Rise in antisemitic incidents after Manchester synagogue attack

Dozens of antisemitic incidents were recorded following the deadly Manchester synagogue attack, according to a new report.

The Community Security Trust (CST), which monitors antisemitism in the UK, said 40 were recorded on 2 October last year - the day of the attack - and a further 40 the day after, more than half of which involved direct reactions to the deadly attack. These were the highest daily totals in 2025.

Melvin Cravitz, 66, and Adrian Daulby, 53, were killed in the attack at Heaton Park Hebrew Synagogue in Crumpsall.

Father-of-three Mr Cravitz was stabbed to death by terrorist Jihad al Shamie, while Mr Daulby, a member of the congregation, died from a gunshot to the chest fired by an armed police officer who was scrambled to the scene

It was the first fatal antisemitic terror attack in the UK since the CST started recording incidents in 1984.

The CST said three of the reported incidents on 2 and 3 October involved "face-to-face taunting and celebration of the attack to Jewish people", and 39 were antisemitic social media posts referencing the attack, abusive responses to public condemnations of the attack from Jewish organisations and individuals, or antagonistic emails sent to Jewish people and institutions.

Overall, 3,700 anti-Jewish hate incidents were recorded in 2025 - up 4% on the 3,556 incidents recorded in the year before - a record high of more than 200 cases recorded in every calendar month for the first time.

This is the second-highest annual total ever recorded, after the 4,298 antisemitic incidents reported in 2023, the year after Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel.

Reports of abusive behaviour made up the majority - 83% or 3,086 anti-Jewish hate reports - which were at their highest for any year aside from 2023.

There were 217 cases of damage and desecration to Jewish property, including damage to the homes and vehicles of Jewish people and to synagogues, last year - up 38% from 157 in 2024.

There was also a spike in reported anti-Jewish hate incidents following the Bondi Beach killings in Sydney in December, the CST said.

The highest daily incident totals in December came with 16 incidents on the day of the attack - 14 December - and 19 and 15 incidents in the two days after.

Lord John Mann, the government's independent adviser on antisemitism, said the latest figures overall were "deeply alarming and illustrate the unrelenting nature of antisemitism in our country today".

Dave Rich, director of police at CST, told Sky News there was a large spike in antisemitic incidents after Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel in 2023, and levels haven't really dropped significantly since then.

He said the kind of incidents reported to CST are verbal abuse, shouted at ordinary Jewish people on the street, hate mail and phone calls to Jewish organisations and Jewish synagogues.

"We receive thousands of reports every year that don't make it into our statistics. What we're looking for is when Jewish people or organisations are targeted because they are Jewish or where antisemitic language is used," he explained.

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Mr Rich said that there is a feeling in most Jewish communities that the police and CPS could be doing more to prosecute antisemitic hate crimes, and people aren't getting the support and protection they need against antisemitism.

He said: "We need a more robust approach to the kind of extremism that drives antisemitism. Jewish people in Britain used to be able to go about their lives without ever thinking about antisemitism, and now it's the topic of conversation around every dinner table. That's new.

"It feels for a lot of Jewish people like we're in a different world now, the atmosphere is different, the climate has changed for Jewish people and the amount of antisemitism is part of that."

(c) Sky News 2026: Rise in antisemitic incidents after Manchester synagogue attack