CAMERA mourns the brutal murder of two Jewish worshippers outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in Manchester, England on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. Our hearts are with the victims’ families and with the entire British Jewish community as they grieve this horrific act of terror.
This attack did not arise in a vacuum. It is the deadly consequence of an atmosphere in which anti-Jewish hatred has been tolerated, normalized, and too often excused. Since the Hamas atrocities of October 7, 2023, Jews in Britain and across the West have faced an alarming escalation of open antisemitism in the streets, in schools and universities, in healthcare settings, and online. Calls for violence against Jews have been met with equivocation, and those who should have acted decisively to confront hatred have too often looked away.
Terrorists alone bear responsibility for murder. But hatred does not grow in isolation. It is inflamed when media outlets and public figures promote wild, baseless accusations that Israel is committing genocide, deliberately starving civilians, or targeting innocents while ignoring or downplaying the terror and brutality Jews and Israelis face. Such lies give license to rage, justify hostility toward Jews everywhere, and embolden those willing to turn words into violence.
“That is why CAMERA’s work matters,” said CAMERA CEO Kurt Schwartz. “For more than four decades, we have challenged misinformation and demanded accuracy when it comes to Israel and the Jewish people. Holding media and institutions accountable is not abstract. It is essential to protecting Jewish lives.”
CAMERA calls on British leaders, civil society, and the press to do more than offer condolences. Words of solidarity are necessary but insufficient. They must be joined by clear action: enforcing laws against incitement, protecting Jewish houses of worship, refusing to amplify unverified claims that demonize Israel, and confronting Jew-hatred with moral clarity.
“To the Jewish community in England,” Schwartz said, “CAMERA stands with you. England is your country too. You have the right to worship in safety, to live without fear, and to participate fully in civic life without enduring hatred or intimidation. CAMERA will continue to expose the misinformation that fuels antisemitism and to insist on the truth.”