‘Today is the day we feared’: UK Jews knew an attack would come
Israeli leaders say Keir Starmer must share the blame for the Manchester synagogue terror attack as UK Jews say they had long feared such an assault amid rising anti-semitism.
This is a day Britain’s Jewish community has increasingly feared, with anti-semitic abuse and vandalism attacks on synagogues on the rise since Hamas’s massacre in Israel on October 7 2023.
As Israeli leaders said Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer must share the blame for the Manchester synagogue terror attack on Thursday (local time), journalist Richard Ferrer spoke for British Jews when he wrote: “Today is the day we feared. The day British Jews have long dreaded but always knew would come. The first terrorist attack on a UK synagogue.”
Israel foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar blamed “blatant and rampant anti-semitic and anti-Israeli incitement,” for a febrile mood that led to the horrific car-ramming and stabbing that killed two people and seriously injured three outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall outside of Manchester
Calling for “more than words from the Starmer government,” Mr Sa’ar said: “The truth must be told: blatant and rampant antisemitic and anti-Israeli incitement, as well as calls of support for terror, have recently become a widespread phenomenon in the streets of London, in cities across Britain, and on its campuses.
“The authorities in Britain have failed to take the necessary action to curb this toxic wave of antisemitism and have effectively allowed it to persist.
“We expect more than words from the Starmer government. We expect and demand a change of course, effective action, and enforcement against the rampant antisemitic and anti-Israeli incitement in Britain.”
Sir Keir admitted that “hatred is rising once again in Britain,” but offered little other than a more visible police presence to a terrified Jewish community, despite saying he would do all in his power to guarantee their security.
Yet even as he was trying to reassure the Jewish people, expressing his solidarity and sadness, hundreds of pro-Palestinian supporters massed at the Piccadilly Manchester train station a few kilometres away from the crime scene, while several thousand demonstrators also gathered in “an emergency protest” outside of Downing Street.
Pro-Palestine protests turn violent outside Downing Street.
— J Stewart (@triffic_stuff_) October 2, 2025
The protest follows a deadly terrorist attack on a synagogue in Manchester by an Islamic extremist named “Jihadâ€.
What’s the response from Starmer and Khan, who are quick to condemn minor skirmishes at other protests,… pic.twitter.com/WOiHhbRCbg
It has also emerged that Israeli president Isaac Herzog had written to King Charles 48 hours before the synagogue attack warning of rising anti semitism, not just in Britain, but across Australia and Canada.
Sky News reports that Mr Herzog wrote: “Commonwealth nations which just 80 years ago stood united against fascism and Nazism have now become overrun with anti Jewish hatred. We know all too well the rise in antisemitism correlates directly with events on the ground in the Middle East yet the free world cannot and must not allow the conflict to become a political tool against the Jewish people”.
“This is a watershed moment in history,” he added.
In the northern summer, UK Jewish security groups including the Community Security Trust (CST) advised Jews to “be vigilant and follow the strict security measures that are in place at communal buildings, events and areas”.
The CST recorded 4,296 antisemitic incidents in 2023 and 3,528 in 2024, the two highest numbers on record.
The London Times reports that, speaking shortly after the attacks on Israel on October 7, when Hamas killed about 1,100 people and took 251 more hostage, the Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, said: “The fear that’s running through the Jewish community now I think we haven’t had since 1945.”
In March, then home secretary Yvette Cooper recounted the threats to the Jewish community as she spoke to their fears
“Threats to kill sent to synagogues. Individuals spat on or assaulted in the street. Graffiti daubed on religious sites. Antisemitic bullying in schools,” she said. “We all know that fear has grown since the barbaric terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023.”
Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanhayu offered his condolences and stressed that a weak response to terrorism would only embolden the terrorists.
“As I warned at the UN: weakness in the face of terrorism only brings more terrorism. Only strength and unity can defeat it,’’ Mr Netanhayu said.
Sir Keir, whose wife is Jewish, told the Jewish community that he knew the fear they would be holding.
“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,” he said.
He added: “Britain is also a country where Jewish buildings, synagogues, even schools require round the clock protection, where dedicated specialist security is necessary because of the daily threat of antisemitic hatred.
“Today’s horrific incident shows why. And while this is not a new hate, this is something Jews have always lived with, we must be clear, it is a hatred that is rising once again, and Britain must defeat it once again.”
Sir Keir did not elaborate how his government would tackle the anti-semitism. He also didn’t mention the attacker, or why the synagogue was targeted.
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