Under the gloomy skies of a Greater Manchester evening, a community gathered to kindle lights of hope in a place recently scarred by darkness. The Heaton Park synagogue hosted its second-night Hanukah candle lighting on Monday, an event tinged with profound sadness as it remembered local victims and mourned a deadly attack on Jews in Sydney.
A Ceremony of Defiance and Remembrance
Dark rain clouds mirrored the sombre mood as worshippers assembled in the synagogue car park, an area now routinely lined with police and security. The festival of Hanukah, typically a time of joyous celebration, was this year overshadowed by grief and heightened anxiety. The community is grappling with the fatal shooting of 15 people at a Hanukah gathering in Bondi Beach, Sydney, just a day earlier, which left dozens more injured.
This local ceremony came just two months after two people were killed in an antisemitic terrorist attack at the very same synagogue on 2 October. Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, lost their lives during the Yom Kippur festival. Cravitz was stabbed by the attacker, Jihad al-Shamie, while Daulby was accidentally shot by police as he bravely tried to prevent the assailant from entering the building.
"We Are Reclaiming That Light"
Despite the palpable sorrow, the spirit of Hanukah – a festival symbolising the triumph of light over darkness – burned brightly. Traditional music played, members of the crowd danced, and the giant menorah's glow mingled with the blue lights of police vehicles stationed outside.
Rabbi Daniel Walker led the opening prayer on the synagogue steps, directly addressing the recent trauma. "Here on this spot, evil stood," he declared. "But this is a place of joy and tonight we are reclaiming that joy, we are reclaiming that light and we’re shining it out into the whole world."
Sholom D, a 33-year-old synagogue member, expressed the conflicted emotions of many. He described having "mixed feelings" due to the pervasive sense of insecurity. "The difficult part is that we’re sort of used to it, we grow up knowing the history," he said. "It’s always part of us, but you just realise it more and more."
Record Antisemitism and Political Pledges
The fear is underpinned by stark statistics. The Community Security Trust recorded 4,296 anti-Jewish hate crimes in the UK in 2023, the highest annual total ever. While the figure for 2024 dipped slightly to 3,528, it remains the second-worst year on record, indicating a sustained and severe threat.
Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, attended the event to show solidarity. He condemned "abhorrent acts of antisemitism" and acknowledged the impact of the Sydney attack. "We think today of people affected by what happened in Sydney and I know it has reverberations here," he stated, pledging to work with Jewish community partners to improve protection.
Meanwhile, in London, a vigil organised by the Campaign Against Antisemitism and Chabad Lubavitch UK drew about 3,000 people to Parliament Square. The event combined Hanukah celebrations with a firm stand against rising hatred. Gideon Falter, chief of the CAA, and Labour MP Ashley Dalton addressed the crowd, with Dalton affirming that "the government does not and will not tolerate antisemitism."
Attendee Aaron Cowland voiced a desperate plea felt by many: "I think tonight is almost a message about someone please protect us. Against people who needlessly want to kill us." His words, and the fortified ceremonies in Manchester and London, highlight a Jewish community celebrating its faith with resilience, while navigating a world it perceives as increasingly perilous.
