The terrorist attack on worshipers at a Jerusalem synagogue Tuesday was a seminal event, the kind that alters reality, and the kind that, years from now, we would be able to say was a turning point. Its importance stems not only from the accumulating mass of "atmosphere attacks" but from the nature of this specific attack: it is inconceivable that Jews were murdered during a morning prayer service in a synagogue at the heart of Jerusalem. The heinous nature of this attack mandates Israel exercise reason. Any other course of action, motivated by revenge, rage, or politics, would do more harm than good. It is exactly now that we must let cooler heads prevail, while keeping in mind three main goals: restoring peace to our streets and the public's sense of security; preventing the tensions from spreading to Judea and Samaria and the Arab sector, or from escalating into a regional conflict; and ensuring we stay ahead of the story on the public diplomacy front. The first goal -- security -- is the primary one. The government and Israel's security forces are obligated to provide the public with this staple commodity. This cannot be reduced to an empty promise, since without security, without a sense of personal safety, we would be unable to sustain life, let alone a normal life. No matter what it takes in terms of budgets or deployment, an Israeli citizen must feel safe while riding a bus or a train, or while walking on the street. If the police need reinforcements, be it via the call up of the reserves or the use of regular military forces -- now is the time to call them. Terrorist attacks of this nature have a way of breeding sequels, courtesy of copycats who seek to recapture the "success." They must be stopped immediately and on every level -- from razing homes and revoking rights from terrorists' families to generate deterrence, through intelligence gathering efforts that would enable law enforcement to reach potential terrorists beforehand, to increased security forces' presence on the ground, so that they may act as a buffer between terrorists and their destinations. The second goal -- preventing tensions from spreading -- is critical. The situation in Jerusalem, which is the focus of the current tensions, has extremely volatile potential, and the escalation could easily spread to every Arab and Muslim worldwide. Unlike previous terrorist attacks, which could be labeled as political, the motive for this attack was purely religious, aiming at the most combustible components of the conflict. This cynical attack was driven by many unseen, negative forces -- Hamas, the Islamic Movement's Northern Branch, and some of the recent statements by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas -- and Israel must make sure similar, future attacks fail, because their impact would be catastrophic on internal, regional and international levels. Cabinet members are well aware of this, which is why every official has been reiterating that Israel has no intention of changing the status quo on the Temple Mount. The third goal -- public diplomacy efforts -- aims to afford Israel the necessary leeway it needs to act, as well as prevent dangerous diplomatic isolation. The current political climate may have the entire world against us, but that is not an irrevocable situation. There is little difference between terrorists who murder Israelis in a Jerusalem synagogue and Islamic State terrorists who behead American and British nationals in Syria. It is the same war, and the good guys have to join forces to defeat the bad guys. Israel has to assert its position among the good guys and make it clear to the international community that despite the rage and the desire to exact revenge, we always have and always will extend our hand in peace. Such statements are vital for the success of the first two goals. The simultaneous and coordinated realization of these three goals represent the main challenge cabinet ministers and the heads of the defense establishment now face. Any departure from them, be it through an inflammatory statement, a defiant move, or an act of retribution, may have disastrous consequences. It is precisely now, when the blood boils and tempers are running high, that Israel must take a deep breath and make a conscious effort to exercise reason.
