Israel Pressures UK Over Rising Antisemitism After Manchester Synagogue Attack

 

                                   Ambulance incident workers process the body of a man, believed to be the attacker

Israel has sharply criticized Britain for what it describes as a failure to adequately confront a surge in antisemitism, following a deadly attack at a Manchester synagogue during Yom Kippur.

The assault at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation left two worshippers dead and several others injured after a man rammed his car into pedestrians and stabbed a security guard. The attacker, identified as 35-year-old Jihad Al-Shamie, was shot dead by police at the scene. Authorities later confirmed the incident was being treated as a terrorist attack.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar condemned the violence, accusing the UK government of allowing “rampant antisemitic and anti-Israeli incitement” to persist. He demanded a “change of course” from Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s administration, insisting that words of solidarity were not enough.

British officials, meanwhile, pledged to increase security at synagogues and Jewish community centers. Starmer, who cut short a European summit to chair an emergency meeting in London, vowed to “defeat a hatred that is rising once again” and reassured Jewish communities of the government’s commitment to their safety.

The attack comes amid record levels of antisemitic incidents in the UK since the outbreak of the Israel–Hamas war in October 2023. Jewish leaders have expressed growing concern that Britain’s Jewish population is being left vulnerable to extremist violence.