Pair who killed 3 on Thursday are thought to still be in area surrounding central Israeli city; thousands of police officers deployed nationwide, with focus on entertainment venues
Some worshippers with gun licenses heeded calls to bring their weapons to synagogue in Elad on Friday and Saturday, amid fears of further attacks by the perpetrators, still at large, of a deadly killing spree in the central city on Thursday.
Police officials have indicated that the two terrorists, who killed three men when they carried out the axe and knife attack at a central park and nearby road in Elad Thursday night, may still be in the area.
Channel 13 news reported those worries led some worshipers in the predominantly Haredi city to bring weapons to synagogue.
In a rare statement on a matter outside of religious law, the Sephardic chief rabbi of Israel on Friday called on Orthodox Jews to arm themselves when they attend synagogue over the weekend.
“Due to the tense security situation, those with a license to carry a weapon… should bring it to the synagogue and help secure the public,” Yosef said in a statement. The chief rabbi’s statement asked those with firearms to conceal them while in synagogues for “modesty” reasons. Many Orthodox Jews believe it is inappropriate to openly display weapons inside synagogues.