Police have formally identified the two men killed during Thursday’s synagogue rampage in north Manchester, naming them as 53-year-old Adrian Daulby and 66-year-old Melvin Cravitz in what the Jewish foreign ambassador described as antisemitism against the Jewish community.
The announcement has transformed the case from an unfolding emergency into a deeply personal tragedy for two families and a shaken Jewish community.
Officers confirmed on Friday morning that family liaison teams are supporting the bereaved while postmortem examinations are underway.
Both victims lived in Crumpsall, the neighbourhood where the synagogue stands, and were attending Yom Kippur prayers when the attacker struck.
In a statement, relatives of Mr Daulby said they were “heartbroken” and appealed for privacy, adding that they would now seek answers about how such violence could happen inside a place of worship.
The naming of the victims came less than 24 hours after 35-year-old Jihad al-Shamie, a British citizen of Syrian descent, drove a car into the synagogue grounds before launching a knife attack that lasted six minutes.
Police ended the assault by shooting at the attacker twice, leaving him in hospital under armed guard. Investigators later arrested three other suspects — two men in their 30s and a woman in her 60s — on suspicion of terrorism offences.
As shockwaves spread across Britain, the killings were swiftly framed as part of a disturbing escalation of antisemitism. Leaders across the political spectrum condemned the violence as an attack not only on Jews but on the very principles of community life. Prime minister Keir Starmer called the suspect “a vile individual who attacked Jews because they are Jews, and attacked Britain because of our values”.
The choice of target and timing has left many in the Jewish community feeling exposed. Yom Kippur is the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, when synagogues are filled with worshippers. To strike at such a moment was seen by police and community leaders as a deliberate act of antisemitism designed to inflict maximum pain.
Greater Manchester Police have insisted they will ensure extra protection around synagogues and Jewish schools in the coming days. Patrols have been intensified in Salford, Bury, and across north Manchester, where large Jewish populations live.
The force acknowledged that Jewish residents were already reporting feeling unsafe following rising levels of antisemitism linked to international conflicts and domestic extremism.
Community organisations reacted with sorrow and anger. The Board of Deputies of British Jews said the tragedy underscored the scale of antisemitism in modern Britain, pointing to record levels of abuse and threats logged over the past two years.
Marie van der Zyl, its president, said: “What we are witnessing is not isolated. Antisemitism has been rising in every form — online hatred, vandalism, intimidation on the streets — and now lethal violence. The naming of these two victims should be a turning point in how Britain responds.”
Rabbi Eli Rosen, who leads a nearby congregation, described the deaths as “an attack on every Jew in Britain”. He added that antisemitism no longer lurks on the margins but “has found confidence to appear openly, and to strike in daylight”.
Data from the Community Security Trust (CST) supports these warnings. Reports of antisemitism in the UK more than doubled in the aftermath of the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks in Israel, with incidents ranging from graffiti and harassment to physical assaults.
While the numbers had begun to decline, they remained significantly higher than pre-2023 levels. Now, with the latest killings, campaigners fear another surge.
For the families of Daulby and Cravitz, the statistics feel abstract compared with their personal loss. Yet both men have now become symbols of a wider battle against antisemitism.
Friends described Mr Cravitz as a retired accountant who volunteered regularly at community charities. Mr Daulby, a father of three, was remembered as “a kind soul who always looked out for neighbours”. Their names, confirmed publicly by police, anchor a tragedy that cannot be reduced to numbers or political arguments.
Security agencies have warned repeatedly that antisemitism is not only a matter of social cohesion but also a driver of terrorism. MI5 and counter-terrorism officers have been monitoring extremist networks where antisemitic rhetoric circulates alongside violent propaganda. Sources say al-Shamie was on the periphery of several online forums that glorified attacks on Jews and Western institutions.
Political leaders have promised urgent action. Starmer returned early from a European summit to chair a Cobra emergency meeting in Downing Street, pledging that antisemitism “will be confronted wherever it festers”. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Britain must prove it is “a country where Jews can live without fear”, while Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, warned that “failure to tackle antisemitism is failure to defend Britain”.
Beyond politics, ordinary residents of Manchester have expressed solidarity. Flowers and candles have been placed outside Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation, where the killings took place.
Interfaith groups held a vigil on Friday evening, calling the victims’ names aloud and pledging to reject antisemitism in all its forms. Muslim, Christian, Sikh, and Hindu leaders stood alongside rabbis in a symbolic show of unity.
Yet survivors of the attack have been left traumatised. Witnesses described chaos as worshippers tried to escape through side doors while others attempted to distract the assailant. For them, the fact that the attacker targeted a synagogue on the holiest day of the year reinforced the conviction that antisemitism was central to his motives.
The victims’ families now face the grim practicalities of funerals, complicated by coronial and police procedures. Detectives say they are mindful of Jewish customs requiring burial within 24 hours where possible, but postmortems and forensic tests may delay the process. Officers promised to act with “cultural sensitivity” as investigations continue.
Experts on extremism argue that Britain is facing a pivotal moment. Dr Hannah Rosenfeld, a researcher at King’s College London, said: “Antisemitism is the oldest hatred in Europe, but it mutates with every generation. What we are seeing now is antisemitism feeding on global conflicts, conspiracy theories, and social media echo chambers. It creates an environment in which violence becomes thinkable.”
For Jewish parents in Manchester, the attack has intensified difficult questions. Some have said they will no longer allow their children to walk to synagogue without adult escorts. Others are reconsidering whether to remain in certain neighbourhoods. The fear generated by antisemitism does not end when headlines fade; it reshapes everyday life.
As police continue piecing together how al-Shamie planned his assault, the naming of Daulby and Cravitz serves as a reminder that antisemitism is not an abstract debate but a lived danger. Their lives ended in a place meant for prayer and peace, a place targeted precisely because of the faith practiced within its walls.
In the days ahead, politicians will deliver speeches, police will patrol streets, and analysts will chart the rise of antisemitism in graphs and charts. But for families in Crumpsall, the loss is intimate and irreversible. Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz are more than victims; they are the names that now symbolise a warning: that antisemitism, if unchecked, does not stop at insults or threats but claims lives.
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