Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

President Obama Condemns Jerusalem Synagogue Terror Attack

President Barack Obama on Tuesday condemned the attack by two Palestinians on a synagogue in Jerusalem that killed four people, including three Americans, and called on Israeli and Palestinian leaders to lower tensions and seek peace.

“I strongly condemn today’s terrorist attack on worshipers at a synagogue in Jerusalem,” Obama said in a statement. “There is and can be no justification for such attacks against innocent civilians.”

“At this sensitive moment in Jerusalem, it is all the more important for Israeli and Palestinian leaders and ordinary citizens to work cooperatively together to lower tensions, reject violence, and seek a path forward towards peace,” he said.

Three of the victims held dual U.S.-Israeli citizenship. . Obama identified them as Aryeh Kupinsky, Cary William Levine and Mosheh Twersky.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Obama said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the attacks.

“Tragically this is not the first loss of life that we have seen in recent months. Too many Israelis have died, too many Palestinians have died. And at this difficult time I think it’s important for both Palestinians and Israelis to try to work together to lower tensions,” he said.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.