'Particularly Heinous': UN Chief Condemns Manchester Yom Kippur Synagogue Attack

Human rights defenders including United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres condemned Thursday's deadly attack on a synagogue in Manchester, England on the holiest of Jewish holidays.

Two people were killed and four others seriously wounded when a man plowed his vehicle into a crowd and then stabbed worshippers at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall on Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement and repentance. The killer was subsequently shot dead by police, who are calling the attack an act of terrorism.

“Houses of worship are sacred places where people can go to find peace,” Guterres said in a statement. “Targeting a synagogue on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, is particularly heinous.”

Sacha Deshmukh, CEO of Amnesty International UK, said that the organization is "deeply saddened" by Thursday's attack.

"Acts of violence have no place in our society and only serve to deepen division among communities," Deshmukh added. "Now more than ever, it is crucial to stand in solidarity with one another and recognize that our strength lies in our diversity. It is therefore essential that politicians and the media ensure their language and actions in the coming days do not stoke hatred and division but focus on the solidarity and humanity that connects us all."

While UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer claimed that the attacker targeted "Jews because they are Jews," the killer's motives are yet unknown. The attack came as Israel continues its genocidal assault and starvation of Gaza, which have left more than 244,000 Palestinians dead, maimed, or missing and millions more forcibly displaced, starved, or sickened.

Critics—including Jewish people—have long warned that Israel's actions endanger Jews around the world, although violent antisemitism is a scourge that was on the rise even before the genocide began in October 2023, according to groups that monitor hate.

Jewish Voice for Labour, a progressive UK group, said early during the genocide: "Israel claims to be protecting Jewish lives and accuses its critics of antisemitism. But in fact it is actually endangering Jews worldwide by associating all Jews with the deadly siege of Gaza; the illegal colonization of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights; and the continuing exile of more than 6 million Palestinian refugees in the Middle East and beyond."

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman—a Jew and longtime staunch supporter of Israel—wrote in June that "the way Israel is fighting the war in Gaza today is laying the groundwork for a fundamental recasting of how Israel and Jews will be seen the world over."

"It won’t be good," he added. "Police cars and private security at synagogues and Jewish institutions will increasingly become the norm; Israel, instead of being seen by Jews as a safe haven from antisemitism, will be seen as a new engine generating it."