October 3, 2025

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Manchester Synagogue Attack on Yom Kippur Rattles the United Kingdom

(AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

A vehicle ramming and stabbing attack outside of a synagogue in Manchester, England, killed two and injured several others. The incident occurred in Crumpsall, located in north Manchester, at the Heaton Park synagogue yesterday on Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. The attacker, who was later identified as Jihad al-Shamie, initially conducted a vehicle ramming attack on worshipers departing the synagogue early Thursday morning, subsequently emerging from the car and stabbing several individuals outside of the temple. In response, the Greater Manchester Police activated Operation Plato, a protocol used for responding to “marauding” terrorist attacks. Counterterrorism units and MI5 are believed to be involved in the investigation, which is being investigated as an act of terrorism and a hate crime against the Jewish community. Manchester is home to the second-largest Jewish population in the UK—approximately 30,000—only after London. Overall, the Jewish community in the UK is relatively small, an estimated 300,000 people, or just 0.4% of the total population.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who cut short a trip to Denmark to return and handle the situation by chairing the government’s COBRA emergency committee, condemned the attacks, posting on X that the fact that it took place on such a holy day in Judaism “makes it all the more horrific,” going on to add that “my thoughts are with the loved ones of all those affected.” King Charles III also offered remarks, mentioning that both he and Queen Camilla were “deeply shocked and saddened to learn of the horrific attack in Manchester, especially on such a significant day for the Jewish community.”

Al-Shamie, who had a device that was intended to appear as a bomb attached to his body (the explosive device was non-viable according to authorities), was shot dead by police, and the bomb disposal unit responded immediately, with a bomb disposal robot used to conduct a controlled explosion. However, Manchester police stated that they had three people in custody “on suspicion of commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism.” The attack prompted the UK to increase security at synagogues nationwide. In London, a suspicious package led to an evacuation of one of the city’s largest train stations. According to The Community Security Trust, a charity in the UK that helps to protect the Jewish population, the first half of 2025 has seen 1,5000 anti-Jewish hate incidents. Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar accused British authorities of failing to take the necessary action to combat antisemitism in the UK.

There has been an uptick in antisemitic incidents across the UK and other Western countries since the Hamas terrorist attacks of October 7, 2023, and the ongoing war in Gaza, which is approaching the two-year anniversary next week. The Jewish community throughout the UK has been concerned about such an incident, and as reported by the Wall Street Journal, “growing numbers of British Jews say they feel increasingly isolated and unsafe” in their country. Next week is the two-year anniversary of the attack, with tensions remaining high and security services around the world on high alert. This week, German authorities arrested three individuals in Berlin, who they accuse of preparing an attack against Jewish targets throughout the country. The men arrested are believed to be foreign operatives for Hamas and had obtained weapons for the plot in Sweden and Denmark. State actors such as Russia and Iran have also been accused of fueling these tensions to sow unrest. Just this past Monday, Serbian police arrested 11 individuals in connection with antisemitic and Islamophobic acts in France and Germany, allegedly carried out “on the instructions of a foreign intelligence service,” which experts suspect to be Russia.

British police have declared the Manchester synagogue attack a ‘terrorist incident.’ The terrorism designation in the UK also indicates that the attack meets Britain’s legal definition for terrorism, which, in this case, includes violence perpetrated “for the purpose of advancing a political, religious, racial, or ideological cause.” Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, national head of counterterrorism policing, stated that al-Shamie, who was shot dead by police, was known to counterterrorism authorities, meaning he had likely been on their radar for extremist sympathies or activities. Prime Minister Starmer went on to say that the attacker was “a vile individual who wanted to attack Jews because they are Jews.” So far, two additional arrests have been made in connection with the attack, although their roles (e.g., planning, material support) have not yet been disclosed. Police reportedly neutralized the assailant within seven minutes of the initial 999 call to law enforcement. A security guard prevented the attacker from being able to enter the synagogue, where Yom Kippur prayer services had started approximately half an hour prior to the attack.

This is far from the first time that a terrorist attack has scarred Manchester. The city was the scene of a suicide bombing in May 2017 at the Manchester Arena following a concert by American pop singer Ariana Grande. In that case, a jihadist named Salman Abedi killed 22 people and injured more than 1,000 others. That attack was the deadliest act of terrorism and the first suicide bombing in the UK since the al-Qaeda-linked attacks of July 7, 2005. Manchester also suffered attacks at the hands of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) throughout the three-decade-long conflict known as ‘The Troubles.’