By Dianne Bourne

Copyright manchestereveningnews

When Raphi Bloom took a frantic call from a friend on Thursday morning at the scene of the terror attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, it was one he had dreaded for the past two years. Raphi was on his way to the synagogue in Crumpsall when his friend, who volunteers to help with security, alerted him to the atrocity taking place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, and urged him and his wife and children not to attend. Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, died in the attack at the synagogue on Middleton Road, at 9.30am on Thursday (October 2). Four other people were injured – three of them remain in hospital with serious injuries – with the suspect named by GMP as 35-year-old Jihad Al-Shamie , a British citizen of Syrian descent. Police say they are ‘working to understand the motivation’ for the attack. Manchester businessman Raphi is a member of the board of the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester and is now calling for action from the Government – who he believes have allowed a “tsunami of hatred” to grow against the Jewish community. He says Manchester city centre – and other city centres across the UK – have become “no go areas” for the Jewish community at weekends due to the Pro-Palestine protest marches that demonstrate agains Isreali attacks in Gaza. Raphi, 55, from North Manchester, says: “This has been coming for two years, ever since October 7. It’s absolutely horrific that we have faced a tsunami of Jew hate – students attacked and intimidated, online abuse, physical abuse, mistreatment in the NHS , we face it with hate marches in our city centre every week with people comparing Jews to Nazis.” Raphi adds: “The Prime Minister has offered words of support saying we can’t stand for this, but actions speak louder than words, he’s not acted against these hate marches. I understand we have freedom of expression, but when these marches are littered with signs calling Jews Nazis, it makes our city centres no go areas on weekends. “Even as the Prime Minister was giving a statement about the terrorist attack [last night] there’s a pro Palestinian demonstration outside Downing Street calling him a Zionist.” On Thursday night pro-Palestine marches went ahead in cities across the UK, including in Manchester city centre, culminating at Manchester Central Library, just hours after the terror attack in Crumpsall. The Home Secretary Shaban Mahmood has today slammed the decision of organisers to go ahead, calling it “un-British” and “dishonourable” in the wake of the attack. She told Sky News: “I think that behaviour is fundamentally un-British. I think it’s dishonourable. I would have wanted those individuals to just take a step back. “The issues that are driving those protests have been going on now for some time; they don’t look like they’re going to come to an end any day soon. “They could have stepped back and just given a community that has suffered deep loss just a day or two to process what has happened and to carry on with the grieving process.” Raphi adds: “Our community wants peace in the Middle East, we want an end to War. We don’t ever want to see that imported on to the streets of Manchester, we are not Isreali citizens, but what we see is a culmination of two years of people wanting to attack the Jewish commuity that has not been cracked down enough by the government. “We’ve been warning about this for two years and there’s a strong feeling that our voices have not been heard, this Jew hatred has been allowed to fester and enough is enough. Our political leadership needs to take action.” He says: “We need to act against Jew hatred. When are the Government going to act upon it? And act with strength? “We now have a situation that people feel emboldened enough to attack people going to a synagogue. It’s culminated in the horrific murder of people on the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.” Raphi adds that talks have been ongoing betwen the Jewish Representative Council and the Muslim Community, and just two months ago a declaration was signed in Manchester to “commit to talking to each other civilly and respectfully.” But he adds: “We are the only faith community that has to have security on a regular basis and that’s a very sad reflection of the situation. “We are proud Mancunian Jews, our community has contributed so much to this city, yet we are the only faith community that needs this level of protection.” Raphi is also the director of fundraising for The Fed charity that supports the Jewish community, and says in the coming days they will be there to help. He says: “There will be a lot of members of the community very shaken up, it’s going to be about supporting those people in the community with mental health issues, we will absolutely be there for them to do that. “It has made many Jewish people fearful and question whether they have a future in our country, is there a future for our children and grandchildren because of this hatred everywhere? “We’re proud British Jews, you only have to look at the mayors, businesspeople, high sheriffs in Manchester and beyond who are Jewish. “We are proud Brits, in the synagogue today we say a prayer for the welfare of the King and Queen and now is the time for our elected officials to take action.”