PITTSBURGH (AP) — More than 1,000 people have poured into one of Pittsburgh’s largest synagogues to mourn the two intellectually disabled brothers who were killed in Saturday’s massacre.
Rabbi Jeffrey Myers says Cecil and David Rosenthal were the very definition of “beautiful souls” at their joint funeral Tuesday at Rodef Shalom. Myers also survived the attack and is officiating at five other victims’ funerals.
He says their absence will be deeply felt at Tree of Life, the Pittsburgh synagogue where 11 people were gunned down Saturday in the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history.
Their family asked for donations to be sent to Tree of Life or Achieva in lieu of flowers.
Services for Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz were also being held Tuesday.
___
12:30 p.m.
Pennsylvania’s governor and Pittsburgh’s mayor both say they will not join President Donald Trump during his scheduled trip to Pittsburgh.
Trump faces an uneasy welcome Tuesday afternoon in the anguished community of Squirrel Hill, home to the Tree of Life synagogue where 11 people were gunned down during Sabbath services on Saturday.
Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s campaign spokeswoman, Beth Melena, says the governor based his decision on input from the victims’ families who told him they did not want the president to be there on the day their loved ones were being buried.
Democratic Mayor Bill Peduto says he also won’t greet Trump.
Peduto earlier said the White House ought to consult with the families of the victims about their preferences and asked that the president not come during a funeral.
___
11:35 a.m.
Hundreds of mourners dressed mostly in black are lined up, ringing the perimeter of Pittsburgh’s city’s oldest and largest synagogue, Rodef Shalom, to pay respect for two intellectually disabled brothers who were gunned down on Saturday.
A funeral was set to begin at noon Tuesday for Cecil and David Rosenthal, who were both in their 50s.
They were among 11 people who died in the massacre inside the Tree of Life Synagogue.
The mourners include Dr. Abe Friedman, who said the Rosenthal family is well known in Pittsburgh for their philanthropy and kindness. Friedman would sit in the back row of Tree of Life each week along with the brothers, and would have been killed along with them had he not run late Saturday.
Services for Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz were also being held Tuesday.
___
10:25 a.m.
The casket of Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz has arrived at the Jewish Community Center in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood for the first of the funerals following the massacre that left 11 people dead at the Tree of Life synagogue Saturday.
Rabinowitz’ funeral was to begin at 11 a.m. Tuesday, and the funeral for brothers Cecil and David Rosenthal at noon.
All but one of the other funerals are scheduled through the rest of the week, ending on Friday.
Gunman Robert Bowers is due back in federal court for a hearing Thursday.
___
12:17 a.m.
Two brothers who were killed in the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting will be mourned at one of the first funerals to follow the massacre.
Funerals are set Tuesday for Cecil and David Rosenthal and two of the other 11 victims, Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz and Daniel Stein.
Other victims’ funerals have been scheduled through Friday in a week of mourning, anguish and questions about the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump plan to visit Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
The suspect in Saturday’s massacre, Robert Gregory Bowers, appeared Monday in a federal court. He didn’t enter a plea and was ordered held without bail for a court date Thursday.
Authorities say the 46-year-old truck driver expressed hatred of Jews during and after the rampage.
