By Anjali Sharma
UNITED NATIONS – UN chief Antonio Guterres on Thursday has strongly condemned a deadly terrorist attack on a synagogue in Manchester, which left at least two worshippers dead on the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur, in a statement issued by UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric in New York.
According to news media reports, the suspected attacker also died, after being shot by police.
Three others are reportedly in a serious condition after the car and stabbing assault on the Heaton Park synagogue in the northern English city, media reported.
Guterres said in a statement “Houses of worship are sacred places where people can go to find peace,”.
He said “Targeting a synagogue on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, is particularly heinous.”
Media reports stated that video footage from outside the building which is around 4 miles north of the city centre in a large Jewish community showed the attacker lying on the ground after being shot by officers from Greater Manchester Police.
According to police officials, 2 arrests have been made in relation to the incident.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that extra police will be deployed at Jewish houses of worship across the country.
Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement, is devoted to repentance, reflection and seeking forgiveness.
Many worshippers spend much of the day in synagogue with special prayers to open and close what is a day of fasting.
Mr. Guterres extended his deepest condolences to the victims and their families in Manchester and beyond, wishing a swift recovery to the injured, the statement said.
“He stands in solidarity with the Jewish community and calls for those responsible to be brought to justice,” the statement added.
“The Secretary-General is deeply concerned by the alarming rise of antisemitism worldwide and stresses the urgent need to confront hatred and intolerance in all their forms,” the spokesman Mr. Dujarric told reporters in a regular briefing in New York
UN High Representative for monitoring antisemitism, Ángel Moratinos, issued a statement underlined that houses of worship should be places “where worshippers find solace and peace, not terror and fear.”
He said that as the senior official working to enhance a system-wide response, he reiterated his determination “to continue to stand-up and speak out against all acts of antisemitism.”
Mr. Moritanos was appointed as UN Special Envoy to combat Islamophobia in May this year.
