Keir Starmer must 'root out this cancer' of antisemitism hatred in Britain

Sir Keir Starmer has come under mounting pressure to "root out this cancer" of antisemitism after the Manchester synagogue terror attack laid bare the scale of hatred facing Britain's Jewish community.

The nation is in shock after two worshippers were killed on Yom Kippur - the holiest day in the Jewish calendar - at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in Crumpsall on Thursday.

At a vigil close to the scene, grief and anger grew yesterday as members of the Jewish community and faith leaders gathered demanding action.

Dozens of mourners stood shoulder to shoulder in the pouring rain. The crowd heckled and booed Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy as he paid tribute to the victims.

Sir Keir, cabinet ministers and senior police officials appealed for a planned pro-Palestine protest to be called off, warning of inflamed tensions as the country grapples with the aftermath of the killings.

In a day of fast-moving developments, it emerged that:

-The two victims killed have been named as Adrian Daulby, 53, and 66-year-old Melvin Cravitz. One of the victims was accidentally shot by police while trying to block the attacker from entering the synagogue. Three others remain in hospital with serious injuries.

- One of the victims - Yoni Finlay - is being treated in hospital for non-life threatening injuries after he was also accidentally shot by police while helping to barricade doors.

- Terrorist Jihad Al-Shamie is understood to have been on police bail for an alleged rape when he carried out the terror attack.

Thousands of people are determined to demonstrate on Saturday despite the raw emotion felt by the jewish community following the tragedy.

Senior Tory Robert Jenrick blasted the "pathetically weak and cowardly elite class" for failing to protect Jewish people in Britain.

Mr Jenrick said "we can choose to root out this cancer if our leaders actually care".

Writing in the Daily Express, he warned the deadly attack was "sadly the logical endpoint of this escalating extremism".

The Shadow Justice Secretary added: "Warning after warning was ignored by people in authority. A feeble and spineless class of leaders have tolerated antisemitism and allowed it to grow. Whether in our universities, charities, institutions like the BBC or even the NHS, our elite class turned a blind eye.

Their warm words will be cold comfort unless they are accompanied with action. We do not need more performative acts of support, we need them to root out extremism and antisemitism ruthlessly wherever it rears its head."

The Prime Minster and the Metropolitan and Greater Manchester Police forces have urged organisers planning a march in support of banned terror group Palestine Action to call off the demonstration set for London on Saturday.

The force wrote to organisers Defend Our Juries raising concerns about the amount of police resources it would divert when "visible reassurance and protective security" is needed for Jewish communities across the capital.

A strongly worded statement said: "At a time when we want to be deploying every available officer to ensure the safety of those communities, we are instead having to plan for a gathering of more than 1,000 people in Trafalgar Square on Saturday in support of a terrorist organisation.

By choosing to encourage mass law breaking on this scale, Defend Our Juries are drawing resources away from the communities of London at a time when they are needed most."

Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, Sir Stephen Watson urged Pro-Palestinian supporters to "do the responsible and sensitive thing and refrain, on this occasion, from protesting in a manner which is likely to add to the trauma currently being experienced by our Jewish community."

Writing in the Jewish Chronicle, Sir Keir also called on protestors to call off the demo.

He said: "Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy - and there is justified concern about the suffering in Gaza - but a minority have used these protests as a pretext for stoking antisemitic tropes. I urge anyone thinking about protesting this weekend to recognise and respect the grief of British Jews this week. This is a moment of mourning. It is not a time to stoke tension and cause further pain."

But the group, which has led demonstrations against the terrorist ban on Palestine Action, has defied pleas to abandon the protest.

A Defend Our Juries spokesman said: "Thursday's attack was actual terrorism and we join others across the country in condemning it unreservedly and we urge the Home Secretary and the police to prioritise protecting the community, instead of arresting entirely peaceful protesters."

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood branded continuing marches "dishonourable" and "fundamentally un-British".

Some 40 people were arrested at a protest outside Downing Street on Thursday just hours after the terror attack.

Ms Mahmood told GB News: "As far as I am concerned, I would have wanted to see people in this country step back from protesting for at least a few days, just to give the Jewish community here a chance to process what has happened and to begin the grieving process as well.

"I am very disappointed that some of the organisers haven't heeded the call to step back.

"I would still call on people to show some love and some solidarity to the families of those who have been murdered and to our Jewish community."

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage warned that the marches are evidence of "broken Britain" and claimed protesters were "celebrating" the terror attack.

He also accused Sir Keir of having "emboldened" activists by his move to recognise a Palestinian state last month, which the Home Secretary denied.

The Clacton MP said: "I think the whole Jewish community in Britain are now deeply fearful. Within just a few hours of this horrific incident we saw in London and elsewhere pro-Palestinian flags on the streets, people out demonstrating.

"But here's the truth of it, they weren't demonstrating, they were actually celebrating. I can't even imagine we've ever seen such vile scenes on our streets, certainly not in my lifetime.

"This is broken Britain, this is evidence of societal breakdown, it is deeply worrying and very frightening.

"Will this Prime Minister do anything about it? No, in fact, he's emboldened these people by his recognition of Palestine two weeks ago.

"There is a big march planned in London this Saturday and I think the only way we can describe it is a hate march. What is for certain is we're a country that allows peaceful protest but we're not a country that allows the celebration of murder or slogans in our streets that are deeply inciteful.

I must admit I feel more worried about the state of broken Britain than I ever have before."

Mr Lammy, the Justice Secretary, faced boos and shouts from furious attendees at the Manchester vigil amid criticism about the Government's approach to the war in Gaza and the growing anti-Israel sentiment at home.

As he took to the stage he faced calls of "shame on you", "go to Palestine, leave us alone", "you've allowed it to grow on the campuses" and "you have blood on your hands".

He said: "We stand in solidarity with the Jewish people, because an attack like this is never felt alone.

The Justice Secretary continued: "Wherever you are in our country, Jewish people, our friends, our neighbours, our loved ones are terrified by the events of yesterday - of becoming targets, victims of antisemitic hate, simply for who they are.

"But I know this about Britain's Jewish community, a community I have known all of my life: You are strong, you are resilient, and you will never be cowed, and that's what I want you to know today - that our country, those of all colours, all faiths and none, stand with you."

Mr Lammy urged people planning to protest today "to stop and stand back"

The UK's chief rabbi said many people in the Jewish community "and well beyond it" wonder why marches in support of Palestine Action are allowed to take place.

Sir Ephraim Mirvis told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Some of them contain outright antisemitism, outright support for Hamas.

"Not every single person, however there is so much of this, which certainly is dangerous to many within our society.

"You cannot separate the words on our streets, the actions of people in this way, and what inevitably results, which was yesterday's terrorist attack.

"The two are directly linked and therefore we call on the Government yet again, we've been doing so continuously, and yet again we say get a grip on these demonstrations, they are dangerous."

The appalling terrorist attack on Thursday was shocking, but not a surprise.

Rampant antisemitism and extremism has been allowed to go unchecked in the country.

We saw an explosion of antisemitism after the October 7th terrorist attack. It even got so bad that the Conservative MP, Mike Freer, chose to stand down because of the risk of violence from Islamists angry at his support for Israel.

A deadly attack was sadly the logical endpoint of this escalating extremism.

Warning after warning was ignored by people in authority. A feeble and spineless class of leaders have tolerated antisemitism and allowed it to grow. Whether in our universities, charities, institutions like the BBC or even the NHS, our elite class turned a blind eye.

Their warm words will be cold comfort unless they are accompanied with action. We do not need more performative acts of support, we need them to root out extremism and antisemitism ruthlessly wherever it rears its head. We need them to confront Islamism and the radical hate preachers that are able to act in our communities to stir up anti-British and anti-Jewish sentiment with impunity.

What makes the attack yesterday even more revolting is the reaction from a small section of society, who proceeded to take to the streets even as the attack was still reverberating.

The scenes outside Downing Street yesterday, where pro-Palestine protestors descended into violence and attacks against the police, were disgusting. Do these people have no shame?

To make matters worse, a repeat protest is planned for tomorrow. If the organisers had any humanity, the protest would be cancelled.

But instead it looks like it will go ahead, replete with all the usual extremist chants we've come to expect. The fanatics will chant to 'globalise the intifada', oblivious to the violence that entails. We will no doubt hear again the genocidal chant of 'from the river to the sea'. When British Jews should be given space to grieve and mourn, they will once again be made to feel unsafe in the centre of their capital city.

It is a damning indictment of how bad things have got, that the Met police have been reduced to begging the organisers on social media to stand down. The authorities have said they will do whatever it takes to make British Jews feels safe once again. If they truly mean it, this protest will not go ahead.

The country cannot tolerate this any longer. Britain where our British Jewish friends are afraid is not Britain.

Today, being a Jew in Britain will feel lonely. Families will be thinking about their future here and whether they are safe. They should not live like this. We cannot live like this. We are not helpless victims. We can choose to root out this cancer if our leaders actually care. I know where I stand.