Netanyahu blames UK Yom Kippur synagogue attack on ‘weakness’

Netanyahu’s remarks echoed his address at the United Nations a week earlier, where the Israeli prime minister accused Western countries of encouraging violence by recognizing Palestinian statehood.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

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.”

His remarks echoed his address at the United Nations a week earlier, where the Israeli prime minister accused Western countries of encouraging violence by recognizing Palestinian statehood.

The premier said that giving the Palestinians a state just two years after the brutal October 7 attack gave the message that “murdering Jews pays off,” he warned at the time.

The attack in Manchester took place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. Two worshippers were killed and four others seriously injured when a man rammed his car into congregants outside Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in the Crumpsall neighborhood and then began stabbing them.

Greater Manchester Police said officers shot and killed the assailant outside the synagogue. It took several hours to confirm his death because police feared he had an explosive device.

Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson said the suspect appeared to be wearing a suicide vest, though investigators later determined the device was not viable.

The assault shocked Jewish communities in Britain and abroad.

Following the attack, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he had recently discussed antisemitism in the UK with King Charles III. “Just a few days ago, I wrote a letter to His Majesty King Charles III, stressing my deep worry and concern over the rise of antisemitism and anti-Israel hatred in the UK, and in other Commonwealth countries, including Australia and Canada,” Herzog wrote on X.

“Today’s tragic events have sadly demonstrated how real and tangible this threat is, and how imperative it is to act against it with full force and without compromise.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer cut short his participation in a European summit and returned to London. He called the assault “all the more horrific” because it took place on Yom Kippur and said additional police officers would be stationed at synagogues across the country. King Charles III and Queen Camilla said they were “deeply shocked and saddened” by the attack.