Rabbi vows Pittsburgh synagogue massacre 'will not break us'

Mourners react during a memorial service at the Sailors and Soldiers Memorial Hall of the University of Pittsburgh, a day after 11 worshippers were shot dead at a Jewish synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S., October 28, 2018. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - The rabbis of the Pittsburgh synagogue where a gunman massacred 11 worshipers during Sabbath prayers urged mourners at an interfaith memorial service on Sunday to embrace tolerance and unity, while the mayor vowed to "defeat hate with love."

Themes of inclusion and compassion dominated the speeches delivered to an overflow crowd of some 2,500 at the University of Pittsburgh's Soldiers and Sailors Hall, as speakers decried the rise of toxic political discourse widely seen as creating an atmosphere conducive to violence.