Debate contribution: Manchester Synagogue Attack: Implications for the Jewish Community in Northern Ireland
Debate contribution by Mr Brian Kingston on .
- MLA
- Mr Brian Kingston
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 6 October 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Matters of the Day
- Heading
- Manchester Synagogue Attack: Implications for the Jewish Community in Northern Ireland
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5156376
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Last Thursday, the Hebrew congregation of Heaton Park in Manchester was targeted in a diabolical act of terrorism on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish religious calendar. The attacker drove a vehicle into pedestrians, then launched a knife attack on worshippers, two of whom were killed, with others injured before the attacker himself was shot dead by the police. The victims have been named as Adrian Daulby, aged 53, and Melvin Cravitz, aged 66. Tragically, one of the victims was hit by police gunfire as worshippers held the synagogue door closed in order to save lives. The 35-year-old attacker came to the UK from Syria as a child, along with his family. His father issued a statement condemning his son's terrorist attack last Thursday. It later emerged, however, that the father had previously posted on social media praising the terrorist actions of Hamas on 7 October 2023, saying:
"Men like these prove that they are Allah's men on earth".
In all debates about the situation in Israel and Gaza since October 2023, I and others have warned that strong words here will have little impact on the situation there but will have a major impact on community relations here, particularly for our vulnerable Jewish community.
What happened in Manchester is a realisation of those worst fears of antisemitism: Jewish people killed purely because of their religion. In Northern Ireland, we have also witnessed terrorist attacks on places of worship. We think of the appalling murders at Darkley Pentecostal Church and the murders of Gerard Kiely and Kevin Ballentine outside St Brigid's Church in Belfast, and we remember Mary Travers. Our Jewish community in Northern Ireland is small but vulnerable. Phillip Brett and I greatly value the synagogue in our North Belfast constituency, and we have been honoured to attend events there over the years. Since last Thursday, I have spoken to members of the Hebrew congregation to reiterate our support and to the PSNI commander for north Belfast about security arrangements for that community. Sadly, we have witnessed antisemitism in Belfast, with attacks on the headstones of Jewish graves in Belfast city cemetery and the removal by a community group of a blue plaque in Cliftonpark Avenue marking the birthplace of —.
This is relevant to that, in that words have impact here.
The blue plaque marked the birthplace of Chaim Herzog, who served two terms as president of Israel, an honoured position that is now held by his son Isaac.
Let us not be blind to the dangers of intolerance and antisemitism in society in Northern Ireland. Let us be mindful of the impact of words, and let us support the needs of our cherished Jewish community.
450 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.16 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- Criteria met: Identity framing (0.62).
- The text criticises or condemns the framing or division (0.93).
- Subject area: Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.62 | Yes |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.04 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.20 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.05 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.14 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.31 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.16 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing | 0.04 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it (chosen) | 0.93 |
| Adopts it | 0.02 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 1.00 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:20 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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