"A Tree of Life" Film Screening and Conversation with Gene Moss In-Person
On Saturday, October 27th, 2018, a white supremacist, further radicalized by the political climate at the time, walked into the Tree of Life Synagogue with four semi-automatic assault weapons, shouting “all Jews must die.” He murdered eleven congregants, ranging in age from 54 to 97, as they prayed.
A Tree Of Life: The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting creates a deeply personal, trauma-informed portrait of the survivors, victims, and victims' family members of the Pittsburgh Synagogue attack, and brings into sharp focus the hate-based crisis that threatens our collective safety and the very social fabric of our society. As the first film to document the survivor’s stories and the only documentary with this level of personal access to the survivors and families of the victims, viewers will experience first-hand how the lives of those directly affected have profoundly changed and how the Pittsburgh community and the congregations set out on a path towards healing.
Join us for a film screening of A Tree of Life, courtesy of GOOD DOCS, whose award-winning collection engages and inspires by featuring rarely heard stories about individuals and communities working towards a more equitable world. The film runs 81 minutes. This program is in person only.
In partnership with the Wood River Jewish Community.
Following the screening, we will be joined virtually for a half-hour conversation with Gene Moss, Northwest Regional Director for the Secure Community Network (SCN), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and the official homeland safety and security organization of the Jewish community in North America. In this role, Moss is responsible for the direct oversight, development, and implementation of SCN’s Regional Security Advisor and Community Security Director programs for FEMA 10. He conducts outreach, engagement, and the delivery of security consultation, threat and vulnerability assessments, training, and incident response for Jewish communities and organizations that lack direct access to community-based security professionals. Gene also serves as a liaison with federal, state, and local law enforcement partners across the Northwest region.
- Date:
- Wednesday, January 3, 2024
- Time:
- 5:30pm - 7:30pm
- Time Zone:
- Mountain Time - US & Canada (change)
- Location:
- John A. and Carole O. Moran Lecture Hall
- Campus:
- The Community Library
- Audience:
- Adults
- Categories:
- Films & Performances
Founded in 2004 under the auspices of The Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the Secure Community Network (SCN) serves as the central organization dedicated exclusively to the safety and security of the American Jewish community, working across 146 federations, 50 partner organizations, over 300 independent communities, and other partners in the public, private, nonprofit, and academic sectors. SCN is dedicated to ensuring that Jewish organizations, communities, life, and culture can not only exist safely and securely, but flourish. Learn more at securecommunitynetwork.org.
Gene Moss joined SCN in 2019 as the Regional Security Advisor for the Portland area, including serving as director of security for the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland and handling security matters for Oregon and southwest Washington State. In addition to serving as a trusted advisor for Jewish organizations in the region, his responsibilities included addressing security concerns through consultation, education, and training, and physical security assessments; maintaining and creating effective partnerships with local, state, and federal law enforcement and emergency management agencies; implementing a region-wide emergency communications system; monitoring intelligence related to terrorism and public safety; and assisting with the coordination of security for major events in the community.
Gene has over 32 years of experience in law enforcement and corporate security, including as a chief of police and enforcement division Commander. He served in executive-level and operational leadership roles within law enforcement, including leadership of various special operations teams and numerous training capacities such as SWAT, narcotics, gang enforcement, active threat program, and survival skills. Gene’s experience also includes creating, implementing, and directing holistic security programs focused on safety, protection, physical security, counterintelligence, crisis management, disaster recovery, and training for a nonprofit health care organization.
