MANCHESTER: The tight-knit, diverse community in the British city of Manchester had already seen rising antisemitism and tensions in the wake of the Gaza war. Now residents fear the place they call home may be forever scarred by a shocking synagogue attack that left two dead.
As night fell on Thursday, Orthodox Jewish worshippers emerged from packed synagogues in the city after a day of prayers and fasting to learn about the attack which took place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.
Many observing Yom Kippur traditions, including not using phones, told AFP they did not yet know details about the morning attack outside a local synagogue.
Aryeh Ehrentreu, 56, who spent the day praying in a synagogue minutes away from the targeted Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, said he had heard ambulances earlier in the day.
“Then the security asked us to close all our doors in the synagogue, so we knew the attack took place,” Ehrentreu told AFP.
He said he was only just finding out the “extremely worrying” details after leaving the synagogue.
Although he is not religious, 31-year-old Alex, who did not want to give his last name, said he observed Yom Kippur and had been planning to go to the Heaton Park synagogue around midday.
“Yom Kippur is the one day of the year where all those empty seats (in the synagogue) get filled. Everyone goes on Yom Kippur,” the company director, who lives near the targeted synagogue, told AFP.
‘Everyone knows everyone’
According to Alex, there is a “hugely” tight-knit Jewish community in the area. “Everyone knows everyone,” he said.
Manchester, famed for its two Premier League football clubs and industrial history, is home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the UK.
It totalled more than 28,000 in 2021, according to the Institute for Jewish Policy Research.
Its northern areas around Cheetham Hill are ethnically diverse, with its streets dotted by multicultural shops and take-away joints.
But Alex said the war in Gaza, which erupted in October 2023, has “definitely exacerbated the feelings of resentment” between communities.
“Everyone in the community in recent years has experienced some sort of antisemitism,” said Alex, criticising the police for doing “very little”.
The UK and other Western countries have seen an increased number of antisemitic incidents in recent years, with a spike since the October 7, 2023, attack by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Israel, and the resulting war in Gaza.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a speech condemning the attack that while antisemitism was not new, “we must be clear it is a hatred that is rising once again, and Britain must defeat it once again”.
‘Sad day’
Mueez Aslam, a 17-year-old student who lives two minutes from the synagogue, said he was “shocked”.
“Everyone lives in peace here,” he said.
“I have neighbours who are Jews as well,” the student told AFP. “I can’t imagine what’s going through their head right now. They must be scared.”
But Aslam agreed that since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, “you can feel tensions, the atmosphere has changed.”
Ehrentreu said antisemitism had become “very common” in recent years.
“I don’t believe you’ll ever come across here on a Friday night without abuse from a car,” he told AFP.
Aslam feared the attack, declared by police as a “terrorist incident”, would increase animosity between communities.
“I don’t think as a community this will ever get forgotten,” he said.
But Sam Martin, a 41-year-old engineer living near the synagogue, said he did not believe the tragedy would “break us” as a community.
“I live here for like seven years, I’ve seen nothing but kindness and love from the Jewish community,” he said.
“I’m sure Manchester will heal from this. But it’s very sad day. Today is a very sad day.” – AFP
