The 1981 Vienna synagogue attack was a terror attack that occurred 29 August 1981. The incident took place in the

Stadttempel The Stadttempel (), also called the Seitenstettengasse Temple, is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue, located at Seitenstettengasse 4, in the Innere Stadt 1st district of Vienna, Austria. Completed in 1826, it is the main synagogue in Vienna. The con ...

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Austria carried out by two terrorists of the

Abu Nidal Organization The Abu Nidal Organization (ANO; ), officially Fatah – Revolutionary Council ( ), was a Palestinian militant group founded by Abu Nidal in 1974. It broke away from Fatah, a faction within the Palestine Liberation Organization, following t ...

Attack

The mass shooting and grenade attack killed two people and wounded 18 others attending a

Bar mitzvah A ''bar mitzvah'' () or ''bat mitzvah'' () is a coming of age ritual in Judaism. According to Halakha, Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age ...

service at the

in Vienna on 29 August 1981.Palestinians get life in Austrian Slayings
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 22 January 1982 Two terrorists entered the 155-year-old

Israelite Israelites were a Hebrew language, Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group, consisting of tribes that lived in Canaan during the Iron Age. Modern scholarship describes the Israelites as emerging from indigenous Canaanites, Canaanite populations ...

Temple in the central

area of Seitenstettengasse, posing as

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. The terrorists then came into a fire exchange with the two already wounded

policemen A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of t ...

. A bodyguard of a local

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

business owner arrived quickly at the

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

and pointed his gun directly at one of the perpetrators, shooting him and subdued the other. Police cordoned off the entire area and began a house to house search for possible accomplices and hidden bombs. According to early reports, three terrorists had been involved in the attack. The Austrian police later said this was not correct and that the only two who had stormed the

were involved. The police were detaining a third person who was arrested in a

apartment shortly after the attack, but no details were available regarding the suspect. Two

civilians A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civilian enga ...

, a 25-year-old woman and a 68-year-old man were shot and killed in the attack, and several others were critically wounded, amongst two of the

. In connection with the attack, the two

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

assailants, Marwan Hasan, 25 years old, of

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, and Hesham Mohammed Rajeh, 21, born in Iraq, were convicted of terrorist charges and attempted murder. Rajeh was also indicted for the 1 May murder of Heinz Nittel, head of the Austrian-Israel Society. Both men received life sentences.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vienna synagogue attack Abu Nidal attacks Palestinian terrorist incidents in Austria Terrorist incidents in Europe in 1981 1981 crimes in Austria Antisemitism in Austria 20th-century attacks on Jewish institutions 1980s in Vienna Crime in Vienna August 1981 in Europe Antisemitic attacks and incidents in Europe 1981 mass shootings in Europe 1981 murders in Europe 1981 murders in Austria Murder in Vienna Grenade attacks in Europe Mass shootings in Austria Attacks on religious buildings and structures in Europe