What drives people to celebrate the death of Jews?

Behind these shocking statistics are ordinary Jews suffering because of hate. Behind every number is a Jewish person who has been abused, threatened, assaulted, and this year, murdered.

There is a risk that CST’s vital work has become routine. We have become used to their volunteers protecting us at events and are sadly no longer shocked by the numbers released in their reports. However, 2025 was a game changer because of one of these 3,700 incidents: the terrorist attack at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in Manchester on Yom Kippur. The murders of Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby as they attended synagogue marked the worst day for Anglo-Jewry since the Second World War.

No amount of crisis planning can prepare you for a phone call with a colleague in Manchester who tells you he only knows his father is alive because he saw him on the news. And nothing prepares you for the image of a Rabbi standing outside his British Shul in a blood-stained kittel – the white robe worn on Yom Kippur to symbolise purity and repentance.

Not only was this the first fatal antisemitic terror attack since CST began recording incidents in 1984, but it also triggered the highest daily antisemitic incident totals of the year. CST logged 40 incidents on the day of the attack and a further 40 incidents the following day, over half of which directly referenced or celebrated the atrocity. On three occasions, perpetrators celebrated the murders face-to-face with Jewish people.

Jewish men, women and children, in the immediate aftermath of a terror attack on their community, were confronted by individuals who rejoiced in their grief. How terrifying must that have been? How morally bankrupt must someone be to behave with such cruelty towards fellow human beings?

CST also recorded a smaller, but notable, spike in anti-Jewish hate following the massacre of 15 Jews on Bondi Beach on the first night of Chanukah. Once again, the death of Jews, even on the other side of the world, became cause for celebration, conspiracy and abuse directed at Jews in this country.

In the wake of these deadly attacks, Jewish communities everywhere are perceived as vulnerable, and antisemites grasp at the opportunity to pile on with their prejudice as Jewish people collectively grieve, process and rebuild. When Jews are attacked, some cannot resist framing it as deserved, inevitable, or even righteous.

Antisemitism has become normalised in modern Britain and antisemites are emboldened to be more brazen, more extreme and more violent than ever before.

This is not a Jewish problem but one which strikes at the heart of British values. Britain likes to think of itself as a tolerant country. And in many ways, it is. The outpouring of solidarity after the Heaton Park attack mattered. But solidarity after the fact is not enough. Neither is more security. If we are serious about confronting antisemitism and preventing antisemitic violence, we must tackle this extremist hatred at its core.

My message to government at all levels is clear. The answer can no longer be more security, thicker doors or higher fences. While that message has been received since Yom Kippur, much more needs to be done. I acknowledge that there is no overnight solution, but this is a crisis for our community and urgency is required.

Because the question is not only what drives people to celebrate the death of Jews. It is also what we, as a country, are prepared to do to ensure that Jews are never murdered simply for being Jewish again.

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Russell Langer is Director of Public Affairs at the Jewish Leadership Council.

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