On Thursday (October 2), one of the most sacred days in the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur, a day of atonement, was marred by a tragic incident near a synagogue in Manchester, northern England. According to the British police, an attacker carried out a car ramming and knife attack near a Jewish synagogue, resulting in at least 2 fatalities. The suspect, believed to be carrying a bomb, was ultimately shot dead by the authorities.
The Greater Manchester Police responded swiftly after receiving reports from witnesses. The attack took place near the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in the Crumpsall area.
Witnesses reported that a car plowed into a crowd and a man was stabbed. The police quickly arrived at the scene and shot the suspect. Aside from the confirmed 2 fatalities, 3 others sustained serious injuries.
The police stated that the suspect is believed to be deceased, but due to safety concerns over suspicious items on the individual, they could not immediately confirm the status, and have urgently summoned a bomb disposal team to handle the situation.
Video footage verified by Reuters showed an armed police officer gesturing for onlookers to evacuate near the synagogue, shouting, “He has a bomb, get away!”
Chava Lewin, a resident living near the synagogue, recounted to Reuters that the attacker began stabbing people upon exiting the car and attempted to enter the synagogue, but was blocked at the door.
At the time of the attack, a large number of worshipers were inside the synagogue. Following the incident, the police guided a large group, primarily elderly Jewish men, out of the premises, visibly shocked and some clad in traditional white robes.
Upon learning of the news while attending a European political conference in Copenhagen, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer abruptly left to return to the UK to oversee an emergency meeting.
Starmer expressed, “I am shocked by the attack on the Crumpsall synagogue. This happening on the most sacred day of the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur, makes it even more appalling.”
He vowed to deploy additional police forces to Jewish synagogues across the nation and added, “We will do everything in our power to ensure the safety of the Jewish community.”
According to the Community Security Trust (CST), in 2024, the UK recorded over 3,500 anti-Semitic incidents, marking the second-worst figure in modern history.
Since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, followed by Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza, the levels of anti-Semitic incidents have surged to historic highs.