Even in Israel, where people are accustomed to harsh scenes and scenarios, it was an unusually horrific incident. On the morning of Nov. 18, a synagogue in the heart of the Israeli capital city looked like a slaughterhouse. “For a moment I thought that Islamic State [IS] had found its way here,” said one of the stunned eyewitnesses.
The Kehillat Yaakov synagogue, in the center of Jerusalem’s Har Nof neighborhood, was drenched in blood. Slain worshippers were scattered about in large pools of blood. Worshippers who had been wounded in various degrees of severity were also scattered on the floor, moaning in pain. Two Jerusalem paramedics arrived quickly at the scene even before the security forces and started to treat the wounded. But when they, too, were attacked by two Palestinian terrorists who shot at them, the paramedics fled. Shouts of “Allahu Akbar” were heard from inside the synagogue.