One year after a car attack on a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur claimed two lives and wounded three others, the Jewish community finds itself not reassured but more afraid — a condition that statistics and lived experience alike confirm. The violence did not end in Manchester; it spread, from Sydney to Golders Green, each act of hatred seeming to license the next. Rabbi Daniel Walker speaks for a community that has received security upgrades and public solidarity but has not received what it most needs: evidence that society is willing to confront the roots of antisemitism, not merely its
Jewish community feels less safe a year after Manchester synagogue attack
Two men killed (Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby), three injured in the initial attack; security guard Bernard Agyemang suffered multiple fractures, brain injury, and ongoing PTSD; 15 killed in Sydney attack; multiple injured in subsequent attacks across UK.
The sense of vulnerability has grown. It hasn't diminished.
Mark
Why does Rabbi Walker say the community feels less safe now than immediately after the attack? Shouldn't security improvements have helped?
Mimi
The rabbi is distinguishing between physical security and the broader social conditions that enabled the violence in the first place. Yes, there are more police and better barriers. But the underlying antisemitism—the ideology—hasn't been addressed. The statistics show hate crimes are actually rising.
Luke
That's his interpretation, though. We should be careful not to treat it as fact. He's saying the community feels less safe. That's a real and important observation. But whether that feeling reflects actual increased danger or increased awareness of danger—or anxiety about future risk—those are different things.
Mark
The numbers do seem to support his worry, though. Nearly two-thirds rise in violent hate crimes since 2022?
Luke
Yes, that's from the BBC's own FOI request, so it's solid. But we should note: that's England and Wales across 33 forces. The pattern is clear. In Manchester specifically, 150 hate crimes in seven months of 2026 versus 182 for all of 2025—so the rate has accelerated.
Mimi
And that's just what's reported and recorded. Many people don't report hate crimes because they've lost faith in the system.
Mark
Bernard Agyemang—the security guard—he's still dealing with PTSD a year later. Is there any sense of what support he's receiving?
Mimi
The source doesn't say. We know he's still experiencing physical pain, cognitive difficulties, and psychological trauma. He spoke publicly about it, which took courage. But whether he's in therapy, whether the community or authorities are helping him recover—that's not covered.
Luke
That's an important gap. We know what happened to him and what he's suffering. We don't know if he's getting help or if there's a system in place for survivors. That's a follow-up question.
Mark
The memorial service today—is this the official anniversary commemoration?
Mimi
No, it's a public one held before the religious anniversary. Yom Kippur falls in September this year, so there will be private prayers at the synagogue on that actual date in October. This service today is partly to ensure the wider society remembers, and partly to call for systemic change before the High Holy Days.
Luke
So the community is marking it twice—once publicly with the city watching, once privately with their faith. That's worth noting. The public memorial is also a political act, a demand for accountability.
Le Pouls
- A year after two men were killed and three wounded in a Yom Kippur car attack in Manchester, the Jewish community reports feeling more vulnerable, not less, as antisemitic violence has continued to spread across the UK and beyond.
- The numbers are stark: violent hate crimes against Jewish people in England and Wales have risen nearly two-thirds since 2022, antisemitic arson and criminal damage have almost doubled, and Manchester alone recorded 150 antisemitic hate crimes in just the first seven months of 2026.
- Security guard Bernard Agyemang, who was struck by the attacker's car and suffered fractures, a suspected brain injury, and ongoing PTSD, still lives with the physical and emotional weight of that day — yet speaks not of himself but of the two men, Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby, who did not survive.
- A memorial service today will draw the Chief Rabbi, Manchester's Mayor, and police leadership, with security on the scale of a major sporting event — yet Rabbi Walker warns that visible force cannot substitute for confronting the ideologies enabling this violence.
- A government minister has pledged that antisemitism will be fought until every Jewish person can live free from fear, but the community is watching to see whether those words translate into the systemic action that, one year on, has yet to materialize.
One year after a car attack on a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur claimed two lives and wounded three others, the Jewish community finds itself not reassured but more afraid — a condition that statistics and lived experience alike confirm. The violence did not end in Manchester; it spread, from Sydney to Golders Green, each act of hatred seeming to license the next. Rabbi Daniel Walker speaks for a community that has received security upgrades and public solidarity but has not received what it most needs: evidence that society is willing to confront the roots of antisemitism, not merely its consequences. As a memorial service gathers civic leaders and heavy police presence, the deeper question — whether words of condemnation will give way to systemic change — remains unanswered.
A year ago, on Yom Kippur — the holiest day in the Jewish calendar — a man drove a car into the gates of Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in Manchester, killing Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby and wounding three others who tried to intervene. The attack was not the end of something. It was closer to a beginning. In the months that followed, fifteen people were shot dead at a Chanukah celebration in Sydney, synagogues and ambulances were set alight in London, and two men were stabbed outside morning prayers in Golders Green. Each act of violence seemed to embolden the next.
Now, as the community prepares to mark the anniversary, Rabbi Daniel Walker of the Manchester congregation offers a sobering assessment: the sense of vulnerability has grown, not diminished. Security upgrades and public statements of solidarity have not quieted the underlying dread. He points to what he sees as a failure of institutions to address root causes rather than symptoms — a concern the data supports. A BBC Freedom of Information request found violent hate crimes against Jewish people in England and Wales have risen by nearly two-thirds since 2022, with antisemitic arson and criminal damage almost doubling. In Manchester alone, 150 antisemitic hate crimes were recorded in just the first seven months of 2026.
Bernard Agyemang, the security guard who was struck by the attacker's car before the attacker attempted to enter the synagogue with a knife, carries that day in his body and mind. Multiple fractures, a suspected brain injury, and persistent PTSD remain with him a year later. He speaks not of his own suffering but of the two men who did not survive, and of the families left behind.
Today's memorial service will bring together the Chief Rabbi, the Mayor of Manchester, and police leadership, with security deployed on a scale normally reserved for major public events. The Chief Constable, who apologized after it emerged that phones seized from the attacker before the assault were never examined, is scheduled to speak. A government minister has pledged that antisemitism will be fought until every Jewish person can live free from fear. But Rabbi Walker's question — whether society is prepared to confront the ideologies enabling this violence, rather than simply respond to its aftermath — is the one the community carries into the gathering.
A year has passed since Jihad al-Shamie drove a car into the gates of Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in Manchester on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, killing two men and wounding three others who tried to stop him. The attack on October 2, 2025, was not an isolated incident. In the months that followed, Jewish communities across the world were targeted with methodical violence: fifteen people shot dead at a Chanukah celebration on Bondi Beach in Sydney; arson attacks on ambulances and synagogues in London; two men stabbed outside morning prayers in Golders Green. The ripples spread outward, each attack seeming to embolden the next.
Now, as the anniversary approaches, Rabbi Daniel Walker of the Manchester congregation sits with a difficult truth: the community feels less safe, not more. The increased police presence, the security upgrades, the public statements of solidarity—none of it has quieted the underlying dread. "I think we're actually almost in a harder position than we were even immediately after the attack," he said ahead of today's memorial service. "The sense of vulnerability has grown. It hasn't diminished." He points to rising antisemitism across British society and what he sees as a failure of institutions to address root causes. "Something has gone seriously wrong in our society," he said. "We're dealing with symptoms. I don't think there's really any evidence of anyone dealing with the core problems."
The numbers bear out his concern. A BBC Freedom of Information request to 33 police forces in England and Wales found that violent hate crimes targeting Jewish people—harassment, assault, and worse—have risen by nearly two-thirds since 2022. Antisemitic arson and criminal damage offences have almost doubled in the same period. In Manchester alone, Greater Manchester Police recorded 150 antisemitic hate crimes in the first seven months of 2026, only 32 fewer than the entire year of 2025. The trajectory is unmistakable.
Bernard Agyemang, the 44-year-old security guard who was struck by al-Shamie's car before the attacker attempted to enter the synagogue with a knife, carries the weight of that day in his body and mind. He suffered multiple fractures—to his right leg, his collarbone—and a suspected brain injury. A year later, he still experiences physical pain, cognitive difficulties, and PTSD. "The events of that day will stay with me forever," he said. "I still live with the physical injuries and the emotional trauma caused by the attack, and there are days when the memories feel just as vivid as they did a year ago." Yet he spoke not of his own suffering but of the two men who did not survive: Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby. "My thoughts are with the families of Melvin and Adrian. No words can ease the pain of losing loved ones in such terrible circumstances."
The memorial service being held today—ahead of the religious anniversary in October when Yom Kippur falls again—will draw the Chief Rabbi, the Mayor of Manchester, and police leadership. Greater Manchester Police will deploy security on a scale typically reserved for major sporting events and concerts. Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson, who apologized in July after it emerged that phones seized from the attacker months before the assault were never examined, is scheduled to speak. The force said its resources would "provide additional visibility and security" and that plans were formed "following engagement with community leaders to best understand local concerns."
But for Rabbi Walker, security alone cannot heal what has fractured. The community needs to see evidence that society is willing to confront the ideologies and systems that enable this violence, not merely respond to its aftermath. "I think it will be a time when a lot of our community will be asking ourselves and the rest of society how we're going to make sure this doesn't happen again," he said. "I don't think that's been done yet. I don't think the community feels secure enough yet, for good reason." Cabinet minister Angela Rayner told the BBC that the government would "not allow hatred to drive people from their communities" and that "antisemitism is a poison, and we won't stop fighting it until every Jewish person can live their lives fully, and free from fear." The words are clear. Whether the actions will follow remains the question the community is asking as it gathers to remember.
Citations marquantes
Something has gone seriously wrong in our society. We're dealing with symptoms. I don't think there's really any evidence of anyone dealing with the core problems.— Rabbi Daniel Walker
The events of that day will stay with me forever. I still live with the physical injuries and the emotional trauma caused by the attack, and there are days when the memories feel just as vivid as they did a year ago.— Bernard Agyemang, security guard
Envie de l'histoire complète ?
Lire l'original sur BBC News ↗
Religion