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Peter Smith

US President Donald Trump addresses the White House Religious Liberty Commission during an event at the Museum of the Bible, September 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
May 10, 2026, 3:50 am
Trump’s religious liberty commission hopes to do away with separation of church and state
17-member panel seeing eye-to-eye on most matters, with exception of one member who was ousted after defending Candace Owens at contentious antisemitism hearing
By Peter Smith
US President Donald Trump departs an event for NCAA national champions in the State Dining Room of the White House, April 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP/Alex Brandon)
April 22, 2026, 9:03 am
Trump reads from Bible in America 250 event that critics accuse of Christian nationalism
Marathon reading of 66 books recognized by Protestants sees US president read 2 Chronicles passage often used to promote dubious claim that US was meant to be a Christian nation
By Peter Smith
A statue of Jesus Christ on the facade of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Nov. 10, 2020. (AP/Andrew Medichini, File)
March 8, 2026, 11:29 am
US right-wing schism over antisemitism puts ‘Christ is king’ at center of culture war
Phrase has increasingly been used by far-right figures as a hate meme targeting Jews, even as others use it as a sincere declaration of faith
By Peter Smith
József Molnár's 'Abraham's Journey from Ur to Canaan,' from 1850 (Public Domain)
October 14, 2025, 11:39 am
Why the story of Abraham is being invoked in the push for Mideast peace
As the central forefather of the Jewish and Muslim faiths, the biblical figure has become the template for integrating the Jewish state into the war-scarred region
By Peter Smith
People walk during a march and prayer vigil in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, April 16, 2025, three days after an arson at the residence of Governor Josh Shapiro in the state capital. (AP Photo/Mark Scolforo)
April 18, 2025, 12:45 am
For some Pennsylvania Jews, torching of governor’s home echoes 2018 synagogue attack
‘Never did I think we’d be a generation that would have this kind of violent antisemitism,’ says CEO of Tree of Life, where 11 were murdered, after Josh Shapiro targeted on Passover
By Peter Smith, MARK SCOLFORO and JONATHAN J. COOPER
The Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center burns during the Eaton fire in Pasadena, California on January 7, 2025 (JOSH EDELSON / AFP)
January 11, 2025, 10:06 am
LA wildfires destroy multiple houses of worship, but communities vow to persevere
As synagogues, mosques and churches burn to the ground in ‘apocalyptic’ blazes, religious leaders focus on congregants and helping those who have lost everything
By GIOVANNA DELL'ORTO, LUIS ANDRES HENAO and Peter Smith
Then-Republican presidential nominee and former US president Donald Trump arrives at Ohel Chabad-Lubavitch to visit the gravesite of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, October 7, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
November 22, 2024, 7:01 pm
With evangelicals locked, Trump wooed Chabad, the Amish, Copts
US president-elect courted niche communities, knowing every vote could be critical, particularly in swing states
By Peter Smith
Rabbi Seth Adelson of Congregation Beth Shalom, sits for a portrait with Audrey Glickman, a Tree of Life member who survived the 2018 synagogue attack, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
October 5, 2024, 4:04 am
For Pittsburgh Jews, attack anniversary adds to an already grim October
‘The trauma runs deep in our community,’ says local rabbi, in reference to 2018 Tree of Life killings. ‘You can’t separate Jews attacked in Pittsburgh and Jews attacked in Israel’
By Peter Smith
This image provided by Studio Libeskind shows a model with the design of a proposed memorial, lower left, outside the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. On Oct 27, 2018, 11 worshippers were killed when a gunman opened fire during services. (Studio Libeskind via AP)
December 8, 2023, 5:45 pm
Families unveil design for Pittsburgh synagogue attack memorial after years of dialogue
Relatives of 11 victims sought to create a monument that would be both personal and resonate with wider Jewish community
By Peter Smith
Pastor Ryan Burge, an associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University and author of, "The Nones," a book on the growing number of religiously unaffiliated Americans, preaches a sermon at First Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, September 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
October 7, 2023, 4:47 am
Meet the ‘nones,’ non-observant Americans who really don’t like organized religion
The growing, diverse phenomenon spans atheists, agnostics and others with varying levels of spirituality and religiosity, all disenfranchised with the churches they grew up in
By Peter Smith
In this combo image made from photos provided by the US District Court Western District of Pennsylvania are the victims of the October 27, 2018, assault on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. On the top row, from left: Joyce Fienberg, Richard Gottfried, Rose Mallinger, Jerry Rabinowitz, Cecil Rosenthal, and David Rosenthal; bottom row, from left, Bernice Simon, Sylvan Simon, Dan Stein, Melvin Wax, and Irving Younger. (United States District Court Western District of Pennsylvania via AP)
August 3, 2023, 9:32 pm
Gunman formally sentenced to death for carrying out Pittsburgh synagogue massacre
‘May their memory be a blessing,’ judge says of 11 Jews killed at Tree of Life as their families confront Robert Bowers before sentencing: ‘You will never be forgiven. Never’
By Peter Smith and Michael Rubinkam
Composite photo: A makeshift memorial stands outside the Tree of Life Synagogue in the aftermath of a deadly shooting in Pittsburgh, October 29, 2018. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File); Inset: An undated Pennsylvania Department of Transportation photo shows Robert Bowers, convicted of shooting and killing 11 worshipers at the synagogue. (Pennsylvania Department of Transportation via AP, File)
August 2, 2023, 7:36 pm
US jury hands death penalty to gunman for killing 11 at Pittsburgh synagogue
Robert Bowers to receive death sentence for carrying out 2018 massacre at Tree of Life, the deadliest antisemitic attack in US history
By Peter Smith
This undated Pennsylvania Department of Transportation photo shows Robert Bowers. (Pennsylvania Department of Transportation via AP, File)
July 21, 2023, 7:27 pm
Defense expert: Pittsburgh gunman had traumatic childhood, couldn’t function as adult
Psychologist testifies as defense seeks to spare synagogue attacker the death penalty for gunning down 11 worshippers in worst antisemitic attack in US history
By Peter Smith
The signage on the dormant landmark Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood is framed in spring foliage on April 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
July 13, 2023, 4:07 am
Jury starts debating death penalty for Pittsburgh gunman, with mental health at fore
Prosecutor argues Robert Bowers’s meticulous plans for the Tree of Life synagogue attack prove he knew what he was doing, but defense claims antisemitic delusions drove massacre
By Peter Smith
In this courtroom sketch, Erich Smith testifies June 13, 2023, in Pittsburgh, in the federal trial of Robert Bowers, accused of shooting to death 11 worshippers in a synagogue in 2018. (AP Photo/David Klug)
June 28, 2023, 6:06 am
Doctors in court split over brain damage claim for Pittsburgh synagogue shooter
Experts shown scans of convicted killer’s brain say it looks normal, but physicians testifying for defense in death penalty case claim Robert Bowers suffered from mental illness
By Peter Smith
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