Several hundred people gathered at the Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester, the United Kingdom on Monday to commemorate the victims of the Oct. 2, 2025 jihadist attack on that house of worship.
British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and Angela Rayner, the British government’s Communities Secretary, were among those in attendance at the memorial service for Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby, who died as a result of the assault.
The victims’ relatives and some survivors spoke at Monday’s service. One of the survivors, Rabbi Daniel Walker, who helped keep the attacker outside of the synagogue during Yom Kippur services while worshipers were inside, said the Jewish community feels less safe now than it did immediately after the attack, the BBC reported.
Last night, almost a year after the horrendous terrorist attack on Yom Kippur that resulted in the murders of Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby the Greater Manchester Jewish community came together at Heaton Park Synagogue, the very place where the attack to place to commemorate… pic.twitter.com/w4DMFY03EH
— Jewish Representative Council of GM & Region (@JewishMCR) September 1, 2026
Lack of action to “deal with core problems” had left many members of Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation, and British Jews more widely, feeling increasingly vulnerable, the BBC quoted him as saying.
The Jewish Representative Council of the Greater Manchester and Region wrote in a statement on Tuesday that “last night was also about strength, unity and resilience. Standing together at the Synagogue where so much changed for our community, we showed that hatred will not define us. The terrorist tried to close the Synagogue. Instead, he filled it.”
King Charles and U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham sent messages.
“My wife and I hold all those whose lives were so tragically disrupted by that terrible day most closely in our thoughts and prayers. Though the months have passed, the sense of shock and sorrow remains undiminished. I shall never forget my visit to the synagogue shortly afterwards. It was a deeply moving and heartbreaking experience,” the British monarch wrote.
Burnham wrote on social media: “We send our love and support to the Jewish community in Manchester and beyond” in remembering those “who were killed defending their synagogue last year. My thoughts are with their families and all those who have been affected by the attack.”
