Standing ovations for Heaton Park Rabbi as Board holds solidarity plenary meeting in Manchester
Rabbi Daniel Walker of Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester, which suffered a deadly terror attack on Yom Kippur, was received with multiple standing ovations as he addressed the Board of Deputies plenary in Manchester.
The Board had repurposed its regular plenary as a solidarity event with Heaton Park and the Manchester Jewish community.
Speaking to Deputies, Rabbi Walker said: “Heaton Park Shul has not felt alone. In the greatest darkness, people were there for us. I will always remember the trauma but I will always remember the kindness as well.
Addressing Board of Deputies President, Phil Rosenberg, he added: “Phil, when you came on that very first Friday night it was tremendously meaningful because it told us that we weren’t alone. I felt that the Jewish community was here with us. I will remain forever grateful for that.”
In his introduction to Deputies, Board of Deputies President Phil Rosenberg reflected on the current challenges in the aftermath of the Heaton Park attack and the delicate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas: “We are in a moment of unprecedented challenge. But we also see the ‘green shoots’ of opportunity.”
He praised Rabbi Walker and the Heaton Park community for their response to the terror attack, which took the lives of Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz, and seriously injured three others. Recounting his experience visiting Heaton Park the Shabbat following the attack, he said that “We mourned together, we cried together and we held each other, but we also prayed together, sang together, and even danced together – this is the true spirit of Jewish resilience”.
The Board President spoke of the need for a major shift in the dial in the Government’s response to fighting antisemitism. He said that the Board will demand from the Government a comprehensive response to the challenge, which builds on the important but disparate announcements made since the Yom Kippur attack. Deputies dedicated a special session to discussing a “Comprehensive Government Strategy on Antisemitism”, which the Board has been working on with the CST, JLC and UJS in the aftermath of the Yom Kippur. The recommendations will be finalised and presented to Government over the coming days.
Phil noted the relief at the release of the living hostages but said that the Board would continue to advocate for the remaining bodies still left in Gaza to be returned to their families.
Importantly, he said that Hamas must be disarmed and removed from Gaza. Citing Hamas ceasefire violations, its withholding of hostage bodies and its attacks on its own people, he said that important efforts to deliver aid and begin the reconstruction in Gaza risked being set back if Hamas continues to pose a risk to peace and stability.
He also urged Deputies to “seize the moment” of a possible ‘peace dividend’.
He spoke of outreach he had received from senior Arab diplomats in the last week and his desire for a focus on “expanding the Abraham Accords” and working towards “lasting peace and security for Israelis, Palestinians, and the wider Middle East”.
He also spoke of the need to expand interfaith dialogue with Muslim communities, to strengthen partnerships and marginalise extremists.
There was then a first in the Board’s 265-year history, as this was the first time the plenary had been addressed by an Imam. Imam Nasser Kurdy and Rabbi Dovid Lewis speak together in schools and run an interfaith podcast called, “The Rabbi, the Imam, and the Power of Dialogue”.
Sharing their experiences, the Rabbi and Imam asked for Deputies to support their call for other pairs of rabbis and imams to come forward and join their initiative.
The plenary followed a weekend visit to Manchester communities by senior Board of Deputies figures, including the President, Vice President Andrew Gilbert, Vice President Jeremy Michelson and Community Engagement Manager Sara Radivan, who between them visited Heaton Park, Shaare Hayim, Menorah, Stenecourt, Bowdon, Hale, Shaare Shalom and Yeshurun synagogues. The President and Sara Radivan also met the Focus Foundation and Bury South MP Christian Wakeford. Vice President Andrew Gilbert also visited the Manchester Jewish Museum.