Toronto man among injured in Jerusalem synagogue attack that killed 5

A Toronto man is among five people injured after an attack at a synagogue in Jerusalem on Tuesday that killed five people in the city’s bloodiest attack in years.

Howie Chaim Rotman’s sister said her brother suffered multiple stab wounds to his head, eyes and arms when two Palestinian cousins stormed his local synagogue wielding meat cleavers and a gun.

Shelly Rothman-Benhaim said from Montreal that her brother is currently in a medically-induced coma at a Jerusalem hospital and says his prognosis won’t be known for several days. Canadian officials say the wounded man is a dual Canadian-Israeli citizen.

“We express our condolences to the victims and wish a speedy and full recovery to those injured in today’s deplorable terrorist attack,” François Lasalle spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs said in an emailed statement.

She says Rotman, who moved to Israel about 30 years ago and adopted the Hebrew spelling of their last name, lived just metres from the scene of the attack and went there to pray three times a day.

She says Rotman and his wife have 10 children and welcomed their first grandchild just last month.

Two Palestinian cousins armed with meat cleavers and a gun stormed the synagogue during morning prayers. Police killed them in a shootout.

The attack ratcheted up fears of sustained violence in the city, which is already on edge amid soaring tensions over its most contested holy site.

Police said the dead worshippers were three Americans and a Briton, and that all held dual Israeli citizenship. An Israeli police officer died hours later of his injuries. The attack occurred in Har Nof, an ultra-Orthodox neighbourhood that has a large population of English-speaking immigrants.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “respond harshly,” describing the attack as a “cruel murder of Jews who came to pray and were killed by despicable murderers.”

The U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem identified the Americans as Aryeh Kupinsky, Cary William Levine and Mosheh Twersky.

Twersky, the grandson of a renowned rabbi from Boston, Joseph Soloveichik, was the head of Yeshivas Toras Moshe, a religious seminary for English-speaking students.

Israeli authorities identified the British man as Avraham Goldberg.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper denounced the attack.

“Canada condemns the barbaric act of terror against a synagogue in West Jerusalem,” Harper said in a tweet. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Israel.”

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird released a statement condemning the attacks.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he spoke to Netanyahu after the assault and denounced it as an “act of pure terror and senseless brutality and violence.”

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack, the first time he has done so since a recent spike in deadly violence against Israelis. He also called for an end to Israeli “provocations” surrounding a sacred shrine holy to both Jews and Muslims.

The attack was the deadliest in Jerusalem since a Palestinian assailant killed eight students at a Jewish seminar in March 2008.

Assailants identified

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri identified the assailants as Ghassan and Oday Abu Jamal from the Jabal Mukaber neighbourhood in east Jerusalem, the section of the city captured by Israel in 1967 and claimed by the Palestinians as their capital.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a small militant group, said the cousins were among its members, though it did not say whether it had instructed them to carry out the attack.

Hamas, the militant Palestinian group that runs the Gaza Strip, praised the attack. In Gaza, dozens took to the streets to celebrate, with some offering trays full of candy.

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said six people were wounded in the attack, including two police officers. Four were reported in serious condition.

Yosef Posternak, who was at the synagogue at the time of the attack, told Israel Radio that about 25 worshippers were inside when the attackers entered.

“I saw people lying on the floor, blood everywhere. People were trying to fight with (the attackers) but they didn’t have much of a chance,” he said.

Associated Press writers Mohammed Daraghmeh and Fares Akram in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Eric Tucker in Washington and Matthew Lee in London contributed to this report. Also, with files from The Canadian Press.