Manchester synagogue attack: 'take our safety seriously,' Leeds Jewish leaders tell Sir Keir Starmer
“It is time for this country’s leaders to take our concerns and our safety seriously,” the Leeds Jewish Representative Council has said, following the horrific terrorist attack on a Manchester synagogue.
Jihad Al-Shamie drove into a group of people outside Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue on Thursday, the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, before stabbing a man.
Greater Manchester Police said Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, died following the car attack, while three other people remain in hospital with serious injuries.
Al-Shamie was shot dead by police seven minutes after officers were alerted to the attack in Crumpsall.
Three people have been arrested on suspicion of planning a terror attack in connection with the killings.
Additional police have been deployed to Jewish communities across Yorkshire, with the proximity of the murders really hitting home.
Simon Myerson KC, chair of the LJRC, said: “What has happened in Manchester is beyond appalling. On the holiest day of the year, a terrorist attacked a shul in the UK.
“The wickedness of the act is almost beyond imagination, were it not that we have, as a community, been warning about the escalating hateful language to which we have increasingly been exposed for the last two years.”
He added: “We have been moved by the many messages of solidarity from faith leaders across Yorkshire and civic leaders.
“There is urgent work ahead to turn these words into action, to ensure such attacks never happen again. That is, we stress, work for the non-Jewish community to do.
“We cannot help ourselves more than we already do. The CST spends hours volunteering. It is time for this country’s leaders to take our concerns and our safety seriously.
“We stand with Jewish communities across the UK in grief, unity, and a shared determination to oppose hatred.
“We urge our community to follow CST’s advice: stay alert, report anything suspicious to the police, avoid lingering in public spaces outside Jewish buildings, and do not gather unnecessarily. Your safety remains our highest priority.”
Sir Keir Starmer vowed the Government will “do everything to keep our Jewish community safe”.
He and his wife Lady Victoria Starmer visited Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue yesterday.
In a statement yesterday, the Prime Minister said: “To every Jewish person in this country, I also want to say this: I know how much fear you will be holding inside of you. I really do.
“And so on behalf of our country, I express my solidarity, but also my sadness that you still have to live with these fears.
“Nobody should have to do that – nobody. And so I promise you that I will do everything in my power to guarantee you the security you deserve, starting with a more visible police presence, protecting your community.”
Faith leaders from across Yorkshire have expressed their condolences and support to the region’s Jewish community.
Imam Qari Asim, of the Makkah Mosque in Leeds, said: “My thoughts are with the victims, their families and British Jewish community, who are understandably shaken and hurt.
Mr Asim, who is also a trustee of Hope not Hate, continued: “This act of violence is utterly abhorrent and has no place in our society.
“Places of worship must always be sanctuaries of peace and safety —not scenes of fear and hatred.
“We cannot ignore the growing tide of religious hatred in our country. Whether it is Islamophobia, anti-semitism or any form of bigotry, we must confront it together—with unity and courage, not silence.
“As a British Muslim leader let me be clear - antisemitism in all its forms is totally unacceptable.”
Earlier this year, the Community Security Trust (CST), which monitors anti-semitism in the UK, said Jews were facing “more hatred and pressure” than they have for decades after the organisation recorded more than 3,500 incidents in 2024.
Reports of antisemitism reached a record high in 2023 at 4,296 – the year that saw the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel and the subsequent military action in the region that has continued since.
“The bloodshed and violence in the Middle East—which is excruciatingly painful to witness for all of us—must not be allowed to poison our streets in Britain,” Mr Asim added.
“We must never let pain abroad be used to justify hatred and violence against anyone at home.
“British Jews, British Muslims, and all communities must be able to live together without violence, intimidation and the fear of being targeted because of their faith.”