Jihad al-Shami, the attacker who carried out the Yom Kippur synagogue attack in Manchester, had recently been released on bail after being accused of rape and was due to appear in court soon, Britain’s Guardian reported Friday. According to the report, al-Shami was investigated over a rape earlier this year and had past convictions for several criminal offenses. Despite his record, he was not on the radar of British counterterrorism officials.
A vigil was held Friday near the Manchester synagogue, drawing several hundred people. Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, remembered in Israel for his hostile stance as foreign secretary, struggled to speak at the event as he was met with boos. “Shame on you!” people shouted, while one protester yelled: “You allowed this to happen.”
‘Shame on you’: UK Deputy PM Lammy booed during Manchester synagogue vigil
(Video: Reuters)
Lammy later wrote: “I heard the pain, anger and grief. We stand together with the Jewish community in sorrow and solidarity—and against antisemitism.”
Meanwhile, Britain’s Daily Mail reported that the attacker’s father, a surgeon who moved from Syria to the UK in the 1990s, had celebrated the Hamas-led massacre of Oct. 7. Faraj al-Shami sought to distance his family from the attack in a Facebook post: “We repudiate this attack and express deep shock and sorrow at what happened. Our hearts and thoughts are with the victims and their families. The family strongly condemns this despicable act against innocent civilians.” Yet over the past two years, he had voiced support for Hamas during the war in Gaza and even joined a pro-Palestinian demonstration. On the day of the massacre, he wrote: “The scenes broadcast by Hamas prove that Israel will ultimately be destroyed. These men show they are men of God. Keep your weapons safe and aim precisely. May God protect Palestine and its heroic people.”
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Manchester synagogue attacker Jihad al-Shami was due in court on rape charge
(Photo: Daily Mail)
Three days later, he wondered why other groups were not aiding Hamas: “Where is the resistance with rockets for Haifa? Our brothers in Palestine are openly asking for help.” He called for the release of elderly and child hostages but added: “What you did (Hamas) is a miracle. Do not harm them; they have no place in this war.”
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UK Deputy PM David Lammy booed at vigil, told ‘you let this happen’
(Photo: Hannah McKay /Reuters, Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
The Guardian also reported that British police are investigating whether al-Shami was behind death threats sent to a Conservative MP in 2012. Sources quoted in the paper said he had a criminal past but nothing that had marked him as a terrorism risk.