Growing up in fear: Jewish children facing anti-terror drills at school as safety concerns rise

Already living in a world where high fences and volunteer security guards are the norm, the attack by Jihad Al Shamie, which claimed the lives of Melvin Cravitz, 66, and Adrian Daulby, 53, brought real-life terror to the streets where they walk to school.

Amanda Bomsztyk is the Northern Regional Director of the Community Security Trust (CST), she told LBC the need for security is wrong: “It's ridiculous, really. But for us, it's like normal. We've kind of normalised it.

“After October 7th the community was very fearful, more than ever. This was like nothing before, and the amount of parents who didn’t want to send kids to school, reluctant to go to the shops or the synagogue, but we just do whatever it takes. We improved security to enable people to go about their daily lives, but it’s wrong.

“Somebody asked me the other day, how do the children feel going to school like this? And I said, actually, the children probably don't even think about it. They think it's normal, which is really bad. But the parents and the teachers, the security at the synagogues, they're the ones that realise the implications, that having to have high fences and doors and security is not acceptable. We're the only community in the United Kingdom that has to have this and it's just not acceptable."

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On a regular basis, children in Jewish schools are undertaking security drills to prepare them in the event of an antisemitic attack.

Naomi Finlay is a mother of four living close to the Heaton Park synagogue, she told LBC: "For the past few years, I've always been very much on edge.

“If I'd hear a siren, I'd jump to the window and see which direction it was going in. Is it going in the direction of the kids’ school? Then I would like start checking my phone if everything's okay. If it was going in the other direction, I'd relax a bit and be like, okay, it's not them this time. But it was always, always in the back of my mind.

“I’ve got children who go to Jewish schools who have what they call ‘invacuation drills’, so when a drill goes off, they lock the classroom doors, put the blinds down, push all the table and chairs up against the door so nobody can come in. They hide wherever they can hide in stationery cupboards or in bathrooms, wherever they happen to be at the time, just because of the religion they happen to be born into.

“I've had my children leaving the synagogue alone, people shouting at them on the street, taking their blazer off that's got Jewish writing on because they're too scared to walk through the street with it.

“Personally, I think the Yom Kippur attack was definitely a turning point in sense of feeling quite isolated and frightened and overwhelmed. I don't want to not allow my kids to do anything, and I feel like keeping them locked away is only going to instil more fear in them.

Amanda told LBC: “Psychologically, within the schools, we get asked often whether it's appropriate or whether it's safe for a child to walk around or an adult to walk around with a head covering on, with a kippah or to walk around with a Star of David on.

“I would never hide my identity, and we would say to people, you should feel comfortable in your identity, but if you don't, if it's going to make you more comfortable and you feel safer, then do that, but try not to put yourself in a situation that you're going to feel like that.

“We've had reports of people who walk down the streets and had their kippah knocked off their heads been called things."

In a call to Shelagh Fogarty on LBC, 16-year-old Sacha from Finchley revealed his fears, he said: “I go to a Jewish school and I see police outside my school and security checking the buses, I think it's just really sad. That is what our city has come to.

“Over the past two years since October 7th, (security has) really increased and since the Heaton Park synagogue attack it's even increased more. We’ve had a few drills and I think it's just sad to see how my year and all the years are just hiding under their tables once a month. It's just crazy. Just in case something like this were ever to happen.

“Going outside in my kippah, I have to turn back every 10 seconds to see if any anything's behind me. It's just always in my head and it's just I'm scared to go out being Jewish.

“I've sent an email to the Prime Minister a few months ago. I got a response from one of his advisors, and they said they had passed on to the Home Office. Two months later I still haven't heard the response. I don't know, maybe they're busy, but I just think it's like sad to see when a person emails in, you have the time to respond.”

Following the attacks in Manchester and Bondi Beach, the Met and Greater Manchester Police have said they will arrest people holding placards and chanting the phrase "globalise the intifada" - an Arabic word for uprising.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, told LBC they are continuing to do what they can to support the Jewish community and to make them feel safe, he said: “It's about always understanding the kind of context of the times that we're in and the events that are happening. So obviously, when the terrorist attack happened in Australia last week immediately, again, had very real impact here and people's concerns and anxiety since the October 2nd attack.

“If people put themselves in the shoes of the Jewish community, these are really challenging times for people. We cannot have intimidation of people or incitement in any way, shape or form, and I think it's really clear that people are feeling that and therefore there has to be a police response. We want everybody to be safe, and this is a city that obviously prides itself on free speech and the right to protest that goes back centuries, and we've defended people's right to do that over the last few years but it's got to be done with a regard for how other people are feeling.

“But equally, Islamophobia has been on the rise as well, and we'll be equally tough about anyone who incites hatred or violence against our Muslim community. So, it's a balance always and a difficult issue, but I think GMP are getting the balance right.”

Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, Sir Stephen Watson, said: "The words and chants used, especially in protests matter and have real world consequences. We have consistently been advised by the CPS that many of the phrases causing fear in Jewish communities don’t meet prosecution thresholds. Now, in the escalating threat context, we will recalibrate to be more assertive.

"We know communities are concerned about placards and chants such as “globalise the intifada” and those using it at future protest or in a targeted way should expect the Met and GMP to take action. Violent acts have taken place, the context has changed - words have meaning and consequence. We will act decisively and make arrests."