The Israeli government has accused Britain of allowing rampant antisemitism to spread through British cities and on its university campuses in the wake of the attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7 in 2023 that sparked Israel's war in Gaza.
On Friday, police named the two men killed in the attack as Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, both local residents.
They were killed on Thursday when a man drove a car into pedestrians and then began stabbing people, including a security guard, outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in the city in northern England.
The attacker has been named by police as Jihad al-Shamie, a 35-year-old British citizen of Syrian descent, who was shot dead at the scene by armed officers.
Britain's most senior counter-terrorism officer, Laurence Taylor, said the attack had been declared a terrorist incident.
Greater Manchester Police said the suspect, who was wearing what appeared to be a vest with an explosive device, was shot dead after officers rushed to the scene at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in the Crumpsall district of the city in northern England.
A video shared on social media and verified by Reuters showed police shooting a man inside the synagogue’s perimeter, while another man lay on the floor in a pool of blood, appearing to wear a traditional Jewish head covering.
"He has a bomb, go away!" an armed police officer shouted to onlookers, just seconds before a gunshot rang out.
Neighbour Angela Crawshaw told Reuters she had seen three policemen aiming guns at a man in the car park of the synagogue, telling him: "Stay down, don't move or we'll shoot."
"Then they did shoot, and he fell to the floor. Then he tried getting up again and moving again, and they shot him again. And then it was just panic," she said.
A bomb disposal unit was later called to the scene, and police confirmed the device that the suspect was wearing was not viable.
Police added that three suspects - two men in their 30s and a woman in her 60s - were in custody and "have been arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism."
Vow to beat antisemitism
Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood said she understood the strength of feeling held by all sides on the conflict in Gaza but said it was important that that did not spill over into tensions on British streets.
"We will do whatever is required to keep our Jewish community safe," Mahmood told Times Radio. "People will see a heavier police presence at all communal facilities - primarily synagogues, but other places within the community as well."
Antisemitism has soared to record levels in Britain since the October 2023 attacks, with Jewish leaders saying they have been left terrified by regular, large pro-Palestine marches in major cities that they say promote hatred towards Jews.
In the hours after Thursday's attack several pro-Palestine protests took place in British cities, with police clashing with demonstrators outside Downing Street, leading to 40 arrests.
Mahmood said the protests, happening just hours after the attack, were un-British and dishonourable.
"I would call on everybody who is considering protest in the next day or two to just take a step back and to show some humanity and some love towards a community that is grieving," she said.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who rushed away early from a European summit in Copenhagen to chair an emergency meeting in London, promised to do everything he could to provide security to the Jewish community and deployed more police to synagogues.
"We must be clear, it is a hatred that is rising once again, and Britain must defeat it once again," he said.
"To every Jewish person in this country, I also want to say this: I know how much fear you will be holding inside of you, I really do. And so on behalf of our country, I express my solidarity, but also my sadness that you still have to live with these fears."
But Gideon Saar, the foreign minister of Israel, which has criticised Britain for its recent decision to recognise a Palestinian state, said authorities had failed to curb antisemitism and "effectively allowed it to persist".
"The truth must be told: blatant and rampant antisemitic and anti-Israeli incitement, as well as calls of support for terror, have recently become a widespread phenomenon in the streets of London, in cities across Britain, and on its campuses," Saar said on X.
"We expect more than words from the Starmer government."
As well as the suspect and two members of the public who were confirmed dead, three other people were in a serious condition.
After the attack, police were seen ushering about 30 mostly Jewish elderly men - some in tears, many looking shocked - and some young children away from the synagogue. Some were wearing white robes, others were in suits and wearing a skullcap.
"Thanks to the immediate bravery of security staff and the worshippers inside, as well as the fast response of police, the attacker was prevented from gaining access," said Greater Manchester Police's Chief Constable Stephen Watson.
King Charles III said he was "deeply shocked and saddened".
Another neighbour by the synagogue, Chava Lewin, said the attacker had gone for the security guard and tried to break into the synagogue.
"The second he got out of the car he started stabbing anyone near him," she told British media.
Yom Kippur is the most sacred day on the Jewish calendar, when even many non-regular synagogue-goers take time to pray and all road traffic stops in Israel.
Britain reported its second worst year in modern times for antisemitism in 2024 with more than 3500 incidents being recorded, the Community Security Trust, which provides security to Jewish organisations across Britain, said earlier this year.
Attacks on Jews and Jewish targets have risen worldwide since the Gaza conflict erupted, including in France and Germany where incidents have surged. French President Emmanuel Macron said on X that France stood beside Britain's Jewish community.
Since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S., Britain has suffered a number of Islamist militant attacks, with the worst being the July 2005 suicide bombings in the London transport network which killed 52 people.
More recently, a 2017 suicide bomb attack at the end of an Ariana Grande pop concert in Manchester killed 22 people and injured hundreds. British police and security services say 43 late-stage attack plots have been thwarted since March 2017.
British police have in recent years also warned about the threat from organised far-right terrorism.
