Pittsburgh Jewish community members gather at annual barbecue following Friday evening attack

Chabad at Pitt hosted its annual “BBQ and chill” event in Schenley Plaza on Monday evening. While the barbecue is normally a “festive” social gathering, Chabad director and event organizer Rabbi Shmuli Rothstein said he wanted this year’s tone to reflect both the recent attack on two Jewish students on Pitt’s campus and the killing of six Israeli hostages.

“We’re very resilient, and it’s a great way to welcome back the students,” Rothstein said. “Hopefully next year it’s going to be back to Labor Day with a festive energy, welcoming back, seeing them all come together, just having a grand time.”

Over 75 people were in attendance — more than usual, according to Rothstein. Burgers, hot dogs, french fries and other grilled goods were presented on fold-out tables for guests to select from buffet-style. Dan Marcus, executive director of the Hillel Jewish University Center, said the goal for the event was to “create community for Jewish students” and to celebrate the Jewish identity. 

“The idea of community is central to the identity of Jewish people, and here on campus, we’re here to ensure that every Jewish student feels that sense of belonging, pride, joy, celebration and support,” Marcus said.

In the wake of the incident on Friday evening, Rothstein said he plans to talk with the University about having higher security measures to keep people attending Shabbat dinners safe.

Before the barbecue started, Rothstein said there was an incident where an individual made crude remarks toward the event’s attendants. Rothstein said although officers were already scheduled to be at the event, he called the police and asked for additional security. Pitt police, CMU police and Pittsburgh police officers were all present at the event.

“Some guy … walked by a bunch of times and said, ‘Effing Jews.’ In the past I would not have called the cops, [but] I called the cops,” Rothstein said. “I can’t risk him having something happen and him hitting someone.”

Rothstein said he heard about the attack on Friday “right after it happened.”

“It was very discombobulating,” Rothstein said. “Shabbat is a time of peace and rest, and this was definitely not something that makes things peaceful and restful, so it really threw everything off.”

Rothstein added that he spoke with his wife about changing how they run Friday night dinners in light of the attack because “it’s a long walk Friday night, it gets dark early [and] copycat attacks are a real thing.”

“My wife and kids walk alone a lot,” Rothstein said. “That changed.”

Ethan Snyder, Hudson Alpert and Aaron Schachter, all Jewish Zeta Beta Tau members, attended the barbecue event. Schachter said he was at Chabad when he heard the news of the attack.

“There were a lot of stories going out with the stabbing, the shots and what really happened. There was a lot of confusion. There were a ton of things happening, no one knew what was real or not. It was wild,” Schachter, a sophomore industrial engineering major, said.

Snyder, a senior psychology major, said he grew increasingly worried as he learned more about what occurred.

“Once the facts started to come out, it became a lot more concerning, especially as a Jewish student here at Pitt. It was quite shocking to think that something like that could happen this close to campus,” Snyder said.

Alpert, a junior political science major, said his worries about being safe as a Jewish person have existed long before this incident.

“Since the October 7 terrorist attacks last year, Jews have been on higher alert,” Alpert said. “Safety has been an issue since then.”

Deb Levy, a member of Mothers Against College Antisemitism, an organization that supports Jewish students who are away from home, said she “wasn’t surprised” when she heard the news of the incident.

“I think that we’ve been hearing about this all over the country on college campuses,” Levy said. “I was relieved [the attacker] was not a student. That being said, it’s horrible. It’s absolutely horrible that a random person thinks it’s okay to just attack Jews who are just going to Shabbat services that are proud Jews wearing a kippah.”

On Saturday Aug. 31, Vice Provost Carla Panzella and Vice Chancellor Clyde Wilson Pickett released a message to the Pitt community addressing the assault. The email stated that law enforcement determined the attack was “not to be targeted or directed towards any specific group.”

Rothstein said while he “love[s] the University of Pittsburgh,” he disagreed with the email’s assessment of the assault. 

“I am not happy with that one line in there that says [the attack] is not racially motivated,” Rothstein said. “The people that signed the letter, Carla and Clyde, I love them [but] I think that made people a little bit frustrated. Just call a spade a spade.”

Levy emphasized that the attacker “is not representative of who is here in Pittsburgh.”

“I’m really hoping this is a one-off, and if it’s not, we’ve got a bunch of Jewish moms ready to come down and just be here for everybody,” Levy said. 

While the recent assault has impacted Pitt’s Jewish community, Levy said she was impressed by the resolve they’ve shown.

“I spoke to so many students and they are proud. They are not afraid. They are strong,” Levy said. “I think Pitt is a great place to be a Jewish student, and I want them to know we got their backs.”