Worshippers were attending Yom Kippur prayers amid tightened security at Birmingham’s main synagogue
Police and security outside Singers Hill Synagogue in Birmingham(Image: Reporter)
It is Yom Kippur, one of the holiest days in the Jewish calendar but the atmosphere outside one of Birmingham’s main Synagogue is seriously solemn.
Two police vans are parked outside Singers Hill and members of a private security team are on patrol.
Under the watchful eye of officers, worshippers dressed in their best clothes are escorted in and out of prayers through locked gates. No one is waiting outside and the Synagogue is not open to the public.
All the while, details continue to unfold of the savage terrorist attack at a Manchester synagogue attack which left two dead and others fighting for their lives on Thursday morning (October 2).
Sir Stephen Watson, the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, said four people remain in hospital.
Sir Stephen said the attacker had been fatally shot by officers within seven minutes of the initial call reporting the attack, which has been declared a terror event.
Two other people have been arrested in connection with the attack. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said ‘additional police assets’ would be deployed at synagogues across the country.
A few worshippers in Birmingham say they do not want to speak to the media but one man says today’s atrocious events has made him reflect about his future in the United Kingdom.
Police outside Singers Hill Synagogue in Birmingham
The grandfather, who did not wish to be named, said: “I wear the Kippa as an act of defiance.
“I’m not sure there’s a future for the Jews in this country.
“Things like this makes us realise that there might not be.
“We have lived in this country since after Oliver Cromwell and this was a tolerant and amazing country but the hostility that’s been around since after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 has made this country like a foreign country to me.”
Martin Diggins, a Christian, said: “I’m not a Jew but I am passionate about the contribution the Jewish community makes to this country.
“I want to say I stand with you.”
A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said: “We know our communities will be shocked and understandably upset by the incident at a synagogue in Manchester earlier today.
“Our thoughts are with those affected by what has happened.
“We have strong relationships with our Jewish communities and we’ll have increased patrols in and around places of worship across the West Midlands over the coming days.”