Jews attended vigils and donated to area blood banks. He suggested that although there are no known Jewish victims of the shootings, the incident transcended ethnic and religious considerations.
I dont think weve come together as a Jewish community, but as a general community, Rabbi Dollin said.
Many of us have gone to the same theater, and so we are feeling the connection to the general neighborhood. We are not just Jews here; we are fully members of our general community.
Rabbi Greenberg attended the prayer vigil held last Sunday at the Aurora Municipal Center to honor the victims.
It was really powerful to be with crowds of people directing their anxiety, frustration and confusion to G-d, Greenberg told JTA this week.
As a Jewish member of society and as a rabbi, it is critical to say that we hurt also and that the loss of a life of a six-year-old child tears our heart as much as it tears anyones heart.
DOUG Seserman, president-CEO of the Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado, told the IJN on Monday that the federation was talking to the different organizations right now, trying to decide whether to launch some sort of fund to help the victims of the tragedy, both the families and those who were wounded to collectively respond on behalf of the Jewish community, to help the victims.
By the next day, the federation announced that the Jewish Response Fund for Victims of the Aurora Movie Theatre Tragedy was already in place, intended to support and assist the victims and their families.
One-hundred percent of all donations to the Jewish Response Fund will go to help the families who lost loved ones, those injured in the shooting, and other needs relating to the tragedy as they arise. There will be no administrative fees taken out of the donations to this fund.
The federation also announced plans for a blood drive through Bonfils Blood Center.
Seserman told the JTA that he hoped the Aurora fund would be as successful as last months federation fund created to raise funds for victims of this summers devastating wildfires in Colorado.
That fund raised some $75,000, nearly a third of which came from out of state.
We now know that we will have the same kind of support from the Jewish world, Seserman said.
We as a Jewish community mobilize well in times of crisis whether it is a war in Israel, Hurricane Katrina or a tsunami in Southeast Asia or a wildfire in Colorado. We have this demonstrated ability to mobilize in times of crisis, and here is another one we face and will overcome.
Speaking to the IJN, Seserman who said his family and I have seen many movies at the ill-fated theater over the years echoed Rabbi Dollins comments that the Aurora tragedy went far beyond inner-community considerations.
The support organizations currently helping are not Jewish organizations, but what we find in times of crisis is that one of the values the Jewish community holds most dear is tikkun olam. And its not just the Jewish community. In this case, its our own community.
ROZ Duman, coordinator of the Colorado Coalition for Genocide Awareness and Action, spent last Friday morning sending out emails to help promote a new campaign, Stop the Killing, Save the People, designed to help victims of genocide in Sudan.
Based on the bloody events of a few hours before and just a few miles away, Duman found it necessary to write a brief prelude to her press release:
As we launch an initiative to save the people of the Sudan, our hearts go out to the families who have lost dear ones and for those who were injured. Today all Coloradoans are united in grief for what has happened in our state.
When will our world be filled with love and not hate? Until that time, we must all make the commitment to do whatever it takes to bring us closer to that dream, whether acts of hate are close to our homes or many, many miles away. We are our sisters and brothers keepers and we must take care of one another.
Three days later, Duman admitted to the IJN that she remained stunned by the events that struck so close to home.
All this because one individual felt he had to kill, she said. Why would one human being feel the need to destroy so many human lives?
Although Duman said that she cannot make any direct comparisons between the Aurora shootings and her own activism to fight genocide, she couldnt help but see disturbing similarities.
Both are about mass death, she said, and in both cases, the innocent are the victims.
Its hate, she says. Someone feels that somebody has to be eliminated, for whatever reason, so I guess theres a common denominator. Thats the only way I can compare it. Weve just got to do something to totally stop this killing, whether its here or there, although I dont know what you do with crazies like this. There are no words.
THE nearness of the tragedy to Denver Jewry and the fact that many Jews now have near miss or close call stories themselves, brought a special poignancy to many community members.
Issuing a statement for the American Jewish Committees Colorado office, administrator Heather Coleman wrote that the AJC mourns for those killed and prays for a full and speedy recovery for those suffering from this horrific massacre, but also added:
As a lifelong resident of Aurora and on behalf of the entire AJC Colorado family, I extend my deepest appreciation for all the remarkable emergency responders and extraordinary real-life heroes who prevented further loss of life.
That chilling proximity also dominated the remarks of Karen Steinhauser, now a Denver private attorney and formerly chief deputy district attorney for Denver.
Steinhauser noted that her 17-year-old son attended The Dark Knight Rises at a midnight showing on Thursday night, but thankfully at a different theater.
Up until Thursday night, she said, I saw movie theaters as one of the last venues where people can go for entertainment, where no one ever thought twice about security. Thats all changed now.
Steinhauser told the IJN that the Aurora shootings also brought back flashbacks to the Columbine High School killings of 1999.
Columbine came to mind, she said. We have so many people in the community who are still suffering from the events of Columbine, the survivors, the families, the first responders, and the community. This was reliving that event.
But theres a key difference, she continues, her professional instincts as an attorney kicking in.
At Columbine, at least the families did not have to go through a trial, through the legal system. With Aurora, there are so many people who lost so much and this case could take years to get through the criminal justice system.
She acknowledged that with the Aurora shooter alive, a trial is a necessary pain.
Its still important that the case be tried and that the system does what the system needs to do, she says.
Asked whether, as a former prosecutor, she would prosecute the Aurora killer without mercy, Steinhauser emphasized that mercy had nothing to do with it. Its all about whether the shooter was sane at the time of his crimes.
Now is not the time to look at mercy, Steinhauser said. The district attorneys job is to do justice. Im not sure that mercy is the right word.
JUST as the visit of President Barack Obama, the comments of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, the moment of silence in the US Capitol and the massive media presence in Colorado have shown Coloradans that they are not alone in this tragedy, Colorado Jews have received solace and support from their brethren in Israel.
Last weekend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a letter to President Obama expressing his condolences to the Aurora victims and their families.
All Israelis stand alongside the American people in mourning over this terrible tragedy which claimed the lives of so many, Netanyahu wrote. We well understand the pain and loss that you are experiencing.
An Israeli well known in Denver, Shmuel Rifman, mayor of Ramat HaNegev, Denvers partner region in Israel, sent his own message:
Needless to say we share the grief of all Coloradoans. We mourn the lives of those who were killed and pray that those who were wounded will be healed speedily.
David Siegel, Israels Consul General in Los Angeles, whose district includes Colorado, offered his condolences following the horrific and shocking act of violence at the Aurora Mall.
The nation of Israel is deeply saddened and stands with the people of Aurora, the state of Colorado, and the United States at this hour of great sorrow.
JTA correspondent Charlotte Anthony in New York contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2012 by the Intermountain Jewish News
