Obama says worshipers in Jerusalem "senselessly" attacked
President Obama offered his condolences to the victims and their families after Tuesday morning's attack at a synagogue in Jerusalem, saying the worshipers had been "senselessly and brutally attacked."
Three of the four victims -- Aryeh Kopinsky, Calman Levine, Moshe Twersky -- had dual American-Israeli citizens, a police official confirmed to CBS News.
Mr. Obama said, "Too many Israelis have died. Too many Palestinians have died. And at this difficult time I think it's important for both Palestinians and Israelis to try to work together to lower tensions and to reject violence." And, referring to those responsible for the attacks, the president said they "represent the kind of extremism that threatens to bring all of the Middle East into the kind of spiral from which it's very difficult to emerge."
Mr. Obama's comments came during a meeting on the U.S. Ebola response with health and national security officials. He hailed the progress made so far in combating the disease but said the U.S. has to remain vigilant until Ebola is stamped out in West Africa.
"Although we should feel optimistic about our capacity to solve the Ebola crisis, we cannot be complacent simply because the news attention on it has waned. We have to stay with it," he said. He asked Congress to approve additional funds to fight the disease before the end of the term.