Patriot’s Julian Edelman honours Pittsburgh synagogue shooting victims

Julian Edelman (Flickr - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/ photo)

New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman wore special cleats in honour of the victims of the shooting attack on a Pittsburgh synagogue during a game against the Steelers on Sunday.

The Steelers snapped a three-game losing streak and beat their division rivals in Pittsburgh by a score of 17-10.

Edelman on Sunday morning posted on Twitter a photograph of the cleats he planned to wear during Sunday’s game against the Steelers. They feature a blue star of David above the hashtag “strongerthanhate.” And on the other side, the words Eitz Chaim, or Tree of Life, in Hebrew letters is featured alongside the logo of the Tree of Life Or L’Simcha Congregation.

His tweet listed in alphabetical order the 11 victims of the Oct. 27 attack.

The cleats also were sponsored by the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Boston.

Edelman’s father is Jewish and he has come out in support of the Jewish community in the past.

“My heart is broken for the families in Pittsburgh,” Edelman tweeted in October following the shooting. “It’s hard to even imagine such senselessness. As a Jew, an American and a human, I’m devastated. We are with you, Pittsburgh.”

Patriots owner Robert Kraft travelled to Pittsburgh on Saturday ahead of his team’s game against the Steelers to visit the Tree of Life synagogue building and attend Shabbat services.