Trump to host Pittsburgh synagogue shooting survivor

Holocaust survivor and IDF veteran Judah Samet, who survived the October 27 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, will be among the president’s honored guest at the 2019 State of the Union Address.

By HAGAY HACOHEN
Updated: FEBRUARY 6, 2019 00:42
Jewish-American survivor of the Tree of Life shooting Judah Samet (photo credit: Courtesy)
Jewish-American survivor of the Tree of Life shooting Judah Samet
(photo credit: Courtesy)
US President Donald Trump invited a survivor of the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue massacre in Pittsburgh to attend his State of the Union Address, which was slated to take place overnight Tuesday Israel time in Washington.
According to the White House, Judah Samet, who survived the October 27 shooting, is expected to be among the president’s honored guest at the 2019 State of the Union Address.
Samet is a Holocaust survivor who arrived in Israel after WWII. He served in the Israel Defense Forces’ Paratrooper’s Brigade before moving to the United States in the 1960s.
In addition, Pittsburgh policeman Timothy Matson, who was a member of the first response team and suffered multiple gunshot wounds, will also be present.
Other invitees to the event, according to the White House, will be FBI agent Elvin Hernandez, who deals with human trafficking investigations; Debra Bissell, Heather Armstrong, and Madison Armstrong, relatives of the late Gerald and Sharon David of Reno, Nevada, who were killed by an illegal immigrant in the start of 2019; Matthew Charles, the first inmate released after the 2018 First Step Act; and Ashley Evans, a survivor of opiate abuse.
Alice Marie Johnson, an American convicted drug trafficker, will also attend and share her story of recovery.
At the event, attendees will remember the USS Cole bombing suicide attack against the United States Navy guided-missile destroyer, which took place in October 2000, through the attendance of Tom Wibberley, father of the late navy seaman Craig Wibberley. A scholarship fund in Craig’s memory currently awards four $1,000 scholarships each year to students studying computer science.
Trump also invited two children: Grace Eline and Joshua Trump. Eline is a cancer survivor. Trump was bullied in school due to his surname, which he shares with the president though he has no relation.
The speakers “represent the very best of America,” the White House press release said. “Each has an incredible story to tell.”