Stand with Jews. If Not Now then When?

I was writing up “the politics” of the last week or so as I have been at the Labour Party conference and I had gone to see Obama speak and then Thursday happened…

The murder of two British people, Melvin Cravitz and the security guard Adrian Daulby who gave his life to save many others at a synagogue in Manchester took place. The dreadful shock was that it was not a shock. On a day of prayer and fasting, the Day of Atonement, Jews were killed for being Jews.

This is a truly terrible thing. It is terrible that so many Jews knew it was coming and that it could have been any of them. And these people are prepared; they have been prepared for decades in ways that most of us remain somewhat ignorant about. I count myself among the ignorant, but I am curious.

Since the murder on Yom Kippur many Jews have explained eloquently how they feel and if there is ever a time we should listen to them, it is now.