The attack on the Beth Israel Synagogue in Colleyville, TX on Saturday comes amid a growing sense of fear among Jewish communities in the US.

"Thank God it ended well, but it could have also ended very badly," Chairman of the Executive of the World Zionist Organization Yaakov Hagoel told Israel Hayom. According to Hagoel, who is also the de facto chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, "We have had our concerns for many years, and although synagogues have long been a potential target, this has been more evident in recent years."

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Hagoel further said, "We see antisemitism getting stronger, and antisemitic incidents have increased around the world; social media has been fueling radicals who want to hurt Jews." He lamented that "one can go on social media and get guides on how to perpetrate an attack."

Antisemitic attacks against Jewish institutions, not a new phenomenon in Europe, have gradually become more common in the US as well due to social media. The 2018 massacre in Pittsburgh and the deadly shooting in Poway have shown just how bad things have become. The Jewish Federations of North America have recently launched a campaign to raise $54 million to provide security to Jewish synagogues and institutions.

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The state of Pennsylvania will allocate $6.6 million in funding to redevelop the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, where in 2018 a gunman murdered 11 worshippers and wounded six others in the worst antisemitic attack in US history.

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Governor Tom Wolf made the announcement at a press conference on Monday outside of the congregation in the city's Squirrel Hill neighborhood, calling the contribution for the renovation a "Hanukkah present" on the final day of the holiday.

"Tree of Life is undertaking a project to remember the past, to inform the present, and promote healing for the future," Wolf said, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "And I am so proud to support the communities' efforts to reimagine this space, to create a welcoming place for residents, for visitors in Pittsburgh to reflect, and to learn, and to grow."

The money will be used to renovate the main sanctuary and replace the chapel, where the victims were killed on Oct. 27, 2018 when the suspect in the shooting, Robert Bowers, burst into the synagogue shouting "all Jews must die" as he opened fire, according to police.

The synagogue also plans to build a memorial garden to the 11 victims.

Bowers, who pleaded not guilty, is facing dozens of federal and state charges, including capital crimes and hate crimes.

i24NEWS contributed to this report

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Myers heads the Tree of Life – Or L'Simcha Congregation, whose synagogue in Pittsburg, bearing the same name, was the target of the worst anti-Semitic incident in American history last year.

He spoke with Israel Hayom several weeks ago, as Pittsburgh's Jewish community was preparing to celebrate the High Holy Days for the first time since the Oct. 27, 2018 massacre at the synagogue, which claimed the lives of 11 Jews.

The victims, all of whom were Jews taking part in Shabbat services in two separate congregations at the complex, were murdered by a white supremacist.

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In the ensuing months, the congregations have had to pray elsewhere because the site of the shooting has yet to be reopened for services.

For Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, it was clear that a big venue was needed. It was then that nearby Calvary Episcopal Church stepped up to the plate: Calvary's head priest, Rev. Jonathon W. Jensen, wrote to Tree of Life, and made it clear that they would go out of their way to make sure the High Holy Days would be properly celebrated.

"Our faith calls us to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves," Jensen said. "And this is one expression of that."

Myers was extremely grateful for that gesture, which meant that some 800 congregants would use the church intermittently for about a month. The regular churchgoers were also invited to attend the services, which saw Torah scrolls and shofars placed next to crosses and images of the Twelve Apostles.

Asked about the reopening date of the synagogue, Myers struggled to answer. "That's a complexed issue to resolve, everyone realizes it's not an easy decision to put in a time frame but one day we will reopen," he said.

During the interview he reflected on that horrific event, sharing his pain at witnessing his congregants' suffering.

"At first I experienced horrible guilt but I've come to recognize I did the best I could, had I perhaps attempted more I probably wouldn't have been standing here.

"Well, I'm standing here talking to you so I guess that's a pretty good testimony amongst all these lights here that I'm doing OK. It's a challenging day by day ... So I've embraced what apparently my mission is and I move forward with it day to day, to take care of myself, take care of my congregation, and to see that 11 people didn't die in vain."

According to Myers, there is no simple answer to what needs to happen in order to return to normalcy, but he has been determined not to fall into despair.

"It's really very easy to fall prey to survivor's guilt, regret, and other feelings, and become a victim. So the feistiness you see in me is that renewed energy and vigor and faith that I have to soldier onward to do the best that I can to make our world a better place."

In the wake of the massacre, President Donald Trump and others have called on the justice system to have the shooter, 46-year-old Robert Gregory Bowers sentenced to death.

Myers refuses to take a stand on this but instead wants to focus on the help he and the community have received in the year since.

"I have no thoughts on the matter, I have complete faith in the Department of Justice to act professionally and do the right thing."

"We've gotten condolences from all over ... being there means a great deal, seeing how much people care. But words aren't necessary. Frequently there are no words and sometimes it's beyond words and just the presence of being there and letting people know you are there. I'm just one of many but it's an entire community embracing each other. That's how we get through it.

"There's no textbook, we're writing the textbook as we go along. And if you look at the research you see there's nothing out there to tell you what to do and how to do it. Particularly for the Jewish community, this has never happened. And the Jewish community has been a part of the United States for 355 years. So we're figuring it out an hour at a time, a day at a time, what to do."

The interview with Myers was conducted at the offices of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, about ten minutes from Squirrel Hill, the neighborhood where the shooting took place. The neighborhood is home to about a quarter of the 50,000 Jews who live in the area.

Family members of the victims sat next to him. During the conversation, everyone took pains to avoid talking about the shooter and to steer clear of politics. They preferred to talk about how everyone in the city, regardless of faith and ethnicity, rallied behind the Jewish community to make sure the synagogue would be renovated and reopened.

"We're very mindful of the terminology, that's the sensitivity we're trying to hold up. Throughout this past year we've discovered that language is important," Director of Jewish Life and Learning at the federation, Rabbi Amy Bardack, who also sat next to Myers, said. "What happened was not a tragedy, as that could be attributed to a natural disaster. And we don't use the word 'event' which can just as easily describe a joyous thing, like a bar mitzvah or a wedding. What we experienced was a malicious, hateful, and deliberate attack," she continued.

"Out only explicit request is that come Oct. 27 that day would be protected, and the city is honoring that by not issuing permits for marches that day," she stressed. "But there's Oct. 28, there are the days before. That's when those who feel passionate about political issues can speak to that. We're just asking for a peaceful memorial day for the community to humbly come together to commemorate."

Cecil and David Rosenthal, two disabled brothers in their fifties, were the first to be killed in the shooting. They lived near the synagogue and attended the services every week. They were loved by the community. Their sister Michele Rosenthal rushed to the scene when her husband called her to tell her there had been a shooting.

"You just got into a mode of taking care of what needs to get done ... Our parents were our priority and just making sure they were getting through this, it's me and my sister," she recalled. "We woke up the next morning and started working on the plans, per my dad's wishes because of the Jewish tradition to do things quickly. Probably best to just say it was just putting one foot in front of the other."

According to Rosenthal, family and community are key to coping with such tragedy, because they are a pillar of stability.

"It helped being surrounded by family and friends who knew how to step in and didn't ask any questions. And having my husband there just to make sure I got through the day. I spent my childhood in that building; I know all the details inside the building. I can't ever go back in."

After entering the ground floor, the shooter went to the basement, where the New Light Congregation was holding service. The Conservative congregation is led by Rabbi Jonathan Perlman, 55, who was at the synagogue during the fateful day. Myers said coping with the events has taken a heavy toll on him, shedding a tear as he spoke.

"I have discovered that trauma has many faces – there are highs and lows that will remain with me for the rest of my life. It's a wound, it's not like grief that you can recover from and make peace with.

"Trauma is something that is ready to attack you at every moment of the day; hearing gunshots on TV, loud booms on the street, might be from a car backfiring, being aware of crowds and suspicious people. It has deeply affected me and the way I deal with it is through psychotherapy primarily, through prayer, being around my friends at New Light. I've held them up but they have also held me up. And I love to interact and laugh with them; it helps me a great deal.

"I have been told that the second year after the anniversary of a trauma is worse. So I'm preparing for that. This resilience is sometimes very surprising. I strive for that but I know it is not something that is always promised

For Rabbi Perlman, the time that has passed may have helped reflect on the events, but the pain is all the same.

"I think a lot about what happened and keep seeing images in my mind. I'll share one experience: There was a man whose name was Mel Wax, who always opened our services. He was an older man, 88 years old; he had a great deal of energy, always there early. He was deaf in both ears but that didn't stop him, he kept in tune with the entire congregation.

"Once the shooting started I was able to get two people and him into a large storage room in our sanctuary, and he didn't understand what was going on. He didn't hear gunfire, he was confused and he kept thinking that whatever it was we were bothered by somehow stopped. So he left the storage closet and he was shot twice.

"I beat myself up about this because I feel like I could've wrestled him into the ground, I could've shouted at him so he would know not to leave the closet, hold his arms, something. But I know that I would've put myself in jeopardy as well."

According to Perlman, "Mel was a kind old man; he was promoting voting registration at his senior apartment building just the week before, because in services we've been talking about going out to vote." Perlman adds with pain, "Like all others, he did not deserve to die."

He constantly thinks of what could have happened had he done something different, and it pains him that he could not save Wax.

"I go through these scenarios in my mind and I think a lot of the other victims do too, how I could've done more, why didn't I save more people, why did this person choose to do x, y and z, why did they turn the other way. It's part of the trauma and the inner demon, carrying around this type of thing with you. I will never forget Mel and I ask his forgiveness and wish he could've been here celebrating the new year with me."

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Jewish Agency chair Isaac Herzog lit a memorial candle in memory of those murdered in the shooting – the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in American Jewish history.

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"B'chol dor va dor ('in every generation'), there are challenges for each generation. What strikes me is that some of our challenges today are similar to those of 90 years ago. Anti-Semitism, divisiveness among the Jewish people. … We cannot put our heads in the sand. We have challenges we must meet. We must also build the future," he told those gathered.

Among hundreds of other communal leaders at the meeting who stood for a moment of silence were Jewish Agency board chair Michael Siegel, and Pittsburgh community leader and chair of United Israel Appeal Cindy Shapira.

Shapira told the gathering of global Jewish leaders: "What happened after the attack is testimony to the resilience of the Jewish community, as well as the community at large. We remember and repair together."

She explained that she chose to be at the board of governors in Jerusalem and miss the numerous commemorative events in her hometown of Pittsburgh to focus on the resilience of Jews everywhere, saying: "I'm here at this meeting because the Jewish Agency and leadership of Jewish people around the world are in a focused mission to connect the Jewish people to each other and to Israel, security all over the world and bring those to the homeland who want to be here."

Tens of thousands of people around the world will "pause with Pittsburgh" and receive a text message on Oct. 27 at 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, calling for a moment of silence and naming the 11 Jewish worshippers who lost their lives.

In a powerful show of unity and collective remembrance, she noted, tens of thousands of people worldwide will "pause with Pittsburgh" and receive a text message on Oct. 27 at 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, calling for a moment of silence and containing a video with a mourning prayer, the names of the 11 Jewish worshippers who lost their lives, a link to virtually join Pittsburgh's local service and the opportunity to share a message of solidarity by text.

Also speaking of her experiences in Pittsburgh in the weeks following the attack, young Israeli emissary Hadar Maravent spoke on a panel at the opening ceremony with other shinshinim (emissaries who defer their army service to work in a Jewish Diaspora community for a year). She recalled working with teenagers in the aftermath, bringing her own experiences of terror attacks in Israel.

"People felt comfortable reaching out to me partly because I'm Israeli and [moving on from anti-Semitic attacks] is familiar to me in a way," she told JNS.

"We talked about anger, frustration and sadness," she said. "I wasn't just a guest in the community; I was there because I needed to be there for the teens and families that hosted me, sharing a message of hope, and that we are stronger together."

Herzog, who met Hadar in Pittsburgh a few days after the massacre, told the leaders gathered that nurturing the future of the Jewish people and promoting the shlichut (sending) of young Israeli leaders will "bring the voice of the Jewish world" back to impact Israel.

As part of the board of governors meeting, the Jewish Agency will approve its new strategic plan, which seeks to tackle the major challenges facing Jewish communities in the coming decade.

According to that plan, Herzog told JNS, the Jewish Agency will "focus our operations on connecting all the geographies within the global Jewish community, with the core strategy coming from the need to address the challenges of the Jewish world, such as divides within the Jewish people, the challenge of anti-Semitism and the security of Jewish community infrastructure around the world."

"Putting forward the idea of a new operational structure will give a platform for local partnerships that have the ability to connect Jews all over the world not only to Israel, but between themselves as well," he said.

In addition, Herzog noted that his organization will continue to focus on encouraging aliyah.

It will also focus on educating Israelis through work with its government agencies to more effectively "listen to the voice of Diaspora Jewry" and assume a major role in more effectively supporting them.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org

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The Anti-Defamation League also counted at least 50 incidents in which white supremacists are accused of targeting Jewish institutions' property since a gunman killed 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018. Those incidents include 12 cases of vandalism involving white supremacist symbols and 35 cases in which white supremacist propaganda was distributed.

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The ADL said its nationwide count of anti-Semitic incidents remains near record levels. It has counted 780 anti-Semitic incidents in the first six months of 2019, compared to 785 incidents during the same period in 2018.

The ADL's tally of 12 arrests for white supremacist plots, threats, and attacks against Jewish institutions includes the April 2019 capture of John T. Earnest, who is charged with killing one person and wounding three others in a shooting at a synagogue in Poway, California. The group said many of the cases it counted, including the Poway shooting, were inspired by previous white supremacist attacks. In online posts, Earnest said he was inspired by the deadly attacks in Pittsburgh and on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, where a gunman killed 51 people in March.

The ADL also counted three additional 2019 cases in which individuals were arrested for targeting Jews but weren't deemed to be white supremacists. Two were motivated by Islamist extremist ideology, the organization said.

The ADL said its Center on Extremism provided "critical intelligence" to law enforcement in at least three of the 12 cases it counted.

Last December, authorities in Monroe, Washington, arrested a white supremacist after the ADL notified law enforcement about suspicions he threatened on Facebook to kill Jews in a synagogue. The ADL said it also helped authorities in Lehighton, Pennsylvania, identify a white supremacist accused of using aliases to post threatening messages, including a digital image of himself pointing an AR-15 rifle at a group of praying Jewish men.

In August, an FBI-led anti-terrorism task force arrested a Las Vegas man accused of plotting to firebomb a synagogue or other targets, including a bar catering to LGTBQ customers and the ADL's Las Vegas office. The ADL said it warned law enforcement officials about the man's online threats.

"We cannot and will not rest easy knowing the threat posed by white supremacists and other extremists against the Jewish community is clear and present," the group's CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, said in a statement.

The ADL said it counted at least 30 additional incidents in which people with an "unknown ideology" targeted Jewish institutions with acts of arson, vandalism or propaganda distribution that the group deemed to be anti-Semitic or "generally hateful," but not explicitly white supremacist.

"These incidents include the shooting of an elderly man outside a synagogue in Miami, fires set at multiple Jewish institutions in New York and Massachusetts, Molotov cocktails thrown at synagogue windows in Chicago, damaged menorahs in Georgia and New Jersey, as well as a wide range of anti-Semitic graffiti," an ADL report said.

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On Friday, they outlined their vision for the Tree of Life building, where three congregations – Tree of Life, Dor Hadash and New Light – had gathered on Oct. 27, 2018, when a gunman opened fire, killing 11 people and wounding seven.

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The building in the city's Squirrel Hill neighborhood has not reopened since the shooting, considered the deadliest attack on Jews in US history. Tree of Life leaders now envision a rebuilt space that includes places of worship, memorial, education, and social events, as well as classrooms and exhibitions. The mission: to fight anti-Semitism and all forms of discrimination.

"There was never any doubt that we would go back to the site," Tree of Life Executive Director Barb Feige said. "The congregation is a community. It survives without its building, but is committed to going back to that location."

There have been conceptual discussions about the changes to the building, said Tree of Life president Sam Schachner. Some donations have come in that will be used for the project, and the congregation will engage in a vigorous fundraising campaign, he said. No architectural plans have been drawn up, and no construction work has yet taken place.

The building was in need of extensive and costly repairs before the shooting, Feige said. The rebuilding now extends initial plans Tree of Life had to expand cooperation and collaboration among the three congregations and with the community, she said.

Robert Bowers, 47, a truck driver from Baldwin, Pennsylvania, has been charged in the attack. Investigators say Bowers used an AR-15 rifle and other weapons, and that he criticized a Jewish charity on social media before the massacre, claiming the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society "likes to bring invaders that kill our people." Police said Bowers also expressed hatred of Jews during and after the rampage.

Federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Bowers' lawyers said this week that the case would be over by now if the prosecutors had accepted his offer to plead guilty in return for a sentence of life in prison without parole.

The government's decision to seek the death penalty disappointed some of the people most affected by the massacre, including members of Dor Hadash. The rabbi of New Light Congregation, which had three members slain in the attack, also expressed his opposition to a death sentence. Tree Of Life has said it is confident justice will be served.

In a statement, Tree of Life said rebuilding plans "reflect resiliency, strength, and community collaboration."

That collaboration likely will include the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh's moving into the building, where neighboring Chatham University also hopes to share space, Feige said.

"We are poised to become an incredible center for Jewish life in the United States," Tree of Life's Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, who was leading Shabbat services when the shooting started, said in a statement. "When we reopen, and we most certainly will, I want the entire world to say, 'Wow, look at what they have done.' To do anything less disrespects the memory of our 11 martyrs."

There will be a memorial for the 11 victims, but whether that will be the city's public memorial remains to be determined. Leaders have met with experts on the Holocaust and 9/11 memorials to discuss a public memorial for the Tree of Life shooting and have been advised to take their time, Feige said.

"Regardless where that is located, whether it is our site or not, we will obviously include in our plan a memorial, if not the memorial, to the 11 souls that were lost," she said. She called the eight men and three women killed "stalwarts of the three congregations."

"I think part of our desire is to honor them and their commitment," she added. "Is it sort of 'the bad guys win if we don't go back'? There is a little bit of that."

The next steps include hiring a strategic planning consultant well-versed in the Jewish community and in building collaborative and space-sharing plans.

"It's a bit of a unicorn in the skills set, but hopefully we can find someone who can lead us," she said.

Synagogue leaders will consider the thoughts and ideas about the building's future shared by the victims' family members, witnesses, members from all three congregations, community leaders, and others during several "listening sessions," Tree of Life said in its statement.

The Jewish community and the city will hold a commemoration on Sunday, Oct. 27 – exactly one year after the shooting. Events will include a private Jewish service in the morning, a community service in the city, a gathering to study the Torah portion that was to be read when the shooting took place, and a public memorial service in the evening.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has ordered state flags to fly at half-staff at all state facilities, public buildings, and grounds on that day. He also signed a proclamation declaring Oct. 27 a day of remembrance.

Chuck Diamond, Tree of Life's former rabbi, said returning to the building will not only provide a stand against hatred, but hope for Pittsburgh and other communities affected by mass shootings.

"When people pass by that corner, you can't help but think of what happened and the poor souls who lost their lives. And it's sad," Diamond said. "To rebuild, inspired by those wonderful people and their memories, and by honoring their memories, it sends a positive message to the entire world."

Diamond spent 10 years in the building, which has been the scene of many joyous occasions – weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, parties and baby-naming ceremonies.

"That is what it should be remembered for, all the wonderful things," Diamond said. "The community would like to see it as a center for Jewish life, a symbol that nothing is going to keep us down, like we have been doing for centuries."

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"Join us in planting 12,000 trees of life! Make the land even more beautiful in their memory," it said on the project's event page.

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"[This is] a great opportunity to help Israeli farmers while paying tribute to the 12 holy victims of synagogue shootings, may their memories be for a blessing," continued the plea. "Show your love for Israel by joining in this wonderful mitzvah!"

A total of 11 Jewish worshippers were murdered on Oct. 27, 2018, when a lone gunman entered the Tree of Life*Or L'Simcha Synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh during Shabbat-morning services.

Exactly six months later, on April 27, 2019, a similar shooting took place at Chabad of Poway in Southern California, where a 60-year-old Jewish woman was killed in the synagogue lobby and three others injured in the attack, also on Shabbat morning during services.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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Lawyers for Tree of Life shooting defendant Robert Bowers made the statement in a response to prosecutors' proposal to start the trial in mid-September 2020.

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"Against the hazards of a September-October 2020 trial, the government invokes the rights of crimes victims to be free from unreasonable delay," Bowers' lawyers said.

"The court's view of this invocation of rights should be informed by the fact that this case would already be over – and interests in a speedy resolution vindicated – had the government accepted the defendant's offer to plead guilty as charged and be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release."

Bowers' attorneys told a judge in May that he wanted to plead guilty in return for a life sentence.

The US attorney's office in Pittsburgh notified the court in August it is pursuing the death penalty against Bowers, 47, for what was the deadliest attack on Jews in US history.

Police said Bowers expressed hatred of Jews during and after the October 2018 rampage.

A spokeswoman for the Pittsburgh federal prosecutors declined to comment. Messages were left seeking comment from Bowers' lawyers.

The Bowers team's filing said trial in about a year would run into major Jewish holidays, as well as the home stretch of the presidential election.

The defense lawyers said they need time to prepare for trial, including questions about where it should be held.

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While there is no set time frame, "it is indeed our goal we will one day return to Tree of Life," said Tree of Life's Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, who was leading Shabbat services when the shooting began.

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The three congregations that were attacked on Oct. 27 – Tree of Life, New Light, and Dor Hadash – now worship at two other synagogues.

Leaders from the congregations were gathering Friday to reflect on the past year and discuss plans for next month's observance.

The theme for the October commemoration is "Remember. Repair. Together." Events planned for Sunday, Oct. 27 – exactly one year after the massacre – include a private Jewish service in the morning, doing community service in the city, studying the portion of the Torah that was to be read when the shooting occurred, and a public memorial service in the evening.

"There is no intention to make this an anniversary. Anniversary indicates a happy event. This is not. We will commemorate to remember and repair together," said New Light's co-president, Stephen Cohen.

"Our hearts were torn 11 months ago, and healing does not occur overnight," he said. "Even now, there are family members who cannot even drive by the building – they are in so much pain. We look upon this day as a way of repairing that hurt."

That idea stems from tikkun olam, the Jewish concept of repairing the world, said Adam Hertzman, marketing director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, one of several groups helping with Friday's discussion and the one-year commemoration.

Authorities charged Robert Bowers, 47, a truck driver from Baldwin, Pennsylvania, in the attack that killed eight men and three women, and wounded seven others inside the Tree of Life synagogue, where congregants from New Light and Dor Hadash also had gathered. Bowers has pleaded not guilty. He faces the death penalty if convicted.

Myers and others also want the commemoration to recognize the outpouring of support that continues from people in Pittsburgh and around the world.

"The community is healing. We will never be healed … [but] there are people who have found their voices and are engaged in a wide range of activities to promote healing," Myers said.

Businesses in the city's Squirrel Hill neighborhood, home to Tree of Life, still display "Stronger than hate" signs in their windows. A makeshift memorial bearing the 11 victims' names stood outside the synagogue for weeks and drew thousands of visitors.

Hundreds showed up for a public lighting of a Menorah outside the synagogue in December. Blue tarps that once covered a long chain-link fence made way this month for paintings by young people from Pittsburgh and around the globe.

In six weeks, the synagogue received 224 drawings bearing messages of hope, support, and perseverance such as "We may face defeat, but we must not be defeated," ''You are not alone" and "Brush away the darkness."

More than half were by students in Parkland, Florida; Littleton, Colorado; Newtown, Connecticut; and New Zealand, all places that have experienced mass shootings.

The paintings are "a bigger statement than anything else anyone could have done," Cohen said. They "turn the building into a thing of beauty. It changes the focus from the present to the future."

Ellen Surloff, immediate past president of Dor Hadash, finds the drawings inspiring but also "heartbreaking," knowing many of the young artists were affected by mass shootings, too.

The one-year commemoration will focus on the victims and healing, she said, but Surloff also wants "an awareness that the reason we are there speaking on Friday is because a white supremacist who hated immigrants got access to an assault weapon."

Investigators say Bowers opened fire with an AR-15 rifle and other weapons, and that he posted criticism of a Jewish charity on social media prior to the attack, claiming the immigrant aid society "likes to bring invaders that kill our people." Authorities said Bowers also raged against Jews as he gunned down his victims, and told investigators "all these Jews need to die."

"The shooter did not defeat us," Surloff said. "We were a strong community before the shooting and we are a stronger community after the shooting." She added: "It left an indelible mark on ourselves and on our community. But it does not define us. It will never define us."

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The US attorney's office in Pittsburgh filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty against 46-year-old Robert Bowers in last year's attack.

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The government filing said that justification for a death sentence included allegations of substantial planning and premeditation, the vulnerability and number of victims, and motivation of religious hostility.

It also listed the injury, harm, and loss caused to the victims and the choice of the Tree of Life synagogue as the site of the attack.

The notice accused Bowers of targeting the worshippers "in order to maximize the devastation, amplify the harm of his crimes, and instill fear within the local, national and international Jewish communities."

Bowers has pleaded not guilty and awaits trial. His lawyers did not return messages seeking comment. A spokeswoman for US Attorney Scott Brady declined to discuss the filing.

Prosecutors wrote that the death penalty will be justified if Bowers is convicted of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death or of using a gun to commit a crime of violence.

Bowers is accused of using an AR-15 rifle and other weapons to target worshippers in the Tree of Life synagogue during Saturday morning services in October. Seven people were also wounded, including five police officers.

Police have said that he expressed hatred of Jews during and after what was the deadliest attack on Jews in US history.

Shortly after the shootings, before Bowers was publicly identified as the suspect, US President Donald Trump said the perpetrator should "suffer the ultimate price."

"I think they should very much bring the death penalty into vogue," Trump told reporters in October.

"Anybody that does a thing like this to innocent people that are in temple or in church. We had so many incidents with churches. They should really suffer the ultimate price."

Two weeks ago, prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed to a 120-day extension in the case.

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