Jewish Bloc for Palestine issues statement on Heaton Park attack

The Jewish Bloc for Palestine has issued the statement below expressing their sorrow at the killings and injuries at Heaton Park this week and their condolences for the families of the victims of the attack on the Manchester synagogue.

Jewish Bloc for Palestine statement

The group also welcomes the support from the local community, including many Muslim people and organisations – and also anger at those who have weaponised the atrocity to argue that those who stand for justice for Palestinians are a danger to Jews, which the group considers divisive and dangerous, saying that the community should be allowed to mourn and that connections across communities in Manchester must be strengthened and not weakened.

The group said it:

is horrified and sickened by the murderous attack on the Manchester synagogue yesterday. We send our condolences and love to the families of the victims and all members of the congregation. Nobody should lose their life for where or when they choose to pray.

We were devastated by the news that the Greater Manchester Police operation was responsible for the death of one congregation member and the injury of others, as well as the death of the attacker.

It is appalling that shul goers who called the police for help ended up dead at their hands. We stand in solidarity with the families of Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz.

In the immediate aftermath of an attack like this we mourn the victims and offer our support to a community reeling in shock, whether the attack be at a synagogue, school, mosque or nightclub. We are deeply moved by the widespread expressions of sympathy and solidarity we have received from our comrades and friends in the Palestine solidarity movement and a range of Muslim organisations and are grateful for the support they have offered.

We were shocked when, less than 24 hours after the attack, a relatively new Home Secretary went onto the airwaves to weaponise the fear and grief of our community by resurrecting a slur: that those protesting for Palestine represent a danger to Jews. She is cynically exploiting this tragic event to fulfil a long-standing ambition of successive British Governments: to justify a ban on the mass protests against Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

We are distressed that some of our communal leaders, including the Chief Rabbi of the United Synagogue, have also tried to exploit our grief and fear in order to suppress and silence those organising for Palestine.

Antisemitism, lslamophobia, and violent bigotry are on the rise. We will not speculate on the motives of the attacker but we all recognise and condemn the increase in antisemitic conspiracy theories across social media, as well as the dog-whist le phrases now appearing in the speeches of mainstream politicians.

We are a diverse group of British Jews. Some are secular and some were in synagogues yesterday. Many have links to families and friends who will have attended Heaton Park synagogue yesterday. We will be marching again next Saturday and will continue to take to the streets until we see an end to t his genocide and until Palestine is free. We will continue to strengthen our links of solidarity and mutual support with Muslims and other communities targeted by racism. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.

Featured image via the Canary