LONDON (AP) – Police on Saturday questioned six people arrested on suspicion of terrorist crimes Attack on the synagogue In northwest England, two men left the British Jewish community when they died. Shock and sadness.
Jihad Al Shami, 35 years old I was shot by the police On Thursday, outside the synagogue of the Heaton Park congregation in Manchester, he thrusts a car into a pedestrian, attacks it with a knife, and attempts to push it into the building.
Congregation members Melvin Kravitz, 66, and Adrian Doorby, 53, were killed in the attack. Yom Kippurthe most sacred day of the Jewish year. Police say Dourby was accidentally shot by an armed officer as he and the other congregations barricaded the synagogue to stop Al Shami from entering. Three other men are hospitalized with serious injuries.
Detectives say Al Shami, a British citizen of Syrian origin who lived in Manchester, may have been influenced by “extreme Muslim ideology.” He wore what appears to be an explosive belt, but it turns out to be a fake.
Police said Al Shami had been released on bail for alleged rape at the time of the attack but had not been charged.
Three men and three women between the ages of 18 and the 60s have been arrested in the Manchester area on suspicion of “commission, preparation and incitement of terrorist acts.”
The attacks devastated the British Jewish community and strengthened debate about the line between Israeli criticism and anti-Semitism.
The recorded anti-Semitism incident in the UK has since risen sharply. Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023 According to Community Security Trust, a charity that provides advice and protection to British Jews about Israel and Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.
Some politicians and religious leaders argued that the pro-Palestinian demonstrations, which have been held regularly since the start of the war in Gaza, have played a role in spreading hatred towards Jews. The protest was overwhelmingly peaceful, “From the river to the sea, Palestine is free.” It incites anti-Semite hatred.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his supporters frequently condemn Israel’s critics or acts of anti-Semitism wars. Critics do that They try to suppress even legitimate criticism.
Chief of British Orthodox Judaism, Rabbi Ephraim Milvis, said the attack was the result of “a wave of merciless Jewish hatred” on the streets and online.
Some say it’s the UK The perception of the Palestinian state Last month encouraged anti-Semitism. This is an argument the government rejects. Deputy Prime Minister David Lamy was interrupted on Friday by boos and screams of “Your Shame of Shame” as he stayed up vigil on the victims of the attack in Manchester.
Police in London urged organizers to suspend a protest planned on Saturday to oppose the ban on actions by group Palestinians, labeled as terrorist organizations by the government.
Prime Minister Kiel Starmer said the protestors should postpone the demonstrations, saying that the organizers of the protests should “recognize and respect the grief of British Jews this week.”
The group defended our ju-search and said they would not cancel the protest. There, hundreds of people are expected to put their arrests at risk by retaining signs in favour of the banned group.
Member Jonathon Pollitt said the protesters would “show great respect and true sadness to those affected by the absolute atrocities of Heaton Park.”
“But I don’t think that should be called to give up the right to stand up for those who are ravaged by the ongoing real-time genocide in Gaza,” he told the BBC.