If there’s one thing every Mancunian is all too familiar with, it’s the rain. As the clouds burst over Friday’s vigil following the appalling Synagogue attack, the crowd blurred under a sea of umbrellas and drenched raincoats. Members of the Jewish community held each other in the mass of a few hundred people. Handshakes and respectful nods were exchanged with the Muslims who had joined in solidarity with their Abrahamic and Mancunian families. At times, it was difficult to tell which beard protruding from under which sodden hood was Jewish and which Muslim.
As an honorary Manc myself I’d travelled to my university city from neighbouring Blackburn to pay my own respects. Journalists snaked between the tight crowd recording oft-delivered statements of ‘we knew this was coming’. The stage set up just yards from the scene of the attack was eventually populated with senior government figures including the Deputy Prime Minister and the Home Secretary. Amongst them stood various faith and community representatives too.
Rabbi Daniel Walker, from the Synagogue targeted by the attacker, spoke first to commemorate the deceased, thank those who defended the synagogue and highlight the cowardly attacker’s ultimate failure to cease their prayers on the Jewish calendar’s most sacred day. Mark Adlestone, Chair of the Manchester Jewish Representative Council, represented a significant shift in tone with his calls for action not words, most notably speaking to Stop the Marches. Though he acknowledged that half the protestors represented a humanitarian cause, he claimed as much as another half marched with anti-Semitic motives. Amongst the roar of support, he went on to proclaim that no longer could a case be made to separate Anti-Zionism from Anti-Jewishness.
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy was then introduced to the microphone. The very announcement of his name caused a significant section of the crowd to boo and heckle. Shouts of ‘Off! Off!’ and ‘Go to Palestine’ rang through the air amidst declarations that his hands were stained with the blood of the attack. Though a handful of attendees tried to shout for calm, their voices were inevitably drowned. The event ended with a Jewish prayer delivered by the Rabbi and with a final thanks to all attendees, the crowd steadily dispersed.
In the initial gathering of people it was difficult to tell what the dominant feelings of the crowd were. What surfaced was understandable grief, pain and a pervading vulnerability. There was also a marked and significant anger. Rising antisemitism over the past two years has been all too real. Blame for the actions of a foreign government must never be directed at any single community in Britain. Last Friday’s atrocity highlights the very necessary steps required in public and private discourse to consistently resist this conflation. Marches need to peacefully voice grief about the suffering of the conflict in the Middle East, and protest against injustice – while asking those with strongly held views on either side to always remain mindful about the boundaries of democratic political voice and expressions of prejudice.
Britain has an admirable tradition of solidarity between communities in times of tragedy. This must be maintained by preventing the playing out of foreign conflicts on our soil. The widening gulf felt by some Jewish communities can be addressed by reminding ourselves to see each other as neighbours and fellow compatriots once again. ‘Are you representing an organisation here? ’, I asked a Muslim attendee at the vigil. “I’m here as a Mancunian mate,’ he replied. “That’s what I’m representing.”
Avaes Mohammad is Project Manager of the Asian Bridgers project at British Future.
