Rabbis at two South Manchester synagogues have been given escorts by their congregants on Shabbos morning to protect them from anti-Semitic attacks. Rabbi Joel Portnoy from Hale Barns and Rabbi Yitzchok Rubin from South Manchester synagogue in Bowdon have both been subjected to abuse while going to and from their respective synagogues.
Now they have organised rotas of congregants to walk with them. These have involved groups of youths shouting racist abuse from vehicles at families walking to the synagogue on Shay Lane on Shabbos and egg-throwing. Greater Manchester Police patrols generally have been stepped up in Hale Barns following a number of antisemitic and hate-crime incidents.
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3 Responses
This is how it should be anyway. In Europe before the war, the Rav would never ever walk to and back from shul without escort. Rav Moshe Feinstein in his modesty hated it, but when he was a Rav in Russia he was always walked by the Shamash. I was told by a Dutch elderly person that before the war the Rav of Amsterdam was always walked to and from shul by his congregants! We have lost that feeling of Kovod Hatorah. Something positive caused by these anti-semites.
The greater issue is that anti-Semitism is on the rise in UK, and they are getting more brazen about it. It started as “anti-Israeli occupation” but that is only a cover for Jew hating.
As the Rav envolved may I just say that we have had escorts walking with us for many years……The recent events are just indicitive of the Golus we live in and has been the case for a long while….These “screamers” are usually young fools who are a bit worse for wear after a day spent in the pub….I told the newspaper that called me for a comment that we are not yet living in Warsaw nor are we any more vulnerable than any other hiemisha yiden in England….as one of your commentors has pointed out…we are seeing a large growth in anti semitism in the UK, something that must be addressed by all jews in all area’s…..British society has sleeped walked into this situation, where a minority has brought its poison into the mainstream media…..Having just come back from Eretz Yesroil one must ask what the future is for our community…but be that as it may….the headlines about Rabbi’s needing security doesnt help the situation….let us all pray for the Geulah Shlema and may we all be spared from all fear and danger…..