UK launches public inquiry into deaths during 2025 Yom Kippur synagogue attack

Britain’s Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood announced on Monday a public inquiry into the deaths of two Jewish men who were killed during a terror attack at a synagogue in Manchester in October 2025.

Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz were killed during the attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

Jihad Al-Shamie, a 35-year-old British citizen of Syrian descent, told police he was acting for Islamic State before officers shot him dead.

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Addressing the House of Commons with a speech focused on national security, Mahmood told lawmakers that “in recent days, we marked the first anniversary of the terror attack at the Heaton Park synagogue.”

“What happened that day must be fully understood,” she added. “So, as requested by the coroner, I can today announce a public inquiry into the deaths of Mr. Cravitz and Mr. Daulby. This will ensure that all evidence can be heard, including any sensitive national security material that could not otherwise be fully heard in the coroner’s court.”

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Mahmood noted that the Heaton Park incident “was just one of a series of attacks on our Jewish community,” noting a stabbing in Golders Green, London, a spate of arson attacks on Jewish targets across the capital city, a foiled plot a few weeks ago to attack the Jewish community in Manchester and several other incidents.

“Faced with the threat posed to our Jewish community, we have increased funding to the police by an additional £250 million to boost police presence in key Jewish areas and tackle antisemitism on our streets,” she said. “But I know we cannot simply build higher walls around our Jewish community and expect them to live in fear. So we must root out the evil of antisemitism wherever it lurks in society.”

A spate of violent attacks over the past year has shaken Britain’s Jewish community during a period of heightened antisemitism in the wake of Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack and the subsequent war in Gaza.

During the Manchester attack, Al-Shamie rammed his car into the gates of the synagogue during prayer services. He stabbed one congregant to death, then tried to storm the synagogue before police shot him dead. A second congregant was accidentally shot dead by police.

Last week, data released by the UK’s Home Office showed that hate crimes targeting Jewish people in England and Wales rose by 10% in the year ending in March.

The number of recorded offenses affecting Jews rose from 2,874 to 3,162 offenses, spiking after the Heaton Park attack. The Home Office figures showed the second-highest level of religious hate crime directed at the Jewish community since the Home Office began keeping records in 2018. It was surpassed only by the year ending March 2024.

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