It's not merely that many reliable and far more notable media sources mentioned it (including ones without a Jewish conflict of interest, like Forward) but that some included specific information, such as where the Bris was being held...
https://people.com/crime/worshipers-in- ... -unfolded/Dor Hadash’s Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz, a physician who had provided care to HIV and AIDS patients, was killed after he “ran … to try and see if anyone was hurt,” his nephew said. The congregation had gathered for a bris, a ceremony to name a baby boy.
The New Light congregants had gathered in the basement, according to the AP. Dor Hadash was near the front of the synagogue for the bris and Tree of Life was in the the Pervin Chapel, described by Rabbi Emeritus Alvin Berkun as a “gorgeous” blend of “woods and purple carpets” that seats 200.
even Jewish-friendly sources reported on it
https://www.crescentcityjewishnews.com/ ... -shooting/Initial reports suggested that a bris ceremony was occurring there at that time. However, the bris was not being held at Tree of Life Synagogue, but at Dor Hadash, a Reconstructionist congregation that rents space in the building.
Also one of the witnesses (one of the 3 survivors who hid in a closet when the Rabbi who exited the closet was shot in front of them) testified about the bris and thinking the gunshots were the bris table getting knocked...
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/a ... ws-to-die/Werber noticed a table by the entrance with some wine goblets and a bottle of whisky, presumably for a special ceremony .. in one of the other congregations. Suddenly, there was a loud noise. “I assumed that someone had run into that table,” Werber said, referring to the table with the wine goblets.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/how-the-p ... -unfolded/At the entrance, Cecil and David Rosenthal, brothers who are active members of Tree of Life, are handing out prayer books. There is a table with challah, wine and whiskey for a bris, or circumcision ceremony, being held that morning.
https://thejewishnews.com/2018/11/08/am ... ry-werber/Werber's first realization of the shootings came after he heard loud crashing noises from the hallway. "He thought the Kiddush table .. had been knocked over, and he went to the doorway to see if he could help," said his niece, Retta London of Farmington Hills.
Forward's article which EB mentions...
ericbarbour wrote:Plus:
Leaving it off the WP article, because one prominent website (The Forward) said it didn't happen, is lunacy.
Ari Feldman wrote " there was no baby naming or bris last Shabbat morning" which MIGHT possibly true in that the shooting might have occurred before it technically started... but this doesn't at all contradict the claim that one was scheduled to be held and that they had set up for it.
I'm not sure how prominent
https://www.vosizneias.com/309232/2018/ ... -massacre/ is but it has a similar problem:
In an email exchange with VIN News, Rabbi Jeffrey Meyers, spiritual leader of the Tree Of Life synagogue, stated unequivocally that the Advocate report was untrue. “There was no bris taking place in our synagogue,” Rabbi Meyers told VIN News.
There are 3 synagogues sharing the building, Meyers speaking for his congregation ("our" clearly meaning the Tree of Life congregation) not having a Bris in their synagogue (the Pervin Chapel, 2nd floor) is not in any way a contradiction to reports that Dor Hadash had one set up on the 1st level.
It's possible Meyers might've clarified that elsewhere in the e-mail but that the article didn't include that. Sandy Eller only quoted a single sentence and it's unlikely their correspondence was limited to a single sentence.