BRITS have been urged to get in touch with their Jewish friends with messages of support after a terror attack at a synagogue saw two people killed.
Two people tragically died and four are in hospital in serious condition after the horror unfolded outside Manchester‘s Heaton Park synagogue today on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.
AFPPolice officers talk with members of the community near the synagogue[/caption]
PAPrime Minister Sir Keir Starmer earlier spoke out to support Jewish communities in Downing Street[/caption]
PAArmed police officers at the scene near the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall, Manchester[/caption]
The terror attack unfolded when a vehicle struck the synagogue’s gates before the driver got out and began stabbing people.
Police are treating the attack as terrorism and two people have been arrested in nearby cop raids after the horror.
Now, Brits are being encouraged to flood the phones, inboxes and social feeds of their Jewish friends, neighbours and colleagues with messages of solidarity as part of a campaign.
The hope is that as Jewish people across the UK end Yom Kippur this evening and turn their phones back on – they will find their phone and social media feeds flooded with messages of support and unity.
At just before 7.30pm, as observant Jews turn their phones back on after Yom Kippur, they will be met with a wave of solidarity messages across X, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, and with personal messages from friends and neighbours.
Posts will carry the shared message: “To everyone in Britain’s Jewish community: You are not alone.
“We will not let hate or those who spread it win. We stand with you.”
The /together Coalition has coordinated the campaign to ensure that Britain’s Jewish communities feel a wave of support as they come back online, and to create a powerful moment for people across the country to stand together against violence and hatred.
The initiative has already been welcomed online by barrister and broadcaster Rob Rinder and comedian David Baddiel.
It has also drawn support from prominent Muslim leaders, including Imam Qari Asim MBE, Co-Chair of the British Muslim Network, and Akeela Ahmed, CEO of the British Muslim Trust.
Brendan Cox, Co-founder of the /together Coalition, said: “The attack on worshippers today is an appalling act of violence against people at prayer.
“The Jewish community was targeted on its holiest day, and many Jewish people will emerge from this period of reflection and prayer into scenes of terror and fear.
“We hope that tonight’s wave of solidarity online will be a powerful signal that we will not be divided by those who seek to spread hatred.”
Shortly after 9am, cops scrambled to the scene in Crumpsall, north of Manchester, where eyewitnesses said a car was “driving erratically” before crashing into the building’s gates.
A man – who is believed to be the offender – was shot dead by firearms officers at 9.38am. He did not manage to enter the building.
Shocking aftermath pictures show what is believed to be a bomb belt and a knife near the attacker.
Cops tonight confirmed the man was wearing a vest which had the “appearance of an explosive device”.
However, police have now said they can confirm that the device the suspect was wearing was “not viable”.
Operation Plato – cops’ response to marauding terrorist attacks – has now been stood down, but it remains a major incident.
A witness said: “He went for the security guard and tried to break into the synagogue.”
Another bystander said: “The guy had a knife, and he was just stabbing the window trying to get in.”
A man – believed to be a security guard – is one of the victims.
Sir Keir – who cut short his trip to Denmark and rushed back to chair a Cobra meeting – condemned antisemitism and said that Britain “must defeat it once again” at a speech at Downing Street.
The PM blasted the “terrorist attack that attacked Jews because they are Jews”, committed by “a vile individual”.
Sir Keir said: “Earlier today, on Yom Kippur, the holiest day for the Jewish community, a vile individual committed a terrorist attack that attacked Jews because they are Jews, and attacked Britain because of our values.
“So many Jewish families first came to this country as a place of refuge.
“Communities like the one attacked in Manchester provided safety, but also the security that comes from a promise that this is a country that stands up to hatred and that we don’t just provide refuge, we provide a home.”
Starmer said the Jewish community in Britain will see a “more visible police presence” as he promised to do “everything in my power to guarantee you the security that you deserve”.
FacebookA suspected knifeman who was shot dead by cops after unleashing a ‘terror’ rampage which left two dead[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
