According to a survivor of the deadly terrorist attack on a Manchester synagogue last Yom Kippur, the Jewish community still does not feel safe, with heightened security and fear continuing to shape daily life.
Yoni Finlay was seriously wounded while helping to barricade the doors of Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue during the Oct. 2, 2025, attack. Worshippers Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, were killed.
“The community doesn’t feel any safer a year on from Heaton Park,” Finlay said this week. “There are more gates and more security than we have ever had. Any event we have does not have the address displayed on the poster. Our kids go to schools that look like fortresses. Every Jewish building has to have security.”
The terrorist, Jihad al-Shamie, 35, drove a car into the synagogue’s gates before attacking people with a knife while wearing what appeared to be a suicide belt, which was later found to be fake. Police shot and killed al-Shamie as he attempted to enter the synagogue.
Cravitz died from stab wounds inflicted by al-Shamie, while Daulby was killed by a police bullet as he helped prevent the terrorist from entering the synagogue, an inquest heard last year.
Finlay, then 39, was also struck by police gunfire while helping to hold the doors shut. He underwent seven hours of surgery and spent 10 days in the hospital.
‘The strength to keep going’
Despite the continuing fear, Finlay said the attack has also strengthened Jewish identity.
Earlier this year, he joined the International March of the Living in Poland this past April, where he met Holocaust survivors and survivors of other antisemitic attacks.
“What I have found is that an attack on us has two effects: Antisemitism increases but at the same time Jewish people identify more,” Finlay said. “The bravery and courage shown by every survivor I was privileged to meet will stay with me forever and gives me the strength to keep going.”
Finlay said the encounters reinforced for him the responsibility of younger generations to preserve survivors’ testimony and recognize the consequences of antisemitism before hatred escalates into violence.
He also stressed that confronting antisemitism should not be the responsibility of the Jewish community alone.
Scott Saunders, CEO of International March of the Living and founder and chairman of March of the Living UK, said Finlay’s experience gave particular meaning to his participation.
“Yoni came on the March having experienced antisemitic violence himself, and spent time with Holocaust survivors who had endured unimaginable hatred but went on to rebuild their lives,” Saunders said.
“His determination to continue living proudly as a Jew reflects something we saw throughout the March: Fear and hatred cannot be allowed to determine how Jewish people live their lives.”
As another Yom Kippur approaches, Finlay acknowledged that returning to the synagogue would not be easy.
“I can’t sit here and pretend that this Yom Kippur will be easy, but I know that as a community we will do it.”
Read Yoni Finlay’s full account at https://motl.org/yoni-finlay-heaton-park-synagogue/
