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In an unusual alliance, Jewish media and striking journalists are uniting to cover the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial
PITTSBURGH (JTA) — How many times should an alleged synagogue shooter’s name be mentioned in a news story about his trial, now beginning after more than four years?
For the Pittsburgh Union Press last month, the answer was seven. For the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, it was an uneasy five, in a departure from its usual answer of zero — a number chosen out of deference to a community devastated by the shooting.
The slight difference was the only discrepancy between one set of stories published by the two news organizations covering the trial of Robert Bowers, accused of murdering 11 Jews in their synagogue here in 2018.
The anomaly offers a window into an unusual partnership between the two publications — the city’s Jewish paper and the news site established by striking staffers for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette — born in February when it became clear that the trial would last months.
Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle editor Toby Tabachnick was dreading the trial coverage, with a staff of just three on the editorial side: herself and two reporters, David Rullo and Adam Reinherz.
“I started getting really nervous. Like, how are we going to do this?” Tabachnick said on the eve of the trial, speaking at the federal courthouse where jury selection would soon begin. “Our regular reporters could have been here. But it would have been extremely taxing, difficult and emotional for us, because we’re so ingrained in the community too.”
Plus, she added, “In addition to this trial, which is going to be every day for three months, we’re covering the synagogues, events and the holidays, the lectures, we still have a regular community newspaper to put out.”
Tabachnick knew Andrew “Goldy” Goldstein, one of the Post-Gazette’s team that picked up a Pulitzer for their coverage of the massacre, from his time as a Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle intern. She also knew he was on strike and wondered whether he could use the extra freelance opportunity.
Instead, Goldstein immediately offered up a better idea: Join with the Pittsburgh Union Progress, the strike paper, in a joint reporting project, organized in part through the Pittsburgh Media Partnership, an incubator for local journalism. (The Jewish Telegraphic Agency is raising funds for the coverage.)
Working together just made sense, Goldstein said. The Chronicle was deeply resourced and credible in the Jewish community, and the Progress had on board Torsten Ove, a local legend.
From left to right, Bob Batz of the Pittsburgh Union Progress, Toby Tabachnick of the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle and Andrew Goldstein of the Progress pose in the Joseph Weis Jr. Courthouse in Pittsburgh, April 21, 2023. (Ron Kampeas)
“We have the all-star federal courts reporter in Torsten and we have a lot of really great journalists who love Pittsburgh, love this community, and we’ll do our best to cover it,” Goldstein said, noting that the Chronicle would also have access to the Progress’s photographers. “But the Chronicle brings something different entirely to the table, which is, they’re so deeply sourced in the Pittsburgh Jewish community, and they have such an interest in this trial in particular.”
Newsroom collaborations have become more frequent in recent years as publications realize they can expand their impact and audience by working together. But while there are a growing number of relationships between local and national publications and between daily and investigative outlets, ties between mainstream newsrooms and community or ethnic media are less common.
S. Mitra Kalita, the founder and director of URL Media, a network of Black and Brown community news outlets that share content and revenue, said the value in such partnerships was not just in delivering relief as media staffs shrink, but also in sensitizing mainstream media to minority sensibilities.
“Talking about who [the ethnic media outlet is] serving and why we’re doing it this way — the spirit of real collaboration is a bit of that give and take,” she said. “We make mainstream media way better because it starts to infuse mainstream media with aspects of community and thus redefine the mainstream.”
The residual trauma of the massacre in the Pittsburgh collaboration made it all the more important for the mainstream reporters to be sensitive to the nuances that the Jewish media was bringing, she said.
“Especially a story like this one, which was such an attack on a community — a community that was singled out for their sheer existence, the strategy cannot be ‘let’s just work in parallel,” Kalita said. “It’s not going to work. It has to be kind of a cross-pollination and a real collaboration.”
That’s exactly what is happening, according to the reporters and editors involved in the project, with communication easy between each publication’s editor and expertise flowing in both directions.
Ove a denizen of the Joseph F. Weis Jr. Courthouse for so long that he can tell stories about a sizable stretch of the portraits of judges that line its corridor walls; he may be the only court reporter to seek an interview with a judge after his death, to ask him why he was haunting the place. (The judge never showed, but his widow was less than surprised to hear that he was still working.)
He led a passel of Chronicle and Progress staffers through the warren-like courthouse on the Friday before the trial, handily impressing them with his intimacy with the building — he knew the provenance of the paintings in each courtroom — and its staff. Soo Song, the assistant U.S. attorney who is leading the prosecution team, smiled and nodded as she passed.
Torsten Ove, left, of the Pittsburgh Union Progress and Adam Reinherz of the PIttsburgh Jewish Chronicle confer on the first day of jury selection for the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre trial, April 24, 2023. (Toby Tabachnick)
Ove showed the reporters how to access court records for free, and while they stood around him at one of the computer terminals, the teams’ different emphases emerged: Ove predicted that jury selection, which started last week and is expected to last as long as three weeks, would not be a news generator, because in his experience, it rarely has been.
Reinherz and Tabachnick, attuned to reporting on faith communities, were not so sure: Reinherz wondered whether believing Catholics, who reject the death penalty, would be eliminated, and Tabachnick wondered whether defense attorneys would seek to keep Jews off the jury — and how they would go about doing that.
Reinherz ended up covering the first day of jury selection. “Local and national reporters decided the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle should have one seat during the initial session of day one,” Reinherz explained in a story that appeared on both news sites. He noted that the first member of the public to enter the courtroom was Daniel Leger, one of two survivors of the attack.
Working together across platforms was odd, said Bob Batz Jr., the Progress’s interim editor, but he could get used to it.
“This is uncharted territory for someone like me, and I’ve been doing this for a long time, and we don’t, you know, we don’t collaborate,” he said.
“We compete!” Tabachnick interjected.
“What we’re doing is not common, and it’s not going to be easy,” Batz said. “Surely, we’re going to tick each other off about something or somebody is going to put the wrong word in or there’s a million things that can go wrong, but the breaking of ground where you’re actually working together, it just makes sense in so many ways on this story. We’re really trying to serve the community.”
Tabachnick said she saw added value in keeping journalists she admired in the limelight while they are on strike. Journalists at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette went on strike back in October over wages and working conditions, in a crescendo of mounting tensions between the paper’s longtime owners and the staff that contributed to a newsroom exodus even in 2018, when the paper won a Pulitzer for its synagogue shooting coverage. The strike is now one of the longest in journalism history, and the staffers contributing to the Pittsburgh Union Progress are doing so despite earning well below than their regular salaries.
“I feel good about getting their names, their publication’s name out,” Tabachnick said.
Each story is running in essentially identical form on both publications’ websites, with a line crediting their collaboration. Tabachnick and Batz had a brief and friendly email exchange before each clicked “publish” on their story about debate among victims’ families about the appropriateness of the death penalty.
The Chronicle is minimizing appearances of the name of the accused killer, out of sensitivity to readers who may want to see their community members centered rather than their aggressor. Some researchers and law enforcement officials have also called on journalists not to print mass shooters’ names and photographs, citing evidence that doing so may contribute to their glorification and even copycat crimes.
Batz says he totally gets the Chronicle’s thinking, despite making a different choice in his newsroom.
“We’re still feeling our way, we’re still figuring this out,” Batz said. “They don’t name the defendant in their story, and they haven’t. And our guy Torsten who’s an all-star courts reporter, he’s going to use the guy’s name. And then in real time going back and forth on email and text we came up with his solution and that story was on both websites in minutes and it was really kind of cool.”
Tabachnick picked up the account of the previous night’s collaboration as if she’d been working across a desk from Batz for decades instead of online since February.
“The solution was that I realized that with the trial starting, it really didn’t make sense not to use his name at all anymore that we really needed to as a news organization,” she said. “But that didn’t mean we had to overuse his name. And I’m not saying Torsten overused his name. He used it as much as he needed to use it in terms of style, but I took out a few of them and replaced it with ‘the defendant’ and we were all happy.”
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Antisemitism tensions rise as NYC Young Republicans host white nationalists, conspiracy theorists at annual gala
(JTA) — The guest list at the New York Young Republican Club’s annual gala on Saturday included white nationalists, antisemitic conspiracy theorists and a Jewish City Councilwoman, who ultimately decided not to attend.
Inna Vernikov, a Jewish City Council member who represents a south Brooklyn district with a large Russian Jewish population, did not attend despite being promoted as an “honored guest.” Vernikov, who was one of a few politicians to back out, later suggested on social media that her absence was connected to antisemitism on the right.
Those who did attend the gala included a NYYRC member and former George Santos staffer who had posted a video depicting Jews as cockroaches, costing him his job on Matt Gaetz’s news show; politicians from Germany’s far-right party which the country officially labeled an extremist group; Jared Taylor, the editor of a white supremacist website called American Renaissance; and Sneako, the streamer who posts antisemitic content and has said “people are sick of hearing about the Holocaust.”
Meanwhile, avowed antisemite Nick Fuentes said he received an invite and made the trip to New York — even though the New York Young Republican Club said by email on Monday that he “was never formally invited.”
Fuentes was seen lingering outside Cipriani, the upscale restaurant where the gala took place, Politico reported, but did not attend the event itself. He recorded a stream with Sneako following the black-tie affair, saying his invite had been rescinded at the last minute to avoid a potential “revolt.”
Saturday’s gala was held during a moment of growing debate about antisemitism on the right, and as Fuentes’ seemingly ascendant role within the Republican Party has emerged as a source of anxiety among more mainstream Republicans.
The New York Young Republicans Club has generated some of the angst. Just weeks ago, the club’s statewide counterpart disbanded in the wake of leaked group chats in which officials joked about gas chambers, praised Adolf Hitler and used racist, antisemitic and homophobic slurs. (Attendees seemingly referenced those texts on Saturday, according to Talking Points Memo, joking with each other that they were “neo-Nazis.”)
The debate on the right has centered largely around how to deal with figures like Fuentes, who calls Hitler “cool” and has been interviewed by major personalities like Tucker Carlson and Piers Morgan.
Republican politicians, including non-Jewish ones such as Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham, have scorched Carlson for his friendly interview with Fuentes. Vice President JD Vance, meanwhile, has drawn scrutiny for not condemning Carlson or Fuentes, and for previous instances of not pushing back against antisemitic conspiracies. Vance also downplayed the leaked texts as “jokes” and said critics should “grow up.” Trump, meanwhile, defended Carlson, saying, “You can’t tell him who to interview.” (He also dined with Fuentes and rapper Kanye West in 2022, but later said he didn’t know who Fuentes was.)
On Sunday, the day after the gala, Vernikov took to X to post about the Republicans’ growing antisemitism problem, saying, “I will DISASSOCIATE myself from any event, individual, or organization whether Democrat or Republican, that welcomes these vile bigots into their mist, defends them or amplifies their voices,” referring to figures like Fuentes, Carlson and Candace Owens.
Antisemitic rhetoric “has fully infiltrated the Democratic Party,” Vernikov wrote on X, adding, “Unfortunately today the same venom has entered corners of the conservative movement and the hard RIGHT WING of the Republican Party.”
Then she named names, writing, “Lunatics like Nick Fuentes, Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson, who spew bigoted, racist and antisemitic rhetoric, should be condemned and excommunicated from the Republican Party never to be welcomed again.”
Vernikov declined to comment further on the event.
The gala was hosted by Matan Even, an 18-year-old Israeli-American YouTuber known for his pranks, such as crashing a 2022 Game Awards speech to thank his “Reform Orthodox rabbi, Bill Clinton.” Even’s humor, which involved singing the “Spongebob Squarepants” theme song onstage, seemingly did not land. Even is Jewish but has recorded streams with Sneako despite the latter’s use of antisemitic conspiracy theories.
Right-wing pundit and activist Jack Posobiec was the event’s keynote speaker, and delivered a fiery speech in which he spoke about Charlie Kirk’s death while holding a rosary.
The far-right Alternative for Germany party, or AfD, was represented at the gala by about 20 lawmakers at the state, federal and EU levels. The AfD has drawn criticism for using slogans similar to the Nazi party’s and was classified this year as a right-wing extremist organization by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency.
Rep. Dan Goldman, the Democratic congressman whose district includes Lower Manhattan, where the gala was held, wrote earlier on Saturday that the NYYRC was “rolling out the red carpet for leaders of Germany’s Nazi-cosplaying AfD party.”
“I condemn it in the strongest of terms, as should my New York Republican colleagues,” he wrote. “The AfD and their bigotry is not welcome in NY-10.”
At the gala, a protester wearing a Nazi armband was removed after popping up from his seat and reportedly yelling “I guess we’re all Nazis!” In a video recorded outside after his removal, the protester, who later said he was Jewish, pointed to the Nazi symbol and said, “This is what this event represents,” naming specifically the invitations of Vish Burra — the man who posted a video depicting Jews as roaches — and of AfD officials.
The NYYRC’s Twitter account countered accusations of being “Nazis” by writing that “the only swastika in the room was held by a left-wing freak protester who we forcefully booted from the premises.”
The protester was told to “go back to Israel” by an attendee, who then accepted the swastika banner from the protester and left with it.
Stefano Forte, the club’s president, spoke defiantly about the NYYRC’s partnership with the AfD.
“You want us to denounce the AfD? You want us to denounce our allies? You want us to denounce those that stand with us?” he asked.
“Well here’s a denunciation. We unequivocally denounce the fake news media that distorts the truth to put us in danger,” he said, referring to right-wingers being labelled “Nazis” as leading to assassination attempts on Trump and Charlie Kirk.
Forte also declared that the club was “prepared to endorse” Trump for a third presidential term in 2028, drawing loud applause.
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Jewish donors help raise $1.3M for Ahmed al Ahmed, the Muslim man who disarmed a Bondi Beach attacker
(JTA) — A crowdfunding campaign to support Ahmed al Ahmed, the Muslim fruit seller shot after disarming one of the men who was attacking a Hanukkah event in Sydney, generated $1.3 in its first day — with the largest donation coming from the American Jewish billionaire Bill Ackman.
Ackman gave $66,000 to the GoFundMe for al Ahmed and promoted the campaign to his followers, tweeting, “This is the verified link for the Bondi hero.”
In a viral video on Sunday, shortly after the attack on Bondi Beach that left 15 killed and over 40 injured, al Ahmed, 43, can be seen crouching behind a car before jumping into action as one of the terrorists shoots a firearm at the Jewish celebration. Al Ahmed, a Syrian-born father of two who was unarmed, then jumped on the attacker from behind, wresting the firearm from his hands.
“In a moment of chaos and danger, he stepped forward without hesitation,” the sponsors of the GoFundMe, Car Hub Australia, wrote on the page. “His actions were selfless, instinctive, and undeniably heroic, taken without regard for his own safety. Early reports indicate he was shot twice in the process while protecting others.”
As al Ahmed’s heroic actions were shared widely on social media on Sunday, he garnered praise from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
As al Ahmed recovered from his injuries in a hospital on Monday, he was visited by Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales, the Australian state that includes Sydney.
“Ahmed is a real-life hero,” wrote Minns in a post on X alongside a photo of him visiting al Ahmed in the hospital. “Last night, his incredible bravery no doubt saved countless lives when he disarmed a terrorist at enormous personal risk.”
Praise also poured in on social media from Jewish leaders in the United States, including the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders.
“Ahmed al Ahmed, a Muslim father of two, risked his life to disarm a murderer who was shooting down Jews celebrating Hanukkah in Sydney,” wrote Sanders in a post on X. “Religion must not divide our common humanity. We must stand together and end antisemitism, Islamophobia and all hate — no exceptions.”
For others, al Ahmed’s act of bravery during the massacre appeared to be divine intervention — coming as it did at a time when many Jews feel isolated and abandoned by their non-Jewish allies.
“I’ve been thinking about this man Ahmed and his selfless act of courage, and I can’t help but feel that it as an act of God,” wrote Jewish social media influencer Alana Zeitchik in a post on Instagram. “It is a message that could only have been written by something higher than all of us. Like all actions it has a ripple effect. In this moment of immense grief and fear, his actions repair a painful tear in the collective Jewish soul that so badly needed to be tended to.”
She continued, “He will be cherished and spoken about by our people for generations.”
Among the 34,000 donors to the GoFundMe campaign so far are several who said in notes that they were Jewish and explained why they donated unusual sums, in multiples of $18.
“Ahmed, you are a true hero. As a Jewish supporter, I donated $180 USD because 18 (“chai”) represents life. Your courage embodied that meaning in the most profound way,” wrote Craig Gross. “Thank you for what you did, and may you heal fully and quickly.”
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4 members of pro-Palestinian group arrested for planning bombings across Los Angeles
(JTA) — Federal authorities have arrested four people in connection to an alleged plot to bomb locations across Southern California on New Year’s Eve.
The four suspects — Audrey Ilene Carroll, 30, Dante Garfield, 24, Zachary Aaron Page, 32, and Tina Lai, 41 — are members of the Turtle Island Liberation Front, an offshoot of a pro-Palestinian far-left extremist group, according to the Department of Justice and FBI.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the arrests in a post on X on Monday, writing that the arrests had foiled what “would have been a massive and horrific terror plot in the Central District of California.”
“The Turtle Island Liberation Front—a far-left, pro-Palestine, anti-government, and anti-capitalist group—was preparing to conduct a series of bombings against multiple targets in California beginning on New Year’s Eve. The group also planned to target ICE agents and vehicles,” wrote Bondi.
The group’s name is an Indigenous reference to the American continent, and the group promotes aggressive actions in support of decolonization.
“Peaceful protest will never be enough,” wrote the group in a recent social media post. “Free occupied Turtle Island from the illegal American empire. Free Palestine. Free Hawaii. Free Puerto Rico.”
Earlier this month, the group posted the address of the Wilshire Boulevard Temple, inviting followers to “join us in a protest against these genocidal monsters” while the synagogue was hosting Israeli speakers. Two people were arrested during the pro-Palestinian protest at the synagogue, which was called “abhorrent” by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
The arrests in the alleged New Year’s plot took place last week in the Mojave Desert where the suspects were allegedly planning to test improvised explosive devices. The group now faces charges including conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device, according to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
Patel said that the FBI had also arrested a “FIFTH individual believed to be linked to this radical TILF subgroup – also allegedly planning a separate violent attack.”
On Monday, a post on what appeared to be the group’s instagram account of a “Palestine Pop Up” market was flooded with comments about the arrest: “Have fun in jail,” many of the comments said.
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