Jewish community sends thoughts and prayers to Pittsburgh

Members of the Jewish community in Atlantic Canada say they're heartbroken for the victims of the shooting in Pittsburgh on Saturday.

Eleven people were killed when a gunman opened fire inside one of the city's synagogues.

"It's heartbreaking, really, it is," said Naomi Rosenfeld, the executive director of the Atlantic Jewish Council. "We're outraged. We're horrified by this tragedy that took place in Pittsburgh."

Rosenfeld said it's important for the community to remain vigilant.

"We know that even in Canada, according to Statistics Canada, the Jewish community remains the most targeted religious minority in the country. So we take our security very, very seriously," she said.

The Atlantic Jewish Council works with synagogues all over the region to provide training for volunteers and staff at its various community organizations.

"We have these conversations on the regular and then we also maintain very strong relationships with all of our local law enforcement and so we make sure that any incident, no matter how big or how small, we report it to them," she said.

Tragedy draws community closer

Rosenfeld adds that the majority of Canadians and Americans are not anti-Semitic.

"We know that the vast majority of Canadians and Americans are loving people and want peace and want to live with our neighbours — but we absolutely have to remain vigilant. That's not so much a reaction to this (shooting), that's an everyday occurrence."

She said a tragedy like this brings the community close.

"The Jewish community across North America is small and when one of us it hurting, all of us are hurting. So we really just, we're heartbroken and we're sending our love to Pittsburgh, to the Jewish community, to the victims and to their families. It's very sad."