Two Israelis were among the wounded in a weekend attack on a synagogue in California that killed one person and injured three others, an official said Sunday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the "atrocious" synagogue shooting, which he called "an attack at the heart of the Jewish people".

An Israeli foreign ministry spokesman said an eight-year-old girl and her 31-year-old uncle wounded in the shooting attack in Poway, north of San Diego, on Saturday were from a southern town bordering the Gaza Strip.

"The two moved from Sderot to San Diego a few years ago," spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said in a statement, noting their condition was "good".

Sderot has come under repeated rocket and mortar attack from Palestinian militants in Gaza.

The father of the wounded girl, Israel Dahan, said Sunday that his home and those of his mother and mother-in law had been hit by Palestinian fire and he had been wounded several times.

"We left Sderot because of the rocket fire," he told Israeli public radio in Hebrew. "We left fire for fire."

San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said both Israelis were wounded by shrapnel in the attack on the final day of the week-long Jewish holiday of Passover.

Dahan said he was at prayer inside the synagogue when the gunman entered.

"I was the first to see him because I was sitting in front of the main door. I started shouting at people to run away," he told the radio.

"My five-year-old daughter heard the shots and shut herself in the toilets," he said. "Luckily his weapon jammed."

A 60-year-old woman, Lori Gilbert Kaye, was killed in the attack, with the community's rabbi wounded as well.

Netanyahu denounced the shooting and sent condolences to Kaye's family.

"The international community must step up the struggle against anti-Semitism," the prime minister said in a statement.

He said he would convene a meeting of Israeli officials on the subject in light of the "increasing anti-Semitic attacks throughout the world".

Gore identified the suspect, who was arrested after fleeing the scene, as 19-year-old John Earnest and said he had no prior arrest record.

US President Donald Trump denounced the shooting as a "hate crime".

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin called the attack "yet another painful reminder that anti-Semitism and hatred of Jews is still with us, everywhere."

"No country and no society are immune," he said in a Sunday statement. "Only through education for Holocaust remembrance and tolerance can we deal with this plague."

The shooting in Poway's Chabad synagogue came exactly six months after a white supremacist killed 11 people at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue -- the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in US history.

Two Israelis were among the wounded in a weekend attack on a synagogue in California that killed one person and injured three others, an official said Sunday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the "atrocious" synagogue shooting, which he called "an attack at the heart of the Jewish people".

Two Israelis were among the wounded in a weekend attack on a synagogue in California that killed one person and injured three others, an official said Sunday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the "atrocious" synagogue shooting, which he called "an attack at the heart of the Jewish people". An Israeli foreign ministry spokesman said an eight-year-old girl and her 31-year-old uncle wounded in the shooting attack in Poway, north of San Diego, on Saturday were from a southern town bordering the Gaza Strip. "The two moved from Sderot to San Diego a few years ago," spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said in a statement, noting their condition was "good". Sderot has come under repeated rocket and mortar attack from Palestinian militants in Gaza. The father of the wounded girl, Israel Dahan, said Sunday that his home and those of his mother and mother-in law had been hit by Palestinian fire and he had been wounded several times. "We left Sderot because of the rocket fire," he told Israeli public radio in Hebrew. "We left fire for fire." San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said both Israelis were wounded by shrapnel in the attack on the final day of the week-long Jewish holiday of Passover. Dahan said he was at prayer inside the synagogue when the gunman entered. "I was the first to see him because I was sitting in front of the main door. I started shouting at people to run away," he told the radio. "My five-year-old daughter heard the shots and shut herself in the toilets," he said. "Luckily his weapon jammed." A 60-year-old woman, Lori Gilbert Kaye, was killed in the attack, with the community's rabbi wounded as well. Netanyahu denounced the shooting and sent condolences to Kaye's family. "The international community must step up the struggle against anti-Semitism," the prime minister said in a statement. He said he would convene a meeting of Israeli officials on the subject in light of the "increasing anti-Semitic attacks throughout the world". Gore identified the suspect, who was arrested after fleeing the scene, as 19-year-old John Earnest and said he had no prior arrest record. US President Donald Trump denounced the shooting as a "hate crime". Israeli President Reuven Rivlin called the attack "yet another painful reminder that anti-Semitism and hatred of Jews is still with us, everywhere." "No country and no society are immune," he said in a Sunday statement. "Only through education for Holocaust remembrance and tolerance can we deal with this plague." The shooting in Poway's Chabad synagogue came exactly six months after a white supremacist killed 11 people at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue -- the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in US history.

Israelis among wounded in US synagogue attack

The first two victims of the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in recent US history will be laid to rest in Pittsburgh on Tuesday as the grieving city awaits a controversial visit by President Donald Trump and his wife Melania.

The funeral for Cecil and David Rosenthal -- brothers aged 59 and 54 who were among 11 people gunned down during prayers at the Tree of Life synagogue on Saturday -- was to be held at the Rodef Shalom temple.

Trump's visit to the city has been contentious, coming amid a mounting row over whether his fierce rhetoric at campaign rallies and on Twitter has been partly responsible for stoking extremism ahead of November 6 midterm elections, and a protest in Pittsburgh against the president has been called for Tuesday afternoon.

"It's just enraging that this type of hate crime could occur here and that the leadership of our country does not denounce anti-Semitism and does not denounce white nationalism and does not denounce neo-Nazism. And that is the problem," Joanna Izenson told AFP on her way to the visitation for the Rosenthals.

"There's always going to be anti-Semitism, there always has been, but never have we had a president of this country who does not fight hard against it, verbally and in every way. And he needs those supporters and that's why he doesn't," she said.

There was a huge turnout at Rodef Shalom, a 25-minute walk from the Tree of Life. Large pictures of the Rosenthal brothers were on display inside the lobby.

'Purveyor of hate speech'

"There wasn't an ill thought in their body," Pittsburgh police detective Donald Pasquarelli, who provided security at Tree of Life events, told AFP outside the temple.

"When we worked events there, they were there always. They were the Tree of Life," he said.

The shooting spree allegedly carried out by Robert Bowers came in the same week that authorities arrested a Florida man -- an ardent Trump supporter -- on suspicion of mailing more than a dozen homemade bombs to opponents and critics of the president.

The two incidents have led to accusations that Trump has fanned violence through his almost daily tweets and speeches lambasting illegal immigrants, political opponents and journalists in divisive and hardline language.

Bowers had reportedly claimed on social media that Jews were helping transport caravans of refugees from Central America into the US, repeatedly calling the migrants "invaders."

The caravans are a favourite target of the president's anti-immigrant rhetoric, and he has called a group of several thousand impoverished mainly Honduran migrants currently attempting to walk north to the United States "an invasion."

Jeffrey Myers, a Tree of Life rabbi who was present when the attack started, told CNN that "the president of the United States is always welcome."

But a former president of the synagogue, Lynette Lederman, spoke out on the network on Monday to tell Trump to stay away, calling him a "purveyor of hate speech."

And a group of Pittsburgh Jewish leaders wrote an open letter to Trump Sunday telling him he bears responsibility for the shooting and saying he was not welcome in the city unless he took steps including denouncing white nationalism and ending "your assault on immigrants and refugees."

'Christian rabbi'

Trump has struck back in typically robust fashion, arguing that critical journalists were in fact the ones feeding extremism across the country.

"There is great anger in our Country caused in part by inaccurate, and even fraudulent, reporting of the news," Trump tweeted.

"The Fake News Media, the true Enemy of the People, must stop the open &amp; obvious hostility &amp; report the news accurately &amp; fairly. That will do much to put out the flame of Anger and Outrage."

Trump's visit to Pittsburgh is not the only element of the administration's response to the massacre that has been a source of controversy. &nbsp;

On Monday, Vice President Mike Pence attended a campaign rally in Michigan at which a so-called "Christian rabbi" was invited to speak on behalf of the area's Jewish community.

Instead of opening up with prayers for the 11 victims of the Tree of Life shooting, Loren Jacobs praised Jesus Christ and then offered prayers for four Republican candidates.

At the end of the rally Pence, a devout Christian and hero of evangelicals, invited Jacobs back to say a prayer for the victims as "a leader of the Jewish community here in Michigan."

Jacobs then offered words for the dead in the form of a prayer to Jesus Christ, without naming any of them.

Jews expressed outrage over social media, describing Jacobs' appearance as an "insulting political stunt" and blasting Pence as a "Christian supremacist."

The first two victims of the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in recent US history will be laid to rest in Pittsburgh on Tuesday as the grieving city awaits a controversial visit by President Donald Trump and his wife Melania.

The first two victims of the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in recent US history will be laid to rest in Pittsburgh on Tuesday as the grieving city awaits a controversial visit by President Donald Trump and his wife Melania. The funeral for Cecil and David Rosenthal -- brothers aged 59 and 54 who were among 11 people gunned down during prayers at the Tree of Life synagogue on Saturday -- was to be held at the Rodef Shalom temple. Trump's visit to the city has been contentious, coming amid a mounting row over whether his fierce rhetoric at campaign rallies and on Twitter has been partly responsible for stoking extremism ahead of November 6 midterm elections, and a protest in Pittsburgh against the president has been called for Tuesday afternoon. "It's just enraging that this type of hate crime could occur here and that the leadership of our country does not denounce anti-Semitism and does not denounce white nationalism and does not denounce neo-Nazism. And that is the problem," Joanna Izenson told AFP on her way to the visitation for the Rosenthals. "There's always going to be anti-Semitism, there always has been, but never have we had a president of this country who does not fight hard against it, verbally and in every way. And he needs those supporters and that's why he doesn't," she said. There was a huge turnout at Rodef Shalom, a 25-minute walk from the Tree of Life. Large pictures of the Rosenthal brothers were on display inside the lobby. 'Purveyor of hate speech' "There wasn't an ill thought in their body," Pittsburgh police detective Donald Pasquarelli, who provided security at Tree of Life events, told AFP outside the temple. "When we worked events there, they were there always. They were the Tree of Life," he said. The shooting spree allegedly carried out by Robert Bowers came in the same week that authorities arrested a Florida man -- an ardent Trump supporter -- on suspicion of mailing more than a dozen homemade bombs to opponents and critics of the president. The two incidents have led to accusations that Trump has fanned violence through his almost daily tweets and speeches lambasting illegal immigrants, political opponents and journalists in divisive and hardline language. Bowers had reportedly claimed on social media that Jews were helping transport caravans of refugees from Central America into the US, repeatedly calling the migrants "invaders." The caravans are a favourite target of the president's anti-immigrant rhetoric, and he has called a group of several thousand impoverished mainly Honduran migrants currently attempting to walk north to the United States "an invasion." Jeffrey Myers, a Tree of Life rabbi who was present when the attack started, told CNN that "the president of the United States is always welcome." But a former president of the synagogue, Lynette Lederman, spoke out on the network on Monday to tell Trump to stay away, calling him a "purveyor of hate speech." And a group of Pittsburgh Jewish leaders wrote an open letter to Trump Sunday telling him he bears responsibility for the shooting and saying he was not welcome in the city unless he took steps including denouncing white nationalism and ending "your assault on immigrants and refugees." 'Christian rabbi' Trump has struck back in typically robust fashion, arguing that critical journalists were in fact the ones feeding extremism across the country. "There is great anger in our Country caused in part by inaccurate, and even fraudulent, reporting of the news," Trump tweeted. "The Fake News Media, the true Enemy of the People, must stop the open & obvious hostility & report the news accurately & fairly. That will do much to put out the flame of Anger and Outrage." Trump's visit to Pittsburgh is not the only element of the administration's response to the massacre that has been a source of controversy. On Monday, Vice President Mike Pence attended a campaign rally in Michigan at which a so-called "Christian rabbi" was invited to speak on behalf of the area's Jewish community. Instead of opening up with prayers for the 11 victims of the Tree of Life shooting, Loren Jacobs praised Jesus Christ and then offered prayers for four Republican candidates. At the end of the rally Pence, a devout Christian and hero of evangelicals, invited Jacobs back to say a prayer for the victims as "a leader of the Jewish community here in Michigan." Jacobs then offered words for the dead in the form of a prayer to Jesus Christ, without naming any of them. Jews expressed outrage over social media, describing Jacobs' appearance as an "insulting political stunt" and blasting Pence as a "Christian supremacist."

First funeral for synagogue massacre victims ahead of Trump visit

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