(RNS) — After her synagogue was attacked, Mandy Bentley had nightmares about going back into the building, especially with her three children.
Nearly two months ago, an assailant rammed a car into people on their way to Yom Kippur services outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in Manchester, England, then got out and started stabbing several with a knife. Two synagogue members were killed in the Oct. 2 attack, one by the attacker, the other, accidentally, by the police. The alleged assailant, a 35-year-old Syrian-born U.K. citizen, was shot and killed by police.
“I was really unsure what I was going to do,” said Bentley, 38, a mother of two boys and a girl who lives in Manchester. “I had really bad anxiety over, like, what will happen? I won’t be able to protect them. How would I save my children?”
The synagogue attack in northern England was just the latest in a series of violent attacks on Jews this year. But services have recently resumed in the synagogue’s sanctuary and security has been beefed up outside. Alongside private security guards, more community members have volunteered for patrols, said Rob Kanter, the synagogue’s vice president.
Mandy Bentley of Manchester, England, with her three children. (Photo courtesy of Mandy Bentley)
High security has been a feature of British Jewish life for three decades now. Nearly all synagogues have electronic metal gates and either professional guards and/or volunteers at the entrance. Visitor …