British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his country must decisively “defeat“ rising anti-Semitism. His words came after the terrorist attack near a synagogue in Manchester, in which two people were killed and four were injured on the day the Jewish community celebrates its holiest holiday - Yom Kippur. The news was reported by Reuters and Agence France-Presse, BTA reports.
“This is not a new kind of hatred - the Jewish people have experienced it more than once. But it must be clear that this hatred, which has risen again, will be defeated once again in the United Kingdom,” the British prime minister said in a televised address.
Starmer cut short his participation in the meeting of European leaders in Copenhagen and returned to London early to chair an emergency meeting of the authorities. He announced that additional police units would be deployed to protect synagogues across the country.
“We will do everything we can to ensure the safety of the Jewish community. The very fact that this attack occurred on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism, makes it all the more appalling,“ the prime minister stressed.
“Earlier today, on Yom Kippur, a dastardly act of terrorism was committed against Jews - simply because they are Jews and against Britain, because of our values,“ Starmer added.