(From the Sakonnet Peace Alliance)

LITTLE COMPTON — The Sakonnet Peace Alliance dedicated its weekly vigil on Sunday, Nov. 4, to the memory of the 11 members of the Tree of Life Synagogue who were gunned down at their place of worship on October 27 in Pittsburgh.

The intention of the vigil was to stand in solidarity with our members and friends who are of the Jewish faith and to condemn the anti-semitism and white supremacy that have been emboldened by the current president and by hate-filled postings on social media.

On a sparkling autumn morning on the town commons, over 60 people gathered to bear witness to this terrible event. The names of the Tree of Life victims on posters and a large banner reading We Condemn Anti-Semitism and another saying Stop Hate were held in front of the crowd.

Several members of the Sakonnet Peace Alliance addressed the group. Glenn Katz, who grew up in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood where the attack took place, talked about her neighborhood and the loss to her community, considered a model of diversity and harmony. Jana Porter told a story recounted to her by 90 year old peace group member, Virginia Peckham, about a time in Virginia’s childhood when the Ku Klux Klan was active in town and a group of a dozen or so men, including Virginia’s father, peacefully drove them out of Little Compton.

Steve Sherman, Glenn’s husband and a medical student, spoke passionately about what we can learn from the personal stories of last week. And afterwards. Glenn read the names of the dead from the Tree of Life synagogue with Ginny Greenwood responding with a Jewish prayer entitled “Remember Me”.

The gathering closed with Jerry Cohen reciting the Kaddish in Hebrew while Abigail Brooks read an English translation.