(JTA) — Pittsburgh’s Jewish community has rallied around a city church after the arrest by the FBI of a man who was planning an attack.
The Rev. Michael Anthony Day of the Legacy International Worship Center said at a service Sunday that the first call he received after learning of the would-be attack was from Rabbi Ron Symons, senior director of Jewish Life at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
“He said, ‘Where are you?’ I said, ‘I’m on my way to my fourth interview,’” Day recalled. “He said, ‘Well, I need to find you. I just need to give you a hug.’”
Members of the Jewish community attended the Sunday service in solidarity with the church, according to local reports. They were joined by members of the Islamic community and leaders of other local churches.
Federal authorities on Wednesday arrested Mustafa Mousab Alowemer, 21, of suburban Pittsburgh, on charges of plotting to bomb the church in support of the Islamic State.
The religious communities in Pittsburgh rallied around the local Jewish community following the Oct. 27 attack on the Tree of Life synagogue building that left 11 worshippers dead.
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