It was the fifteen worst minutes in American Jewish history.

It happened on October 27, 2018. It was a Shabbat morning. A gunman, Robert Bowers, entered the Tree of Life -Or L’Simcha Congregation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – in the heart of the historically Jewish Squirrel Hill neighborhood. Bowers opened fire on the worshipers, and by the time his attack was over, eleven worshipers were killed, and six were wounded.

Over the years, I have spent much time in Pittsburgh, teaching and lecturing. I have what I can only call an urban crush on the city. That is especially true of Squirrel Hill, which is one of the last true "shtetls" in America, a village that was the model for Fred Rogers' "neighborhood of make believe," a place where everyone knew and cared for each other, and a place where Jews came, settled, and mostly stayed, no matter what their level of affluence.

Prior to that Shabbat morning service, by my own calculation – there had been eight fatalities due to antisemitic violence in American history.

The shooting in Pittsburgh almost doubled that number.

Other acts of violence – the shooting at Chabad in Poway, California; the shooting at the kosher grocery store in Jersey City, New Jersey; the machete murder of the rabbi in Monsey, New York to follow.

The Tree of Life shooting was a trauma in American Jewish history. As jury selection continues for the trial of Robert Bowers, the scab has been torn off that wound, and the Jews of Pittsburgh experience that trauma anew.

The big question: If found guilty, should Bowers get the death penalty?

That is the subject of this podcast with Marshall Dayan -- attorney, law professor, and an activist against capital punishment.

Marshall has been actively involved in the anti-death penalty movement since 1981, and has represented those charged with or convicted of capital crimes since 1986.

He has served as Chair of the Board of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty; as President of the North Carolina-based People of Faith Against the Death Penalty, and as Vice Chair of the Commission on Social Action for Reform Judaism.

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