The father of the man who executed the deadly attack on a synagogue in Manchester on Yom Kippur, Dr. Faraj al-Shami, who works as a surgical doctor in hospitals in Britain, was quick to condemn his son — but on social media he has repeatedly posted that he is waiting for Israel’s end and has expressed enthusiastic support for Hamas. “They are men of God on earth,” he wrote on October 7 and also shared a prayer for the victory of the terrorists who raided southern Israeli kibbutzes and communities near the Israel-Gaza border.
British media outlets exposed a series of anti-Jewish posts the father shared against Israel over the years — even before the war. The Daily Mail, for example, reported on numerous posts praising Hamas. In one of them, al-Shami wrote that he is waiting “to sip Arabic coffee” as he watches the “end of Israel.” Six months before the massacre he stressed in his posts that Israel will not hold out more than 80 years.
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Jihad al-Shami, the terrorist who carried out the Manchester attack
(Photo: From the Daily Mail)
In 2015, during the civil war in Syria, his country of origin, he repeatedly shared praise for the terrorist organization and its actions. He praised “the spirit, determination, faith and steadfastness” of Hamas fighters. Three years earlier he described Israel as “a sworn enemy. The head of the serpent and the source of destruction, division and injustice in our countries.” Throughout that time he resided in Britain.
In other posts he compared the actions of then-Syrian President Bashar Assad to those carried out by Hitler, but claimed that Assad’s actions were worse and justified the Nazi acts. “History will apologize to Hitler,” he wrote then. He frequently condemned ISIS’s actions against Syrians, but in one post he claimed “I might support the organization one day” — a comment he later retracted in light of global public opinion.
People around the scene of the Manchester attack react to the incident
(Video: Tamar Sebok)
The British Times published the posts Faraj al-Shami shared starting on the morning of the massacre. At the outbreak of the attack on Israel he hurried to call on Hamas fighters “to be careful and to aim their weapons precisely.” He also wrote that “these people are men of God on earth. No matter who leads them — they are the true compass of those who are certain of their victory. They prove beyond any doubt that Israel will not remain.”
Three days later he decided to tone down the celebrations somewhat and called on social media for the release of hostages, but only the elderly and the children. Conversely, he wrote: “What you did is a miracle by all standards. Do not harm them in a moment of anger, they have no place at the start of the liberation of al-Aqsa.”
During the war with Iran he cheered the Iranian rocket barrages and the strikes in Israel, writing “we are waiting for more.” Apart from that, he condemned the synagogue attack in Manchester, near which he had lived for several years. He said the family “distances itself from the attack. We are in shock at what happened.”
Two Jews lost their lives in the attack at the Heaton Park synagogue after Jihad al-Shami ran over and stabbed a group of worshippers and tried to break into the building itself. Melvyn Kravitz, 66, was murdered by the attacker, while Adrian Daulby, 53, prevented him from entering the synagogue and stabbing additional worshippers — and was accidentally shot dead by police. Four other people were injured, three of them seriously and still hospitalized.
According to reports, the attack began at 9:31 a.m. local time (11:31 a.m. Israel time), about half an hour after worshippers began to gather for Yom Kippur prayers; dozens were already there when the attacker al-Shami drove his vehicle into the group outside. He then exited the vehicle and began stabbing the worshippers; eyewitnesses at the scene said all those who were stabbed were Jews wearing kippot. He attempted to break into the synagogue, but the worshippers barricaded themselves inside. Initially there were reports he was wearing an explosive belt, but six minutes after the attack began he was shot dead by police.