One of the four people killed in the attack on a Jerusalem synagogue this morning was Rabbi Moshe Twersky 60, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, while one of the eight injured is reported to be a former Torontonian named Howie Rothman.
Rothman, 53, is a 1979 graduate of the Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto, the school said on its Facebook page.
Rabbi Twersky was the son of rabbi and author Rabbi Yitzhak Twersky of Boston, grandson of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, a founder of Modern Orthodoxy known as The Rav.
He was the dean of the Torat Moshe Yeshiva, an advanced level English-speaking yeshiva, attended mostly by post-high school students from English-speaking countries.
He was the first victim to be identified in the Tuesday morning attack on the Bnei Torah Kehillat Yaakov synagogue in the western Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Nof. At least eight worshippers also were injured, some seriously, including two police officers who engaged in a shootout with the assailants, who were killed at the scene.
The other three victims were named early Tuesday afternoon. Aryeh Kupinsky, 43, and Kalman Zeev Levine, 55, residents of Har Nof who were born in the United States, also were killed in the attack. The fourth victim was Avraham Shmuel Goldberg, 68, an immigrant from Britain.Two Palestinian assailants entered a synagogue and rabbinical seminary in the Har Nof neighbourhood of western Jerusalem and attacked worshippers at the morning prayer service with a gun, axes and knives.
A former Torontonian, Dr. Joyce Morel, a specialist in family and emergency medicine was reportedly one of the first medical responders on the scene. Morel, who made aliyah with her husband and lives in Har Nof, an ultra-Orthodox enclave area of the capital, is a volunteer with United Hatzalah, a national emergency medical service.
"It was extremely upsetting to see seriously injured people just near a shul like that,” she told Ha'aretz. “The gentleman I tended to first still had his tfillin on. There were also women there who didn’t know where their husbands were, and others who didn’t know where their father was. Those were most likely the ones killed. It was very hard to deal with, very upsetting.”
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird condemned the attack.
“Attacks on innocent worshippers, in what is supposed to be a place of peace and tranquility, are cowardly and must never be tolerated,” he said in a statement.
“Those engaging in these despicable terrorist acts, and those financing or morally supporting their actions, are responsible for further aggravating an already fraught and dangerous situation.
“Canada reiterates that any statements of incitement are completely irresponsible. Those leaders who regularly issue them cannot plead ignorance or look the other way when terrorist attacks like today’s occur.
“On behalf of all Canadians, we stand with the people of Israel and offer our deepest heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the victims.”
Police killed both of the assailants, who have been identified as residents of the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber. Police reportedly began searching the homes of the assailants after the attack. Palestinian reports say the assailants, who are cousins, are relatives of terrorists released in the exchange to return Gilad Shalit.
The Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror organizations praised the attack, and said it was in retaliation for the death of a Palestinian bus driver who was found late Sunday night hanged in his bus at a terminal in Jerusalem.
An autopsy Monday at the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in Tel Aviv found that the death was not criminally related, Israel Police said. The body was returned to the family. However, a Palestinian pathologist said in a separate report that there were signs of violence on his body, and the family said he was killed by “settlers.”
Hamas called for more such attacks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a security consultation for Tuesday afternoon following the attack.
He blamed the attack on “incitement led by Hamas and Abu Mazen” – the nom de guerre of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and blamed the international community for “irresponsibly ignoring” such incitement.
“We will respond with a heavy hand to the brutal murder of Jews who came to pray and were met by reprehensible murderers,” Netanyahu said following the terror attack.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who is London, called Netanyahu to offer his condolences. “This simply has no place in human behavior,” Kerry told reporters, and called for Palestinian leaders to condemn the attack.
“Jerusalem bows its head in pain and sorrow on this difficult morning. Jerusalem residents peacefully praying in a synagogue in the heart of Jerusalem were cruelly slaughtered in cold blood while wearing their prayer shawls,” Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said in a statement. “We will not surrender to terror. We will stand strong and defend our city from those who try to disturb the peace of our capital.”
Shimon Fogel, CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, also strongly condemned the attack.
“We condemn this heinous terrorist attack that tragically cut short the lives of four rabbis and injured eight others, including one Canadian," Fogel said. "We extend our heartfelt thoughts, prayers, and condolences to the victims and their families. This was not a random act of violence, but part of the mounting campaign of terror incited by Palestinian leaders, including Mahmoud Abbas. An entire generation of Palestinian children is being raised to hate Jews and encouraged to commit suicide attacks. Palestinian incitement to hatred and violence must stop."
He added: “In condemning this attack, the international community must make it clear to Abbas that he cannot be considered a credible peace partner while circumventing negotiations by all means possible, including violence. We commend the Conservative government, New Democratic Party, and Liberal party for their swift and strong condemnation of the attack and expression support for the people of Israel.”
With files from CJN staff