Barcelona’s chief rabbi has urged Jews to move to Israel after warning that Europe has been ‘lost’ because of the threat from radical Islam.
At least 14 people were killed and some 130 others injured when attackers ploughed into pedestrians on a promenade in the tourist area on Thursday evening.
ISIS has claimed responsibility for the Barcelona outrage and another attack in Cambrils yesterday, which resulted in one person dying and seven people being injured after five men wearing fake suicide belts drove an Audi A3 into crowds on the seafront.
Western Europe has been a regular target for jihadists over the last few years. And Barcelona’s chief rabbi Meir Bar-Hen told his congregation to move to Israel to flee terror.
Barcelona’s chief rabbi Meir Bar-Hen told his congregation to move to Israel to flee terror
This rented van brought terror to the streets of Europe when it was driven at speed down a busy street in central Barcelona, killing 14 including a three-year-old boy
A man lying on the street in Barcelona after the van ploughed into pedestrians along Las Ramblas
In an interview with Jewish news agency JTA, he said: ‘I tell my congregants: Don’t think we’re here for good, and I encourage them to buy property in Israel’
‘This place is lost. Don’t repeat the mistake of Algerian Jews, of Venezuelan Jews. Better (get out) early than late. Europe is lost.’
The Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain did not to share Bar-Hen’s pessimistic outlook. The organization issued a statement Thursday, saying: ‘Spanish Jews trust the State Security Corps that work daily to prevent radical fanatics and Islamists from sowing chaos and pain in our cities.’
The group also urged politicians to ‘deal intelligently and determinedly with the struggle against fanaticism and in favor of freedom and democracy.’
The terrorists had originally planned to drive three vans packed with explosives into iconic parts of Barcelona including the Sagrada Familia cathedral, it has been reported.
Had their butane-filled gas containers not accidentally detonated the night before the atrocities on Thursday, the 12-person terror cell would have used them to maximise deaths in the tourist hotspots of the Spanish city, local media suggest.
British tourist Harry Athwal rushed to help a young child who was lying injured on the pavement immediately after Thursday’s horrific terror attack in Barcelona
Pictured is the van used in the attack being taken away by police.
Seven people, including a policeman, were injured in Cambrils after the killers attacked. Pictured are police taping off the scene
They intended to explode one van in Las Ramblas, a second by the world-famous Sagrada Familia cathedral and the last in the port area of the city, El Espanol has claimed.
The cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the most visited attractions in Europe.
Architect Antonio Gaudi began construction in 1882 and, despite him dying in 1926, it is still officially incomplete.
In 2010 it was consecrated by Pope Benedict XVI as a minor basilica.
How the Barcelona attack unfolded: Map shows the route the terrorist took as he ploughed into scores of holidaymakers
Hundreds crowded to see the royals as they paid tribute in Barcelona to the victims of the van attack
Barcelona, a hugely popular tourist destination, came to a halt at noon on Friday (11am BST) as a minute’s silence was observed in the Placa Catalunya, close to the scene of the attack.
Led by King Felipe and Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy the silence was then followed by applause for the victims.
Three days of mourning have been declared by the government of Catalonia.
Catalonia’s emergency services have said that as of today 54 people remained in the hospital, 12 of them in critical condition, from both attacks.