The leadership of the Orthodox Union has issued the following statement:

We join in the outrage expressed throughout the Jewish community–and by people of good will everywhere–in reaction to the heinous murders committed last week by Palestinian terrorists in a Jerusalem synagogue.

We share in collective anguish as our rabbis and teachers, teenagers, innocent women and children, and infants are targeted by brutal terrorists. The world must recognize such acts of brutal savagery as nothing less than an ongoing terror campaign to oust the Jewish people from the Land of Israel. We view a forceful response by Israeli security officials against such terrorists as morally justified and necessary to stop the brutality that threatens our brethren and, indeed, the civilized world.

At the same time, we cannot countenance a response to terror that resorts to wholesale demonization, advocates for the collective punishment of Israeli Arabs, or calls for the destruction or dismantling of Muslim holy places. Such rhetoric is anathema to the Jewish religious tradition and has no place in civil society. Such rhetoric is wrong and must be repudiated, whether it is voiced by lay leaders, community leaders, or rabbis. Such calls to action do not enhance the security of the State of Israel or enable Israel’s security forces to fulfill their difficult responsibilities.

The Orthodox Union urges all members of our community to speak out against terrorism, stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Israel, and support the Government of Israel’s ongoing efforts to protect the Jewish People and the Jewish State–but this must be done in a responsible fashion.