By Ben Freeman

Yom Kippur is the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, the Day of Atonement, a day on which Jewish people around the world refrain from eating and drinking while repenting and praying for forgiveness.

This Yom Kippur, however, is also now a day of mourning for our community, after a terrorist attack at a synagogue claimed the lives of at least two people and injured others.

There is a history of Jewish holy days being exploited by the enemies of Jews; famously, the Yom Kippur War in 1973 started as a surprise attack on the Jewish State by its neighbouring enemies, and the October 7th attacks in 2023, perpetrated by Hamas, corresponded with the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah.

Again today, Jews are killed on the holiest day of the year - this time in the UK, at a place of worship.

Of course, today’s attack will be blamed on the perpetrator, but many will ask why our community’s concerns haven’t been taken more seriously, and why........

© LBC