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Pittsburgh synagogue trial: Expert says antisemitism and white supremacism, not delusions, spurred shooter
PITTSBURGH (JTA) — The gunman who murdered 11 Jewish worshipers in a Pittsburgh synagogue did not suffer from delusions but was spurred by white supremacist radicalization, a storied forensic psychiatrist testified for the prosecution.
Park Dietz, who has for decades provided expert testimony in some of the highest profile insanity defense cases, was the final witness in the first part of the death penalty phase in the federal trial of Robert Bowers, who committed the deadliest attack on American Jews in history on Oct. 27, 2018.
Dietz, a witness for the prosecution, countered defense testimony that Bowers suffered from schizophrenia and delusions. Bowers got his ideas about Jews not from his twisted imagination but from the antisemitic writings online that radicalized him.
“The difference” between himself and experts brought forward by the defense is “whether we regard the defendant’s beliefs as delusions on the one hand or subcultural beliefs on the other,” Dietz said Monday on his second day of testimony. His testimony began last Thursday.
The defense experts, Dietz said Monday, “simply mistook every ordinary widespread white separatist beliefs as delusions because they were not familiar with them.”
Dietz placed Bowers’ crime in the context of decades of American right-wing extremism. “When you see this promoted for 20 years or 40 years promoted in books and online forums it is clear they are subcultural beliefs,” said Dietz, who in May examined Bowers for 15 hours.
Dietz, who has conducted substantial research on far-right extremism, said that Bowers’ thinking could be traced to a number of late 20th-century writings that have underpinned white supremacist ideology, including the “White Genocide Manifesto” authored in 1985 by David Lane — the leader of The Order who killed Jewish radio host Alan Berg.
“There were sources for all of this,” he said. “The ‘White Genocide Manifesto’ was the principal one from which much of this flows.” He also cited the “Great Replacement” theory which posits that Jews are organizing mass immigrations of immigrants of color into western nations to replace whites.
Replacement theory, which has gained significant traction in right-wing media and politics in recent years, has inspired multiple antisemitic and extremist attacks, including the 2019 attack on a New Zealand mosque that killed 51 and the 2019 massacre at a Texas Walmart that targeted Hispanic immigrants.
Dietz is the final witness in the first part of the death penalty phase, which mostly has focused on whether Bowers’ intent meets the requirement for the death penalty. If the jury determines that the crimes meet that threshold, the second phase will consider the defense’s arguments that mitigating factors in Bowers’ life make him ineligible for the death penalty. The prosecution would be expected to present victim impact statements in that phase.
The federal jury of five men and seven women found Bowers guilty of all 63 government charges on June 16, including 22 capital charges — two for each of the 11 slain at the Pittsburgh synagogue complex known as Tree of Life.
The Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, June 26, 2023. (Ron Kampeas)
The defense has sought since the launch of the death penalty phase on June 26 to show that Bowers’ beliefs about Jews were delusions caused by schizophrenia and epilepsy.
Dietz, under cross examination by defense lawyer Michael Burt, was immovable: Bowers did not have an original thought that would qualify as a delusion. “The entire area of disagreement in this case, is does he have delusions or not,” he said. “That’s the critical fulcrum in this case.”
Bowers did not have delusions, Dietz said. “I’m talking about his white supremacist and antisemitic beliefs — those are all fixed,” he said.
Bowers, Dietz said, remained unrepentant. His regrets included not bringing more ammunition into the building, calculating that he would head to another location after committing the massacre at Tree of Life. The second intended target is believed to be the Jewish Family and Community Services office, which was nearby.
Another regret, Bowers told Dietz, was that “there wasn’t dozens of dozens more in there” when he arrived at the synagogue that Saturday morning.
Bowers was proud nonetheless of the number of Jews he did kill, Dietz said. “They can kill me” with the death penalty, Dietz quoted Bowers as saying, “if they want but the score will still be 11-1. That’s not winning the war but I won that battle.”
Bowers was proud that his handling of the ammunition was “flawless” and said he remained focused throughout the shooting. He told Dietz one moment of near sympathy for his victims, a man who he shot in the head and who spoke as he lived on for a second or so.
“I never heard a single person say a word except for one man who was slumped over and said ‘I think I’ve been seriously injured,’” Dietz quoted Bowers as saying of that victim, who was not identified. “I almost felt sorry for him.”
Bowers, clad in a gray sweater and a collared shirt, did not look at Dietz, preoccupying himself as he has until now with writing notes.
Bowers targeted Tree of Life because one of three congregations in it, Dor Hadash, partnered with HIAS, the Jewish immigration advocacy group, in sponsoring refugee families. Dietz testified that Bowers at first intended to target only Dor Hadash but after hearing newscasters whom he believed to be Jewish express sympathy for immigrants, he decided “a Jew is a Jew.”
Dietz, a forensic psychiatrist at UCLA’s medical school, has evaluated defendants including John Hinckley, who attempted to kill President Ronald Reagan; mass murderer Jeffrey Dahmer and Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, among many others. He also is listed on the Internet Movie Database as a consultant on hundreds of episodes of “Law and Order” and its franchises.
Burt, in his cross examination, appeared to anticipate arguments the defense will bring should the trial continue to the second death penalty phase. He asked Dietz to assess Bowers’ likelihood of suffering mental illness because of trauma. Dietz agreed with Burt that Bowers had suffered some of the requisite traumas, including losing his father to suicide and being raised by an alcoholic and neglectful mother.
This story is part of ongoing coverage of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial. Parts of the story are based on reporting by the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle and the Pittsburgh Union Progress in a collaboration supported by funding from the Pittsburgh Media Partnership.
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North London Synagogue, Nursery Targeted in Eighth Local Antisemitic Incident in Just Over a Week
Demonstrators against antisemitism in London on Sept. 8, 2025. Photo: Campaign Against Antisemitism
A synagogue and its nursery school in the Golders Green area of north London were targeted in an antisemitic attack on Thursday morning — the eighth such incident locally in just over a week amid a shocking surge of anti-Jewish hate crimes in the area.
The synagogue and Jewish nursery were smeared with excrement in an antisemitic outrage echoing a series of recent incidents targeting the local Jewish community.
“The desecration of another local synagogue and a children’s nursery with excrement is a vile, deliberate, and premeditated act of antisemitism,” Shomrim North West London, a Jewish organization that monitors antisemitism and also serves as a neighborhood watch group, said in a statement.
“This marks the eighth antisemitic incident locally in just over a week, to directly target the local Jewish community,” the statement read. “These repeated attacks have left our community anxious, hurt, and increasingly worried.”
Local law enforcement confirmed they are reviewing CCTV footage and collecting evidence to identify the suspect and bring them to justice.
This latest anti-Jewish hate crime came just days after tens of thousands of people marched through London in a demonstration against antisemitism, amid rising levels of antisemitic incidents across the United Kingdom since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
In just over a week, seven Jewish premises in Barnet, the borough in which Golders Green is located, have been targeted in separate antisemitic incidents.
According to the Metropolitan Police, an investigation has been launched into the targeted attacks, all of which involved the use of bodily fluids.
During the incidents, a substance was smeared on four synagogues and a private residence, while a liquid was thrown at a school and over a car in two other attacks.
As the investigation continues, local police said they believe the same suspect is likely responsible for all seven offenses, which are being treated as religiously motivated criminal damage.
No arrests have been made so far, but law enforcement said it is actively engaging with the local Jewish community to provide reassurance and support.
The Community Security Trust (CST), a nonprofit charity that advises Britain’s Jewish community on security matters, condemned the recent wave of attacks and called on authorities to take immediate action.
“The extreme defilement of several Jewish locations in and around Golders Green is utterly abhorrent and deeply distressing,” CST said in a statement.
“CST is working closely with police and communal partners to support victims and help identify and apprehend the perpetrator,” it continued.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) also denounced the attacks, calling for urgent measures to protect the Jewish community.
“These repeated incidents are leaving British Jews anxious and vulnerable in their own neighborhoods, not to mention disgusted,” CAA said in a statement.
Since the start of the war in Gaza, the United Kingdom has experienced a surge in antisemitic crimes and anti-Israel sentiment.
Last month, CST published a report showing there were 1,521 antisemitic incidents in the UK from January to June of this year. It marks the second-highest total of incidents ever recorded by CST in the first six months of any year, following the first half of 2024 in which 2,019 antisemitic incidents were recorded.
In total last year, CST recorded 3,528 antisemitic incidents for 2024, the country’s second worst year for antisemitism despite being an 18 percent drop from 2023’s record of 4,296.
In previous years, the numbers were significantly lower, with 1,662 incidents in 2022 and 2,261 hate crimes in 2021.
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Germany to Hold Off on Recognizing Palestinian State but Will Back UN Resolution for Two-State Solution
German national flag flutters on top of the Reichstag building, that seats the Germany’s lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, March 25, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
Germany will support a United Nations resolution for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but does not believe the time has come to recognize a Palestinian state, a government spokesman told Reuters on Thursday.
“Germany will support such a resolution which simply describes the status quo in international law,” the spokesman said, adding that Berlin “has always advocated a two-state solution and is asking for that all the time.”
“The chancellor just mentioned two days ago again that Germany does not see that the time has come for the recognition of the Palestinian state,” the spokesman added.
Britain, France, Canada, Australia, and Belgium have all said they will recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly later this month, although London said it could hold back if Israel were to take steps to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and commit to a long-term peace process.
The United States strongly opposes any move by its European allies to recognize Palestinian independence.
Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the US has told other countries that recognition of a Palestinian state will cause more problems.
Those who see recognition as a largely symbolic gesture point to the negligible presence on the ground and limited influence in the conflict of countries such as China, India, Russia, and many Arab states that have recognized Palestinian independence for decades.
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UN Security Council, With US Support, Condemns Strikes on Qatar
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
The United Nations Security Council on Thursday condemned recent strikes on Qatar’s capital Doha, but did not mention Israel in the statement agreed to by all 15 members, including Israel‘s ally the United States.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with the attack on Tuesday, escalating its military action in what the United States described as a unilateral attack that does not advance US and Israeli interests.
The United States traditionally shields its ally Israel at the United Nations. US backing for the Security Council statement, which could only be approved by consensus, reflects President Donald Trump’s unhappiness with the attack ordered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Council members underscored the importance of de-escalation and expressed their solidarity with Qatar. They underlined their support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar,” read the statement, drafted by Britain and France.
The Doha operation was especially sensitive because Qatar has been hosting and mediating negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire in the Gaza war.
“Council members underscored that releasing the hostages, including those killed by Hamas, and ending the war and suffering in Gaza must remain our top priority,” the Security Council statement read.
The Security Council will meet later on Thursday to discuss the Israeli attack at a meeting due to be attended by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.