The U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem said in a security message to Americans in Israel that the deadly attack on a Jerusalem synagogue this week demonstrated “low-level coordination.”
“Today’s incident differs from recent attacks, potentially demonstrating low-level coordination to attack a preidentified soft target as opposed to an opportunistic random act of violence. While we cannot predict where and when attacks may take place, we have consistently seen a cycle of violence in East Jerusalem neighborhoods following incidents like the one today,” the consulate said in the message posted on its website and emailed to Americans registered with the consulate or State Department.
The message urged Americans in Israel to “make yourself a ‘harder target’ and raise your situational awareness” when visiting “soft targets” such as hotels, clubs, restaurants, shopping centers, identifiable Western businesses, housing compounds, transportation systems, places of worship, schools or public recreation events, which the message said often have little or no security in place.
The message said there is no information to support a belief that the victims of the Nov. 18 attack were targeted because they were American citizens. — jta