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Local synagogues hold unity service to remember Pittsburgh shooting victims

Congregation Sha'arey Israel joined Temple Beth Israel in a unity service to mourn the 11 people who were gunned down at the Tree of Life synagogue.

Two Macon synagogues came together to remember the 11 people who died in a shooting.

A gunman opened fire on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh last week. Hundreds of people sang as one Friday night to mourn them.

"Let us witness firsthand that we here in Macon will never stand idly by the blood of our neighbors," said Rabbi Sataloff of Temple Beth Israel.

Rabbi Sataloff says the service is about healing.

"For me, this is an issue that doesn't just affect Jews. It affects all of us as Americans as faith-based organizations," said Sataloff.

Sataloff says the shooting hits close to home because the synagogue is where he feels the safest.

"This issue of Anti-Semitism but also this extreme violence has really come knocking at my front door," said Sataloff.

Rabbi Aaron Rubinstein of congregation Sha'arey Israel says the shooting affects people locally and several people told him they were connected to the Pittsburgh community in some way.

"It's a huge wake-up call. We've had on and off conversations about how is the security at our place of worship," said Rubinstein.

Sataloff says he hopes people can see why both synagogues came under the same roof.

"We are a strong Jewish community here, that we do have roots, we do come together, that we do not stand alone. We stand with one another," said Sataloff.

Two people inside the Pittsburgh synagogue and four officers were also wounded in the shooting.

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