"It's good to show we're not afraid to show our faces, said 68-year-old Jonathan Fitter, joining the crowds in Trafalgar Square on Sunday afternoon to commemorate the second anniversary of the 7 October attacks and the killing of two people at a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur on Thursday. Fitter, who is of Jewish heritage, stood with a large blended union jack and Israeli flag."
"To a largely silent audience, hemmed by large screens displaying images of some of the 1,200 killed on 7 October, the chairperson of the Jewish Leadership Council, Keith Black, said the Manchester attacks showed just how deadly this virulent antisemitism has become. Our streets have been filled with protesters screaming Jew hatred, our students had faced relentless waves of abuse on campus, Black said."
"I still feel very, very safe and I think England's a very tolerant country, said Fitter, who lives in London and said he had not personally faced antisemitism. With a step ladder in hand, he made his way to the Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park where he said he speaks most Sundays for Israel's right to exist and defend itself. Most people there, they're not antisemitic, they're anti-Zionist, he added."
Thousands gathered in Trafalgar Square and Hyde Park for a vigil marking the second anniversary of the 7 October attacks and remembering two people killed at a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur. Attendees included Jonathan Fitter, who displayed a blended union jack and Israeli flag and said he feels safe in England. Keith Black, chairperson of the Jewish Leadership Council, warned that the Manchester attacks showed how deadly virulent antisemitism has become, noting protesters screaming Jew hatred and student abuse on campuses. Organisers from the Board of Deputies of British Jews lit 23 candles and chief rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis recited prayers.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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