Heaton Park synagogue attack anniversary marked as Jewish community says it still lives in fear
A year after the Heaton Park synagogue terror attack killed two worshippers, the community says it still lives in fear as antisemitic incidents rise and police question two men over an alleged plot.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
A year after the terror attack at Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester, members of the Jewish community have marked the anniversary with a warning that many still live in fear. The attack on 2 October last year, on Yom Kippur, killed two worshippers, Melvin Kravitz and Adrian Daulby. Members of the congregation stopped the attacker from getting inside before police shot him dead. The attacker was named as 35-year-old Jihad Al-Shamie.
Melvin Kravitz was killed outside the synagogue. Adrian Daulby and another congregant, Yoni, were trying to hold the synagogue doors shut when they were hit by a stray bullet from police. Yoni described the bullet entering his body and then exiting into Adrian, who did not survive.
The anniversary was marked as the Community Security Trust recorded almost 2,000 incidents of anti-Semitism across the UK in the first half of this year, a 21% increase on last year. One member of the congregation, Iver, who helped barricade the doors last year, said many Jewish people feel unsafe. He said he knew people who had left the UK in the past year to live in Israel, and that relatives in Israel now ask how they are, rather than the other way round.
Detectives are still questioning two men who were arrested almost two weeks ago as part of an investigation into an alleged plot to target Manchester's Jewish community again.
Mark said everyday life had deteriorated further over the past year. He described Jewish schools as fortresses and effectively open-air prisons, with police outside, hands on tasers, sniffer dogs and mirrors under cars. He said such security for Jewish children should be a source of national shame.
At the synagogue, empty chairs remain a lasting tribute to the two men killed and to a community determined that no more lives should be lost to hate.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| The Community Security Trust recorded almost 2,000 antisemitic incidents across the UK in the first half of the year, a 21% increase on the previous year. | |
| Two men in their 30s were arrested on Sunday in Manchester's Northern Quarter over a suspected plot to target the Jewish community, with searches in Liverpool and Salford. | |
| Two worshippers, Melvin Kravitz and Adrian Daulby, died in the Heaton Park synagogue attack on Yom Kippur. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The channel led its coverage with the human impact of the anniversary, using first-hand testimony from a survivor and community members to argue that Jewish people in Britain remain under threat. It paired the memorial with hard figures on anti-Semitic incidents and fresh details of an alleged plot, giving the item a sombre, urgent tone. The report also highlighted the heavy security around Jewish schools as evidence of a wider failure to protect the community.
- “the community is still living in fear”
- “So our schools are now fortresses they are effectively open-air prisons with police outside with the hands on the tasers sniffer dogs mirrors underneath the cars”
- “I know people that have left the UK's in the past year and gone to live in Israel.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.