https://arab.news/p9yq4
It takes someone who is either completely deranged or consumed by hatred to attack worshippers during their religious observances and on their holiest day of the year. This is what happened when a lone terrorist, Jihad Al-Shamie, armed with a knife, attacked the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation, a synagogue in Crumpsall in North Manchester, on the recent Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur. This tragic act of terrorism ended with two Jewish worshippers dead and three seriously injured, while the attacker was shot dead by police.
The shock among the Jewish community was profound. For many years now, all synagogues have been surrounded by fences and gates, equipped with surveillance cameras and guarded by community volunteers and private security guards. In the case of Manchester, it was security volunteers from the local community who held back the doors against the assailant, preventing more fatalities after he rammed the gates with a car and then attacked worshippers with a knife.
The sadness and the anger at the attacker, as much as the shock, were understandable. Still, it was encouraging, even heart-warming, to witness Al-Shamie’s main aim of driving a wedge between the diverse faith communities in Manchester entirely fail. Crumpsall is a religiously diverse part of the city with a small 1,000-strong Jewish community, while 10,000 of the 18,000 who live there are Muslims, some originating from the Middle East, others from Asia. Another 4,000 identify as Christian. All enjoy friendly relations.
