British counter-terrorism police thwarted a suspected terrorist plot to target the Jewish community in northern England during the High Holy Days, the force announced Tuesday.
Police said two men, aged in their 30s, were arrested in central Manchester on Sunday under counterterrorism legislation, with searches also carried out in Salford and Liverpool.
“This has been a long-running proactive investigation which has led to the disruption of what we believe to be a plot to target the Jewish community in the Manchester area,” Vicki Evans, senior national coordinator for counter terrorism policing, said in a statement.
She said detectives did not believe that there was any ongoing threat, but police in Manchester said they had stepped up a policing operation during the upcoming Jewish High Holy Days.
The two men were being held in custody in London while further investigations are being carried out.
Two worshippers killed in synagogue attack on Yom Kippur last year
Almost a year ago, two Jewish worshippers were killed in an attack on a synagogue in Manchester during Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, which was committed by a British citizen of Syrian descent who had said he was acting for Islamic State.
“We are acutely aware this news will cause further concern to the Jewish community, as well as the wider public, especially given the significant High Holy Day period,” Evans said.
“I want to reassure them we are working incredibly closely with colleagues in Greater Manchester Police and partners to ensure we’re doing everything we can to keep them and the wider public safe.”
Jewish security organization Community Security Trust called the news “utterly chilling, coming so close to the anniversary of the terrorist attack at Heaton Park Synagogue last year.”
“We have been in close communication with police in Manchester and around the country throughout Yom Kippur, as we are continuously as part of our security operation over the High Holy Days,” CST said.
‘Essentially nothing has changed in law enforcement policy’
Campaign Against Antisemitism said the attacks keep coming because “essentially nothing has changed in law enforcement policy since this time last year.”
“The Government has found plenty of time for signaling faux virtue on foreign policy but has yet to take the fight to Islamists and other extremists fuelling the life-and-death antisemitism crisis right here at home.”
Christian Cantor, Israel’s charge d’affaires in the UK, thanked the police and security services for their vigilance and firm action, but simultaneously called out the “wider climate.”
“Deliberate Anti-Israeli policies together with Anti-Zionist and Antisemitic rhetoric contribute to an atmosphere in which extremists feel emboldened to act against Jews,” he said.
“We must stand firmly against antisemitism and extremism in all their forms.”
