Statement on the murders of Jewish people in Manchester

Hastings Jews for Justice is horrified and strongly condemns the abhorrent, murderous attack on Jewish worshippers at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester today, October 2^nd. 

This took place as people were gathering for the morning service on the most holy day in the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement when religious Jews fast for 25 hours from sundown to sundown and spend much of the day praying in synagogue. 

We extend our deepest condolences to the victims' families and all those affected.

Murder is never justified and to attack a place of worship is especially heinous.

As yet we do not know the motivation of the murderer but have long been worried at the rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia, which is a terrifying reality in the UK and many other countries today. 

We welcome the statement from the Manchester Mosques  issued in solidarity with the Jewish community and with these helpful words: “We urge everyone to remain calm, allow the police to carry out their investigations, and to avoid speculation. It is vital at moments like these that we stand together as one Manchester — united against hatred and committed to peace, justice, and respect for all.”

This assault is an intolerable violation of human dignity and safety and we condemn this unequivocally. It is a dreadful attack on the individuals, their family, their immediate community and not only the wider Jewish community but we see this as an attack on our multi faith society as a whole.

We welcome the urgency with which the government is addressing this attack and trust that this will be reflected when Jewish, Muslim or any other racialised community is attacked. 

Nothing but nothing justifies murder.

We must not allow differences to divide us from our common humanity.