The Manchester synagogue terrorist was intimidating, aggressive and controlling but showed no sign of extremism before carrying out his lethal antisemitic attack, one of his wives has said. The woman, who married Jihad al-Shamie in an Islamic ceremony in 2021, said the 35-year-old was glued to his phone watching Arabic news channels but did not appear to be on the path to terror.
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.
I think it's phenomenally tone deaf, to say the least, for so many people who claim to care about human rights and care about freedoms, to be taking police resources away from protecting the rights and freedoms of Jewish people to live their lives and go to synagogue in safety, all to support a proscribed terrorist organisation, which is not the same thing as supporting the Palestinians. The two are not the same. And I think it's remarkably self absorbed and insensitive to say the least.
The news from Manchester regarding the terrorist attack targeting a Jewish synagogue has been a profound shock to us. The Al-Shamie family in the UK and abroad strongly condemns this heinous act, which targeted peaceful, innocent civilians. We fully distance ourselves from this attack and express our deep shock and sorrow over what has happened. Our hearts and thoughts are with the victims and their families, and we pray for their strength and comfort.
Police have deployed additional officers around synagogues and Jewish communities in London after two people were killed in Manchester on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. The Metropolitan Police said there was no indication of an increased threat to the capital but had taken precautionary measures, thought to be in areas such as Golders Green. While there is nothing