Protests erupt over Gaza after plea to respect grief

Police in London again arrested 442 demonstrators for terrorism offences after they held signs in support of the group Palestine Action in Trafalgar Square.

In Manchester about 150 protesters gathered to protest against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza despite the home secretary saying it would be “un-British” and the prime minister calling on them to “respect the grief of British Jews” after a knifeman murdered a worshipper at Heaton Park synagogue in north Manchester on Thursday.

Among the speakers in central Manchester was a local Jewish man, Robert Lizar, 76, who paid tribute to the two men who died at the synagogue on Thursday morning.

“I want to say on my own behalf and on behalf of the Jewish organisations I represent, we are deeply saddened by the attack and the killing of Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz. Let their names be remembered and cherished. We mourn their loss and offer our support to their loved ones, their families and community, and all the families involved, and all the various communities across the country.”

Nearby, a union flag was unfurled and hecklers wearing “make Britain great again” and “prioritise Britain” baseball caps shouted abuse.

Another speaker had earlier urged the crowd to “salute the resistance” in Palestine, saying: “we are the intifada [uprising]” as another heckler shouted “free Gaza from Hamas” before closing his speech by saying: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

The protests came after a torrid week in which Britain’s Jewish community learned with anguish that a terrorist had attacked a synagogue on their most sacred of holidays.

“We knew this would be about Gaza,” said one local Jewish father, who asked not to be named. “What has a war thousands of miles away got to do with a synagogue in Manchester? I promised my wife we would move to Israel if it ever came to our doorstep. Now I have to seriously consider it – we’d be safer there.”

Jihad al-Shamie, 35, used a car and a knife to attack the synagogue, which serves predominantly orthodox and Haredi Jewish worshippers in the Prestwich area of Manchester.

At about 9.30am on Thursday he drove into a security guard, causing serious injuries, before stabbing to death Melvin Cravitz, 66, a volunteer guard as part of the local community security trust.

His family said in a statement: “Melvin would do anything to help anyone. He was so kind, caring and always wanted to chat and get to know people. He was devoted to his wife, family and loved his food.”

Firearms officers were on the scene in minutes and shot Al-Shamie dead. But a bullet or bullets went through a door that worshippers were barricading shut and hit two men. Adrian Daulby, 53, died as a result of a gunshot wound and a second man was wounded.

In a statement, Daulby’s family praised him as a beloved brother and uncle, adding: “His final act was one of profound courage and he will forever be remembered for his heroic act.”

One witness said Al-Shamie was heard to shout “this is what they get for killing our children” as he tried to force entry into the synagogue wielding a large knife.

In the days since the attack, it has emerged that Al-Shamie, who was born in Syria but came to the UK as a young child, was bankrupt and was on police bail after being arrested on suspicion of rape. He was not known to intelligence agencies or counterterrorism police. His father, Faraj al-Shamie, has worked as a trauma surgeon for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent in South Sudan among other places. It was revealed on Friday that he had written posts on Facebook praising Hamas for the attack on 7 October, describing the fighters as “God’s men on earth”, but calling on them to release elderly hostages and children. The younger Al-Shamie had worked as an English language teacher and had a criminal record for low-level offences.

Prestwich was until last week an enduring success story of how different cultures and faiths mix, with the Jewish and Muslim population closely intermingled. A director at the Anwaar Ul-Haramain mosque near the synagogue said he had known Cravitz for more than 20 years and had sold him textiles for a market stall.

Six people have been arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation, and instigation of acts of terrorism, and Greater Manchester police said yesterday that warrants for further detention had been granted for four of the suspects.

Photograph by Guy Smallman/Getty Images