We refuse to be afraid': solidarity and vigilance in British Jewish community targeted by IS plot

"They tried to kill us. They failed. Let's eat, Andrew Walters said. It is an old Jewish joke that's as relevant as ever in Greater Manchester in the face of today's threats. For Walters, the independent councillor for Kersal and Broughton Park, Salford, the joke encapsulates the good-humoured resilience that is a defining feature of his Orthodox Jewish community. This vibrant neighbourhood was identified as a target by an Islamic State sleeper cell, whose plot to kill as many Jews as possible in a marauding firearms attack was thwarted."

"Michelle Ciffer Klein runs the Hershel Weiss children and families centre, which supports 650 families including large ultra-Orthodox families who do not use smartphones, internet or television and some Muslim women. Ciffer Klein built up the service from one room in a synagogue to a buzzing, council-funded facility offering mother and baby groups, clinics, a Citizens Advice bureau, summer trips, adult education, Hanukah gift drives, food and debt support."

"Saadaoui and Hussein, in common with other extremists who have targeted Jews in Greater Manchester, saw the community only through the warped, reductive lens of antisemitism. They were not interested in how lifestyles, incomes, religious practice and political views vary in Greater Manchester's Jewish communities, as in any other, and how social concerns typical of many British communities, such as poverty, are pressing."

An Islamic State sleeper cell identified an Orthodox Jewish neighbourhood in Greater Manchester as a target for a planned marauding firearms attack; Walid Saadaoui and Amar Hussein were found guilty of terrorism offences. Independent councillor Andrew Walters describes the community's good-humoured resilience with the saying 'They tried to kill us. They failed. Let's eat.' Local relationships remain strong across faiths, with Walters noting a close partnership with a religious Muslim business partner. Community infrastructure includes the Hershel Weiss children and families centre, supporting about 650 families and providing mother-and-baby groups, clinics, advice services, trips, adult education, holiday drives, food and debt support.

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