The HBO Max series The Pitt honored Pittsburgh’s Jewish and Muslim communities in this week’s episode, which references the tragic 2018 attack at the Tree of Life Synagogue.
In the third episode of The Pitt’s second season, Noah Wyle plays Dr. Robinavitch, who treats a Jewish patient named Yana (Irina Dubova) after she accidentally burns herself with hot water. The injury occurs when Yana is startled by the sound of fireworks, triggering PTSD from the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting.
The conversation between Yana and Perlah
Yana later shares a powerful moment with nurse Perlah (Amielynn Abellera), who is Muslim. During their conversation, Yana expresses gratitude to the Muslim community for their support in the aftermath of the attack.
“After the shooting, it was the Muslims who came together for us in support and walked with us. You raised money. You paid for all the funerals. Anyway. Thank you,” Yana tells the nurse, per Comic Book Club.
Wyle said he was especially moved by the real-life solidarity between the Jewish and Muslim communities.
“When I started researching it, the aspects of it that moved me the most were the community outcry afterward from the Muslim community and the solidarity with the Jewish community of Pittsburgh working together to grieve and mourn the loss,” Wyle said, per Variety. “It was the most underreported aspect of the story, and perhaps the most hopeful moving forward.”
R. Scott Gemmill on why the story was essential to tell
Executive producer R. Scott Gemmill said it was crucial to highlight this act of interfaith unity.
“You can’t do a medical show, set in Pittsburgh, with a Jewish doctor without addressing that,” Gemmill told Variety. “It felt like a very important story to tell. There are important elements of that that hadn’t been told, or hadn’t really made the news cycle. The fact that the Muslim community came together and paid for all the funerals—that’s the kind of information that needed to be out there.”
The Pitt airs new episodes every Thursday on HBO Max through April 16.