On behalf of all our congregation I want to express our horror and anguish over the appalling attack on and murder of worshippers at the synagogue in Har Nof in Jerusalem this morning.

Our thoughts are with the families of those killed, and with the wounded and their nearest and dearest.
 
In these frightening times we should have in our hearts the daily prayer: ‘Our brothers and sisters in all the House of Israel who are in peril and distress, whether on land or sea  – may the All Present God have mercy on them and lead them from danger to safety, from darkness to light and from subjugation to redemption,  now and speedily, Amen.’
 
We pray that God should guide the world away from violence and towards understanding and restraint: ‘May God, who makes peace in the high places, make peace for us and for all Israel’.
 
We will include special prayers in our services this Shabbat.
 
I will send our thoughts to His Excellency the Israeli Ambassador Daniel Taub on behalf of our congregation.