My son attends a Jewish day school where there’s a constant security presence, including frequent police presence over the past two years. Every morning, when I drop him off, I feel the reality of raising a Jewish child in Britain in 2025. The police presence is so routine now that he has never questioned their presence.
The Community Security Trust (CST) is the charity that safeguards British Jews from antisemitism and terrorism, training volunteers to protect synagogues, schools, and community centers, and managing the government grant for securing Jewish buildings. I have volunteered with them, worn the stab vest, and stood at synagogue gates. The threat has been genuine for decades.
For British Jews like me, a violent attack on a synagogue, such as the one in northwest England on Thursday, was something we anticipated — a matter of when rather than if. Our fear was shaped by experience, history, and security evaluations. For two years, tensions have been rising. The frequent protests, chants, placards, and online hostility have created a unanimous feeling among Jews that something grave is happening in British society — a line has been crossed.
The danger was never theoretical. We knew it was inevitable. It might have occurred in Manchester this time, but it could have happened anywhere. But this attack isn’t solely a Jewish issue. It challenges Britain as a whole. For two years, and across two different governments, a culture has developed where irresponsible speech, sometimes lawful and sometimes not, has overtaken our streets persistently. We’ve been told that free speech, even if it makes minorities uncomfortable, is the cost of living in a free society.
I once believed that. I used to think free speech was such a fundamental principle that my discomfort as a Jew in a hostile crowd was a minor sacrifice in the broader context. But I no longer hold that view; my perspective has changed.
The almost-weekly pro-Palestinian protests have had a cumulative impact. They’ve normalized intimidation and created an environment where citizens, Jewish or not, feel unsafe in their own cities and neighborhoods. They’ve blurred the distinction between protest and communal harassment.
Leave a Reply