The author of a report warning of ‘intensifying’ antisemitism in Britain has said he is ‘not surprised’ at the Manchester terror attack after similar incidents across Europe.
A ‘troubling’ picture of hate and hostility towards Jews was due to be published on Monday — before being released early after news of the atrocity broke yesterday.
Dr Jonathan Boyd found that more than a third of Jews in the UK surveyed feel unsafe, up from just 9% in May 2023, with 47% saying antisemitism is a ‘very big’ problem.
This research, intended to mark two years since the start of the October 7 war between Israel and Hamas, also found that many avoided places and conversations due to different types of hostility.
The pattern of hatred was underscored in horrific form with the attack on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, which left two members of the congregation dead and three others in hospital.
The car ramming and stabbings came on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish religious calendar.
Responding to the attack, Dr Boyd told Metro: ‘It’s pretty devastating and upsetting but at the same time I’m not surprised at all.
‘We have seen similar attacks on Jewish targets in Europe over the course of the last 10 years, so there has been a question of when this was coming to the UK, and it’s been very close in the past. In particular, since October 7 the atmosphere around Jews and Jewish life has been pretty charged.
‘I think people are obviously upset and shocked, but I don’t think there was a lot of surprise around it, I think it was expected.’
Carried out for the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR), an independent research organisation, the report’s ‘most troubling theme’ is the rise of ‘perceived and experienced antisemitism.’
Post-October 7, the problem was found to be ‘widespread’, with younger and more visible Jews disproportionately affected.
As well as overt hostility, the research identified ‘ambient antisemitism’— non-direct experiences that are destabilising and unsettling.
The Jews in Uncertain Times Survey concluded that ‘much depends’ on how national leaders in Britain, Israel and around the world navigate the ‘turbulent waters’ of present times.
While the report focuses on the UK, the backdrop also includes the Berlin Holocaust memorial stabbing of a Spanish tourist by a man said by police to have wanted to kill Jewish people.
The attack in February was followed this week by three suspected members of the Hamas terror group being arrested in Germany for allegedly planning attacks on Israeli and Jewish institutions in the country.
‘The over-arching sentiment right now is one of shock, and of sadness and sorrow,’ Dr Boyd said.
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‘There’s also a sense of fear that this will generate, but I think it will take time before we see what the longer-term reaction will be.
‘The community is very resilient and you can see that in the data.
‘In terms of their Jewishness and their attachment to their Jewish identity, the Jewish community is strong. I wouldn’t expect that to shift very much.’
Dr Boyd told Metro that the reaction from the British government, police and security services to the attack has been ‘exemplary’.
But the JPR’s executive director warned that there are ‘deep-rooted’ issues in British society which need to be ‘urgently’ addressed.
‘From a Jewish perspective, it’s very important that people understand who Jews are, what their beliefs and attitudes are, and what the relationship is between Jews and Israel, because that has been characterised by parts of society which is just wrong, upsetting and unfair,’ he said.
‘I think it’s important that people understand what that connection is about, where it comes from and its authenticity.’
The UK’s Chief Rabbi said ‘our hearts are shattered’ and there is an ‘urgent need for soul-searching’ after the terror attack.
Sir Ephraim Mirvis wrote on X: ‘This is the day we hoped we would never see, but which deep down, we knew would come.’
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