Jewish Community Still Feels Less Safe Than After 2025 Synagogue Attack, Says Rabbi
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By Judith Moritz, Special correspondent, and Daniel Wittenberg, Senior producer
Photographed by Rob Wood/BBC
Rabbi Daniel Walker stated that the sense of vulnerability within the Jewish community has intensified since the 2025 attack on a Manchester synagogue, where two men were killed.
"I think we're actually almost in a harder position than we were even immediately after the attack," Rabbi Walker said, ahead of a memorial service for the victims and survivors. "I think the sense of vulnerability has grown. It hasn't diminished."
On October 2, 2025, Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby lost their lives and three others were injured while defending their synagogue from attacker Jihad al-Shamie on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
A wave of global attacks followed, including:
- Sydney, Australia: 15 people were killed in a shooting at a Chanukah celebration on Bondi Beach.
- London: Jewish individuals and properties were targeted in arson attacks, including on Hatzola emergency medical service ambulances.
- Golders Green: Two orthodox Jewish men were stabbed as they left morning prayers.
A BBC Freedom of Information request revealed a disturbing rise in violent hate crimes targeting Jewish people across England and Wales, increasing by nearly two-thirds since 2022.
For the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation, Rabbi Walker expressed that the past year, marked by grief and pain, has been further compounded by subsequent attacks elsewhere.
"Something has gone seriously wrong in our society," Rabbi Walker said. "I don't think there's really any evidence of anyone dealing with the core problems. On the contrary, in many ways, those may have become worse over the last months."
Angela Rayner, a prominent figure, assured the community that the government would not tolerate hatred, adding, "We will not allow hatred to drive people from their communities, to make them afraid to live and practise their faith freely, or to divide our country."