Two Palestinian assailants entered a synagogue in the quiet West Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Nof Tuesday morning with axes, knives, and a pistol and killed at least four worshipers in the single deadliest attack on Jews since tensions in this city began escalating this summer.
Three of the dead, all rabbis, were American immigrants to Israel. The fourth was a rabbi born in Britain.
Such an attack poses a challenge not only to Israeli security forces, but also to leaders on both sides as political tensions take on an increasingly religious tinge.
Almost as appalling to me as this attack was the brief report I heard from the BBC on the radio last night. According to the Beeb, the attack was carried out by “East Jerusalemites.” Not once did they mention Palestinians or Muslims or “Allahu akbar.â€