Former Pittsburgh synagogue rabbi calls for action not prayers after shooting

A former rabbi at the Pittsburgh synagogue where a gunman opened fire on Saturday is calling for action, not just prayers.

“I wish the politicians on both sides of the aisle would get off their rear ends and do something significant about it,” the rabbi, Chuck Diamond, told NBC News. “That’s what’s frustrating.”

“It happens over and over and over again,” he said, adding that prayers are not enough.{mosads}

“What are the prayers going to do at this point? We need to take action, whatever that might be,” he said.

A gunman killed 11 people in the attack, which is likely the worst instance of anti-Semitic violence in U.S. history, according to the Anti-Defamation League. 

The man accused of the attack has been charged with 29 federal counts, including violating hate crime laws.

President Trump said Saturday that the perpetrator should “pay the highest price.”

“This was an anti-Semitic attack at its worst,” Trump said. 

“The scourge of anti-Semitism cannot be ignored, cannot be tolerated, and it cannot be allowed to continue … It must be confronted and condemned everywhere it rears its very ugly head.”

Vice President Pence, meanwhile, promised that he and Trump are “absolutely determined to do everything in our power to prevent these type of attacks from happening in the future.”