4 hours ago
4
Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the “barbaric attack” on a British synagogue on Thursday, saying that “weakness in the face of terrorism only brings more terrorism. Only strength and unity can defeat it.”
The Israeli foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, accused the UK of failing to act against antisemitism in his response to the attack in Manchester, which killed two people.
Sa’ar said he was “appalled” by the murders, claiming that antisemitic incitement had become “widespread” across Britain.
“The truth must be told: blatant and rampant antisemitic and anti-Israeli incitement, as well as calls of support for terror, have recently become a widespread phenomenon in the streets of London, in cities across Britain and on its campuses,” Sa’ar said in a post on X on Thursday night.
He further accused British authorities of failing to take the necessary action to stop the “toxic wave of antisemitism” and allowing it to persist.
“We expect more than words from the Starmer government. We expect and demand a change of course, effective action, and enforcement against the rampant antisemitic and anti-Israeli incitement in Britain,” Sa’ar said.
Netanyahu released a statement saying that Israel was standing in solidarity with the British Jewish community.
“Israel grieves with the Jewish community in the UK after the barbaric terror attack in Manchester. Our hearts are with the families of the murdered, and we pray for the swift recovery of the wounded,” Netanyahu said in a statement released by the prime minister’s office on Thursday.
Netanyahu had fiercely criticised the UK government when it recognised the Palestinian state earlier last month, alongside several other states such as Australia.
“As I warned at the UN: weakness in the face of terrorism only brings more terrorism,” Netanyahu said on Thursday. “Only strength and unity can defeat it.”
He accused Keir Starmer and other leaders who had recognised the Palestinian state as “giving a huge reward to terrorism”. Starmer has said that recognition of a Palestinian state is a necessary step to a peaceful two-state solution and that Hamas would be excluded in any future Palestinian state.
A man attacked the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall on Thursday morning, killing two members of the Jewish community and seriously injuring four more worshippers who had come to celebrate Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
The man, who police said appeared to be wearing an “explosive device”, was shot dead by police after stabbing one person and attempting to run over members of the synagogue with a car. Police later said the device was “not viable” and that they had arrested two suspects in connection with the attack.
Greater Manchester police said they declared Plato – the national codeword used by police when responding to a “marauding terror attack” – in the morning. Starmer flew back to the UK early from a meeting of European officials in Denmark to chair an emergency Cobra meeting to address the incident.
Speaking after the meeting, the prime minister condemned the “vile” attack and told British Jews that he would do “everything in my power to guarantee you the security that you deserve”.
“To every Jewish person in this country, I also want to say this: I know how much fear you will be holding inside of you, I really do,” Starmer said.
In a July report, the Board of Deputies of British Jews found widespread failures to address anti-Jewish discrimination in the country including within state institutions.
In August, the Community Security Trust (CST), which monitors antisemitism, said it had recorded 1,521 antisemitic incidents in the first half of 2025. This was the second-highest number of its kind but down by a quarter from the record number recorded last year.
Israeli officials such as Netanyahu have in the past claimed pro-Palestine activism has led to an increase in antisemitism, an accusation activists have rejected.
