RAPAR Statement on the Crumpsall Attack: Defending Coexistence, Confronting Violence

We are devastated by the terrorist attack that took place on Thursday 2 October 2025, outside Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall, Manchester, on the morning of Yom Kippur. Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, and the wider Jewish community, targeted in a moment of sacred reflection.
RAPAR unequivocally condemns all acts of violence—whether committed in the name of faith, ideology, or vengeance. We stand against antisemitism, anti-Islam, and all forms of faith hatred that seek to divide us. We also affirm the dignity of those who hold no faith, and the right of every person to live free from fear.
Manchester is more than a city—it is a mosaic of the world. From Cheetham Hill to Rusholme, Salford to Longsight, people from every continent have made homes here. Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, secular, and spiritual communities’ live side by side, not in perfect harmony, but in a shared rhythm of everyday coexistence. This pluralism is not a slogan—it is a lived reality, forged through struggle, solidarity, and mutual respect.
But today, that reality is under threat. The UK is in a volatile state—economically strained, politically fragmented, and morally adrift. The erosion of public trust, the scapegoating of migrants, and the normalisation of state violence have created fertile ground for extremism. In this climate, tragedies like Crumpsall are not isolated—they are symptomatic.
We must also speak plainly: the genocide against Palestinians by the Israeli state, backed by Western governments including our own, has deepened global divisions. The refusal to hold power to account, the silencing of dissent, and the dehumanisation of entire peoples has created a climate where rage festers and violence erupt.
We reject the false binary that pits communities against each other. We reject the instrumentalisation of grief to justify surveillance, repression, or war. And we call on all people—especially those in Manchester—to recommit to the principles of justice, solidarity, and truth.
Let this tragedy not be a wedge, but a wake-up call. Let us mourn together, organise together, and build a future where no one is expendable.
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