


Israel is blaming the British government for allowing the deadly attack on a synagogue in a suburb of Manchester by failing to take action against extremists.
A thus-far unidentified suspect reportedly carried out the “marauding terror attack” on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall by ramming his car into the temple and stabbing congregants outside. Two people were killed and several more were injured.
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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer noted that the attack was antisemitic in motive and expressed sorrow over the lethal incident, which was carried out on Yom Kippur.
“Today, on Yom Kippur, the holiest day for the Jewish community, a vile individual committed a terrorist attack that attacked Jews because they are Jews, and attack Britain because of our values,” the prime minister said.

But the three highest-level leaders of Israel expressed nothing but contempt for the British government — and at times Starmer in particular — for failing to heed their warnings about the possibility of such an attack.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar issued perhaps the most scathing statement against Starmer and his Labour-led government in the hours after the massacre.
“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 wrote on social media platform X.
“The authorities in Britain have failed to take the necessary action to curb this toxic wave of antisemitism and have effectively allowed it to persist,” he added. “We expect more than words from the Starmer government. We expect and demand a change of course.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took a more veiled swipe at the Labour government the same day, blaming the “barbaric attack” on “weakness” against growing hostility.
“As I warned at the UN: weakness in the face of terrorism only brings more terrorism,” Netanyahu said. “Only strength and unity can defeat it.”

It has now also emerged that Israeli President Isaac Herzog filed a letter to King Charles III just days prior to the attack, expressing concern about the “rise of antisemitism” in the U.K. and its impact on Jewish Brits.
“We know of course all too well that the rise in antisemitism correlates directly with the events on the ground in the Middle East yet the free world cannot and must not allow the conflict to become a political tool against the Jewish people,” Herzog wrote in the Monday letter.
The Israeli president took the unprecedented step of asking the monarch directly to intervene with the British government to encourage efforts against the perceived trend.
“I would be most grateful if Your Majesty would raise these significant concerns with leaders across the Commonwealth and elsewhere and use your important voice to speak out and encourage public efforts to promote greater awareness and education about antisemitism and the history that informs it,” he wrote.

Herzog noted the existence of the letter on Thursday, stating that the Crumpsall massacre “sadly demonstrated how real and tangible this threat is, and how imperative it is to act against it with full force and without compromise.”
Starmer has tried to take an optimistic tone about the perception of Jews in Britain, promising that members of the faith will “see the other Britain, the Britain of compassion, of decency, of love” over “the coming days.”
“I promise you that this Britain will come together to wrap our arms around your community and show you that Britain is a place where you and your family are safe, secure and belong,” Starmer said.
One of the most prominent displays of anti-Israeli rhetoric in recent weeks was the highly publicized comments made by Bobby Vylan, the vocalist of rap duo Bob Vylan.
The rap artist launched into a tirade against the Jewish state during a concert in the Netherlands, shouting down “fascists” and “Zionists” and calling for fans to “meet them in the street.”
Earlier in June, the rapper had led a “Death, death to the IDF!” chant at the Glastonbury Festival.
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“There is no excuse for this kind of appalling hate speech,” Starmer said in response to the Glastonbury chant, asserting that there was no excuse for “making threats or inciting violence.”
An investigation was launched after the Glastonbury festival, but thus far Vylan has faced no legal repercussions for either incident.