$6.3M raised for synagogue massacre

Associated Press

A $6.3 million fund established after the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre will primarily be split among the families of the dead and survivors of the worst attack on Jews in U.S. history, organizers announced Tuesday.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh set up the Victims of Terror Fund after the Oct. 27 attack at Tree of Life synagogue that killed 11 and wounded seven. The fund took in more than 8,500 donations from 48 states and at least eight countries.

Most of the money, about $4.4 million, will be given to those most directly affected by the attack, including victims’ families and two seriously injured congregants. The committee awarded about $437,000 to nine congregants who were trapped inside Tree of Life, “fearing for their own lives and, in some cases, watching relatives and friends being murdered,” the report said. Police officers who were shot and wounded while responding will split $500,000.

The fund stopped accepting donations Feb. 27.