Muslims crowdfund for victims of Pittsburgh synagogue attack
The Muslim-American community has raised tens of thousands of dollars in a crowdfunding effort to help the victims of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting that left at least 11 people dead and six wounded.
The campaign, which is hosted by Muslim crowdfunding site LaunchGood, aims to help shooting victims, "whether it is the injured victims or the Jewish families who have lost loved ones".
It was started by Tarek El-Messidi, a Muslim-American speaker and founder of CelebrateMercy, a nonprofit organisation that "teaches about the Prophet Muhammad's life and character".
According to an update the campaign's page, its original goal of $25,000 was raised in "only" six hours. The goal has now been extended to $50,000, with nine days left. At the time of publication on Sunday, the sum had exceeded $43,000.
Muslims, let’s stand with our Jewish cousins against hate, bigotry, & violence. https://t.co/RCl4p4AOGV
— Tarek El-Messidi (@Elmessidi) October 27, 2018
Robert Bowers, 48, has been named as the suspect in Saturday's mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighbourhood.
According to the Allegheny County medical examiner's' office, the 11 people killed in the synagogue included a married couple, Bernice and Sylvan Simon, and two brothers, Cecil and David Rosenthal.
David Rosenthal was the youngest at 54. The eldest was 97-year-old Rose Mallinger.
The dead also included Joyce Fienberg, Richard Gottfried, Jerry Rabinowitz, Daniel Stein, Melvin Wax and Irving Younger.
Bowers has been charged with 29 offences, including hate crimes.
Another fundraising campaign was started on GoFundMe by Shay Khatiri, an Iranian who currently lives in Washington, DC, according to his profile on the website.
Khatiri, who appears not to have any direct connection to Pittsburgh, tweeted that his reason for starting the campaign was that he wanted to donate.
He said his "donation would be too little to make any change, but I could make a viral campaign" in response to questions about his motivations.
I am just wondering what motivated you to start a gofundme for the synagogue since you aren't a member. Can you please explain. Perhaps that will make people feel more comfortable.
— Andrea Karshan (((אֲבִיבָה))) (@karshanandrea) October 28, 2018
The GoFundMe campaign has raised over $247,000, well over its original goal of $100,000. It has has extended its goal to $1m.
The Tree of Life synagogue is also accepting donations on its website, according to a post on the GoFundMe page.
Courtesy: www.aljazeera.com
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
