Scene of terrorist attack in Vienna
Scene of terrorist attack in ViennaReuters

Following yesterday’s terrorist attack in Vienna that left four people dead - including one suspected terrorist - and fifteen injured, Boaz Degorker, an emissary from the Bnei Akiva organization and the WZO, who lives near the synagogue outside which the incident took place, spoke with Radio 103 FM.

“The incident isn’t over yet,” he noted, referring to well-grounded suspicions that at least one terrorist is still at large. “We are still locked in our homes – and I live just two minutes away from where it all happened, just a few streets away from the first place targeted. Already we know of five places involved. They caught some of the terrorists, but there is still reason to believe that at least one of them managed to escape and that he could be hiding somewhere in the area, in the center of Vienna.”

Degorker added that, “The synagogue and Jewish restaurant would normally have been open at that hour, but they were closed and the buildings were in darkness. Nearby there are bars and restaurants, and when the weather permits, lots of people sit outside there. The Austrian Interior Minister announced that this was most likely a terrorist attack, but so far not a single terrorist organization has taken responsibility for it.”

He noted that “there are always concerns, especially after what’s been going on lately in France, and also what happened here in Austria a few months ago, when there was an anti-Semitic attack – but there were apparently no concrete reasons to fear. Austria has remained largely neutral for many years, with no large-scale terrorist attacks. Right now, Austrians are scared and confused – they’re not used to anything like this happening.”