The editor of the U.K.’s Jewish News has described the attack in Manchester as the day Jews in Britain have long feared.
Richard Ferrer said antisemitic tensions have been building since Oct.7, 2023, when the Hamas-led attack on Israel triggered war in the Middle East. Israeli’s subsequent assault on Gaza led to massive protest marches in London, with many Jews feeling threatened because of anti-Semitic chants and slogans.
“After October the 7th, the atmosphere in the street has become febrile,’’ Ferrer told The Associated Press. “Certain politicians and community leaders have offered a wink and a nod at conspiracy theories, at revisionism, at all sorts of excuses made for chants against Jews. And the temperature has risen to the point where clearly we’ve reach breaking point.’’
Ferrer, whose paper describes itself as the U.K.’s most widely read Jewish newspaper, said until now British Jews have largely been insulated from the kind of attacks that have hit other Western nations. But Thursday’s attack has forced Jews to re-assess their place in British society.
“I think the Jewish community, it can’t be left to secure itself,’’ he said. “The government, the Home Office, the home secretary, now need to take firm action.’’