Security Ramped Up Across UK After Deadly Synagogue Attack

The United Kingdom is on “high alert” following a deadly terror attack outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester, which left two people dead and three seriously injured. The tragic event occurred on Thursday as Jewish communities worldwide observed Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, immediately prompting a significant escalation of security measures nationwide.

The car ramming and stabbing spree was swiftly declared a “terrorist incident” by UK authorities. Dependable NG reports that the police fatally shot the attacker, later identified as Jihad al-Shamie, a UK citizen of Syrian origin, who was wearing a non-functional apparent explosive vest. The swift response saw armed police neutralizing the assailant within seven minutes of the first emergency call.

Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood confirmed the heightened security on Friday, telling Sky News that “we are absolutely on high alert” and that there had been an “increase in police resources, not just here in Manchester, but across the country.” The government’s priority remains ensuring the safety of its citizens, particularly the Jewish community, enabling them to live their lives without fear.

The Attack and the Victims

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) named the two victims killed in the attack as Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66. Both men lived in the Crumpsall neighbourhood, an area that hosts one of Britain’s largest Jewish communities. The attack began when a car plowed into people outside the packed synagogue, followed by a knife attack on a security guard.

In addition to the two fatalities, three people remain in serious condition in the hospital. GMP has also arrested three others two men in their 30s and a woman in her 60s on suspicion of involvement in the “commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism.”

Political Reaction and Community Fear

Prime Minister Keir Starmer cut short a European summit to chair an emergency response meeting in London and later visited Manchester, vowing to “do everything in my power” to protect the Jewish community. However, the tragedy drew sharp criticism from Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who accused UK authorities of failing to curb what he termed “rampant antisemitic and anti-Israeli incitement.”

Britain’s Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis described the attack as the “tragic result of Jew hatred,” lamenting on social media that this was the day the community “hoped we would never see.” The attack has been widely linked to the increased tensions in Britain following the October 7, 2023 assault on Israel by Hamas and the subsequent Gaza war, which has seen frequent pro-Palestinian rallies that some critics argue have stoked antisemitism.

Interior Minister Mahmood criticized the decision to proceed with a “global movement for Gaza UK” protest in London on Thursday evening, which resulted in 40 arrests. She deemed the behaviour “fundamentally un-British” and “dishonourable,” urging attendees to “take a step back” and allow the Jewish community to grieve following one of the worst antisemitic attacks in Europe since the start of the Gaza conflict.