As you all know, on Saturday, October 27th, a man walked into a synagogue in Pittsburgh and killed 11 innocent people. 11 lives were lost because of anti-Semitism; because a man thought it was OK to attack a synagogue full of my people, Jewish people, who went to temple simply to pray.

When I heard what happened, I immediately thought about one of the most tragic events that occurred in all of world history, the Holocaust. Although the recent shooting Pittsburgh wasn't as nearly as massive as the infamous Holocaust, it truly made me think of the parallels that existed between the two tragedies. Both of these horrific events happened because of one thing, anti-Semitism, and bigotry. The main difference, however, is that the recent shooting took place in 2018, what is supposed to be a time of acceptance for all, regardless of, among many other things, religious beliefs. The Holocaust took place in the 1940s. Do you realize how scary that is?

Throughout all of my time in Hebrew school, whenever we talked about anything related to the Holocaust, we would always say that we will "never forget" and that we must do everything in our power to make sure it never happens again. Look where we are now. Because of the recent events, I am truly afraid. I am afraid first and foremost for the Jewish people. I am afraid to practice my religion openly. I am afraid for my future children and for future generations of Jewish children.

When an event such as this one takes place, we must ask ourselves how we got here in the first place. Is it because we have not prevented against a culture of hate from developing? Is it because we don't provide enough education about minority religious groups in our schools? Or is it because we have simply ignored the fact that hate, anti-Semitism, and bigotry are still alive and well among our society? We may never figure out a concrete answer to this question, but we certainly need to do something about it.

I am and will always be a proud Jewish young woman. I will not let hate win, and I will do everything in my power to prevent this from ever happening again. I am calling on everyone - Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Atheist, Hindu, or Buddhist, whoever you are, wherever you are, and whatever you believe in - to please join me in fighting to combat hatred and anti-Semitism.

In light of these events, I have committed to actively promoting the statement "never forget." I will not let hate win. My community will not let hate win. We will persevere and rise up again. This will not break us. May we let this tragedy inspire us to stand tall and proud as Jews and actively fight on. As Gandhi once said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world."

We must do everything to ensure that this atrocity does not make us weak and instead let it make us into a stronger community, and may we make those 11 individuals proud of who we are and what we will become.