PITTSBURGH — For the first couple of years after the Tree of Life synagogue massacre that claimed the lives of 11 members of the Jewish community, Joe Mistick could not bring himself to drive past the synagogue despite the close proximity to his Squirrel Hill home.

“For years, I would do anything, everything, to not drive past it, often going blocks or even a mile out of my way,” said Mistick, a Duquesne University law professor and former deputy mayor of the city of Pittsburgh.