NA Unites Over Pittsburgh Tragedy

In true Newark Academy fashion, the students of the Jewish Club decided that rather than just take a moment of silence for the 11 killed at the Eytz Chayim Synagogue in Pittsburgh attending Sabbath Services on Saturday, October 27, they’d take the opportunity to open up a dialogue.

 

On Tuesday, October 30, Dean of Faculty Von Rollenhagen addressed the entire school at morning meeting about such heinous acts of violence before the leaders of the Jewish club, Kyra Cooperman ’19 and Molly Feldman ’19, offered their thoughts and reached out to the African American community to offer solidarity in the face of another act of violence. They tied it into the NA Art Department’s presentation of The Laramie Project as this year’s fall drama. The Laramie Project is based on the true story of Matthew Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming student who, in October 1998, was beaten to death in Laramie, Wyoming.

 

In the afternoon, NA welcomed Rabbi Matthew Gewirtz, Rabbi at B'nai Jeshurun in Short Hills, to come speak with our community. He has been a national leader for social justice, and in response to the shooting has recently appeared on national television. Offering words of comfort, Rabbi Matthew helped create an opportunity for members of the community to express their feelings and to offer a message of hope against the violence.