Rabbi Reflects On Synagogue Attack, Calls For Acceptance

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MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) - During morning prayers at Beth Israel on Miami Beach, images of blood soaked prayer books and shawls weighed heavily on the hearts of the congregation.

Four rabbis, of which three were Americans with dual citizenship, and a police officer were killed when two Palestinians carrying knives, axes and guns stormed a synagogue in Jerusalem.

"These were innocent individuals, they were rabbis like myself, they were walking into a room like that to pray," said Rabbi Donald Bixon. "To see pictures like that of people slaughtered in prayer is just simply unacceptable, should be unacceptable to the world."

Rabbi Menachem Nissel is from the area where the attacked happened and was close friends with the four rabbi's who died.

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Nissel is visiting South Florida, but his wife is back home in Har Nof in Jerusalem - an ultra orthodox community made up primarily of Americans. Their home is just a two minute walk away from the synagogue where the attack happened.  He said his wife called with the news.

"I could hear sirens on the phone and my wife is in a state of panic," recalled Nissel.

Nissel said he also knew the attackers who were killed in a shootout with police. One was a delivery boy who had been to the temple many times, the other was his cousin.

In the Gaza Strip dozens celebrated the killings while the families of those who died laid their loved ones to rest. Bixon said what comes next is vital to their future.

"We're looking for some type of calm in the Middle East and that has to come from the recognition that the Jewish people have the right to live in Israel, to be safe in Israel," said Bixon. "We are hoping that this will be a message that terrorism whether it's ISIS or al Qaida or Hamas can not be tolerated."

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