WhatsappBritain’s open-door migration, unchecked radicalization and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s recognition of a Palestinian state created the conditions for tragedy.
The most solemn day of the Jewish calendar turned into a nightmare in Manchester, England. As worshippers left Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation on Yom Kippur, a terrorist rammed his car into congregants and then attacked them with a knife. Two Jews were murdered. Others were wounded. Police shot and killed the attacker.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer rushed home and promised that he would “do everything in my power to guarantee you the security that you deserve.” The words were welcome, but words are not enough. Jews in Britain—and Jews everywhere—must ask: How did the United Kingdom reach this point?
For decades, Britain opened its doors to mass migration from Muslim-majority countries. Many of these immigrants have become part of the national fabric; however, successive governments refused to build an integration strategy. Instead, they embraced a shallow multiculturalism, encouraging communities to live side by side, rather than together.
The symbol read by Britain’s Jews is clear: You are less safe than you were yesterday.
The result has been predictable: neighborhoods cut off from British identity, with schools, media and mosques that in too many cases nurture grievance instead of civic belonging. Alienation creates fertile ground for extremist preachers and radical ideologies.
It is not bigotry to state the obvious: When integration fails, radicalization succeeds. The United Kingdom’s own security services have warned about this for years. Manchester’s tragedy is not an isolated event but a symptom of a deeper failure.
The danger has not stayed hidden in back rooms or online chat groups. It now marches openly down the boulevards of Britain.
London has seen wave after wave of pro-Palestinian rallies since Oct. 7. They were advertised as “peace marches.” Too often, they turned into antisemitic street theater: chants of “intifada,” signs calling for Israel’s elimination and loudspeakers equating Jews with Nazis.
Authorities wring their hands in the name of free expression. But tolerating open calls for violence against Jews creates a poisonous climate. Lone attackers absorb that atmosphere and act on it. Manchester may not have been organized by a protest group, but the environment of normalization made the attacker feel he was not alone.
Just last month, Starmer unilaterally recognized a Palestinian state. He did so without requiring the Palestinians to renounce terrorism, without demanding peace with Israel and without securing the release of Israeli hostages still languishing in Gaza.
The move was hailed by progressives as “bold leadership.” In reality, it emboldened extremists who now see Britain tilting their way. To Jewish citizens, the timing could not have been worse. At a moment of rising antisemitism, their government sent the message that rewarding Palestinian intransigence matters more than Jewish security.
Starmer insists that his recognition was symbolic. But in politics, symbolism matters. And the symbol read by British Jewry is clear: You are less safe than you were yesterday.
The Jewish community in the country is small, proud and deeply woven into all aspects of society. It has produced scientists, judges, artists, philanthropists and soldiers.
But today, Britain’s Jews feel vulnerable and abandoned. They are told to rely on police patrols and CCTV cameras, while political leaders court applause abroad by recognizing a Palestinian state and tolerating marches that glorify violence.
This is not protection. It is appeasement dressed up as security.
Manchester’s bloodshed should be a national wake-up call. Starmer’s pledge to protect Jews must be more than sound bites. The government must summon the courage to draw red lines and restore the foundations of civic responsibility. That means:
- Enforce hate-crime laws with vigor. Antisemitic speech and incitement at rallies must lead to arrests, not excuses.
- Restrict demonstrations that glorify terror. Free expression is not a license to advocate violence against Jews.
- Demand integration. Immigrant communities must be taught, and expected, to embrace Britain’s civic values—equality before the law, rejection of violence, loyalty to democratic institutions.
- Bolster counterterrorism intelligence. Resources must be poured into monitoring radical networks that exploit alienation.
- Reaffirm Jewish belonging. Starmer and other leaders should state clearly, again and again, that Jews are not outsiders to be “protected” but full British citizens who help define the nation itself.
Multiculturalism without boundaries has led Britain to this perilous moment. By refusing to insist on shared identity, by tolerating open antisemitism on the streets and by signaling diplomatic sympathy for the Palestinian cause without conditions, Britain has emboldened those who wish to harm its Jews. Unless its leaders rediscover moral clarity, the promises of safety will remain hollow—and more tragedies will follow.
Manchester is not only a Jewish tragedy. It is a British one. If the United Kingdom cannot protect its Jews, then it cannot protect its values either.
