Shabana Mahmood has called on pro-Gaza demonstrators to stop protesting in the wake of the terror attack at a synagogue in Manchester. The home secretary condemned a protest that took place in Manchester in the wake of the stabbing, calling on those who attended to “show some humanity”.
“I think some humanity could have been shown. I am disappointed that humanity and solidarity wasn’t shown to our Jewish community,” she told Sky News.
Ms Mahmood added: “I was very disappointed to see those protests go ahead last night. I think that behaviour is fundamentally un-British. I think it’s dishonourable. I would have wanted those individuals to just take a step back.
“The issues that are driving those protests have been going on now for some time. They don’t look like they’re going to come to an end any day soon. They could have stepped back and just given a community that has suffered deep loss just a day or two to process what has happened, and to carry on with a grieving process.”
Ahead of a visit to Manchester, chief rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis said this is a “very dark time”, as he referred to an “unrelenting wave of hatred against Jews”.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Sir Ephraim said: “Right now, our hearts are shattered. What transpired yesterday was an awful blow to us, something which actually we were fearing might happen because of the build-up to this action.
“I’m going to be arriving in Manchester early this morning, together with my wife, in order to be with a grieving community, and this is a very dark time – not just for Jews of Britain, but for all of our society – because this wasn’t merely an attack against Jews, it was an attack against the values of our society.”
He added: “We have witnessed an unrelenting wave of hatred against Jews being expressed on our streets, on campuses, right across social media and [in] some of the media.”
The home secretary also confirmed on Friday that the man who carried out the antisemitic terror attack, Jihad al-Shamie, was not previously known to police, and had not been referred to the Prevent programme.
Greater Manchester Police said that Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, died after Shamie drove into a group of people outside Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue before stabbing a man.
Hours after the attack – which took place on Yom Kippur, Judaism’s holiest day – pro-Palestine demonstrations took place in Westminster, Manchester and Leeds.
Asked about the demonstrations, Ms Mahmood said: “To anybody who is thinking about going on a protest, what I would say is imagine if that was you that has had a family member murdered on the holiest day in your faith. Imagine how you would feel, and then just step back for a minute.
“Give people a chance to grieve. We can get back to our protest later. Just because you have a freedom, [it] doesn’t mean you have to use it.”
Three people have been arrested on suspicion of planning a terror attack in connection with the killings in Manchester.
Shamie was shot dead by police seven minutes after officers were alerted to the attack in Crumpsall on Thursday morning. He had entered the UK as a young child, and was granted British citizenship in 2006 at around the age of 16.
It is understood that his name has not appeared in initial searches of police and Security Service records, and he is not thought to have been under investigation.
Greater Manchester Police said that while formal identification is yet to take place, the families of Mr Daulby and Mr Cravitz, both from Crumpsall, have been informed and offered support by family liaison officers.
On Friday morning, Greater Manchester Police confirmed that extra officers would provide a “high visibility” presence in North Manchester, Bury, and Salford within Jewish communities and around synagogues. There will also be increased visits to local places of worship, police added.
Further plans will be developed throughout Friday to ensure appropriate measures are in place into the evening and across the weekend.
