Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel, right, and Chargé d’Affaires Daniela Grudsky of the Embassy of Israel in London attend a rally in Manchester marking two years since the Oct. 7 attacks, alongside members of the local Jewish community and the Conservative Friends of Israel, Oct. 7, 2025. Photo courtesy of  @IsraelinUK/X.

By ARIEL KAHANA JNS

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel visited the site of the deadly Yom Kippur attack at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in Manchester on Sunday, Oct. 5, as the investigation into the British-Syrian suspect continues.

The Israeli diplomat laid a wreath in memory of Adrian Dalby, 53, and Melvyn Kravitz, 66, the Jewish worshippers who were murdered in the terrorist attack at the synagogue in the Crumpsall area on Oct. 2. Four others were wounded in the attack.

“My message is clear: we must never stay silent in the face of anti-Semitism. The free world must act—stop the incitement, enforce the law, and stand with the Jewish community with courage and determination,’ Haskel wrote in an X post along with a video message from outside of the synagogue.

She delivered the keynote speech at the Conservative Friends of Israel event held as part of the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, and met with the party’s chairman and opposition leader Kemi Badenoch.

Haskel also addressed a rally in the city marking two years since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel, which triggered the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza.

“Here as a Jew I am not safe in your streets,” Haskel told the crowd. “I’m threatened with death, for nothing more than my very existence. I stand before you in a bulletproof vest, a Kevlar vest, here on this stage. I am not allowed to be here without it.”

Meanwhile, more information is being reported on the suspect in the attack, 35-year-old Jihad al-Shamie, including his ex-wife alleging mental and sexual abuse in an interview with the Manchester Evening News. The attacker’s neighbors reported concerns about his radicalized Islamic behavior to the police, The Guardian has reported.

The suspect, who was free on bail for an alleged rape, was shot and killed by law enforcement at the scene.

Dr. Faraj al-Shamie, the father of the suspect, praised Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terrorists as “God’s men on earth” in social media posts shortly after the mass attack on Israel.

However, police said that Jihad al-Shamei did not appear to be known to counter-terrorism officials before the synagogue attack.

Al-Shamie allegedly rammed his car into the synagogue on Yom Kippur before trying to stab additional worshippers.

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Manchester Rabbi Daniel Walker, who blocked the terrorist from entering his synagogue on Yom Kippur, underwent security training through an Israeli government initiative.  Thanks to the rabbi’s actions, an even greater disaster was prevented in the attack.

Walker underwent training in a program for rabbis dealing with terror attacks, conducted by the Community Security Trust, the security organization of U.K. Jewish communities, according to Israel Hayom.

The training content is provided by Israel’s security establishment with funding from Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Ministry. The program includes practical exercises and study days.

In an interview with Britain’s ITV channel, Walker described the dramatic moments when the terrorist crashed into the synagogue door repeatedly trying to enter, while waving a knife and shouting, “I’m going to get you, I’m coming in.”  The rabbi and other worshippers held the door with their bodies, while Adrian Dolby, one of those killed, “defended the synagogue with his life” and was accidentally shot by police forces.

“When I arrived at the synagogue, there was some incident near the gate. Someone was behaving suspiciously and aggressively, and the security guards and volunteers were trying to deal with it,” Walker recounted.

“We thought it was a minor disturbance. I entered the synagogue, and prayers began. Half an hour later, I heard a huge explosion from outside and screams. People ran in asking to close the back doors. I ran to the front and then someone tried to enter while waving a knife.” According to the rabbi, several men held the doors while the terrorist tried to break in. “He tried using the knife to penetrate through the door, threw planters, crashed into the door repeatedly with his body.”