PITTSBURGH,
Around 1,500
people took to the streets of Pittsburgh Tuesday to demonstrate
peacefully in song against a visit by US President Donald Trump and to
mourn 11 Jewish worshipers killed in a synagogue.
The
crowd of all ages and faiths, including many young families, children
and the elderly, marched for six blocks holding signs that read
"President Hate, Leave Our State!" and "Trump's Lies Kill."
They
marched through leafy Squirrel Hill, the tolerant and diverse
neighbourhood that has been a beating heart of Pittsburgh's Jewish
community, home to the synagogue where Saturday's carnage took place.
Trump
flew into the city with wife Melania to pay his respects at the Tree of
Life synagogue, but many in the largely Democratic city say his
rhetoric and vitriolic tweets have fanned white supremacy and are
fuelling a spike in anti-Semitism across the United States.
'WHITE NATIONALISM'
The
rally began with an organizer reading aloud from an open letter written
by a group of Pittsburgh Jewish leaders to Trump, telling him he bears
responsibility for the shooting and asking him not to come.
"President Trump, you are not welcome in Pittsburgh until you fully renounce white nationalism," she read.
The
crowd broke into soft a-capella song, which they continued as they
marched through the neighbourhood, watched by residents and shop workers
who poured out of their homes and businesses in solidarity.
"I
just think it's important to show solidarity in this time of
unimaginable tragedy," said Patricia Calderone, 62, a retiree and a
photographer, who made a "Trump's Lies Kill" sign.
'STRONGER THAN HATE'
The
Steel City is "stronger than the hate," she said. "It's a very diverse
city, it's a small city but people are close, people are united and
we're not going to let this happen here and hurt us."
"I
can't know what the president is thinking and I cannot know his
motivations, but I can know his words," said Gabriel McMorland, 36, who
used to live in Squirrel Hill.
"They line up so closely with the words of white nationalist terrorists and racist right-wing conspiracy theories," he added.
"What
he's saying are the kinds of thing that a Nazi sympathizer would say
and I don't think I'm exaggerating at all to say that."
Toward
the end, a short prayer was said in Hebrew, the protesters held their
arms up to the sky and tore a piece of black paper in ritual, before
observing a moment of silence punctuated only by birdsong.
As
they marched on, past a fire station and standing police officers, they
applauded loudly and chanted "thank you" in tribute to the first
responders who were called out to the massacre on Saturday.
Many in the crowd were too emotional to speak to the press. The organization was disciplined and determinedly peaceful.
A police officer at the scene confirmed there had been no incidents even as the president was in the area mourning the victims.
"I think it's more divisive than uniting," librarian Nonie Heystek, 57, said of Trump's arrival.
Friends
of friends were among those killed, she said. "Pittsburgh is a very
small place and there's really only two degrees of separation,
especially in this neighbourhood."
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