The recent attack in Manchester, England, is a hard reminder that the threat of radical Islamic terrorism isn’t going away. On the day of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, a man named Jihad al Shamie used his truck to ram into a crowd outside a synagogue. Then he got out and began stabbing people. Two people were killed, and three were injured before police took him down.
During the attack, al Shamie actually called the police himself. He bragged about what he had done and pledged his loyalty to the Islamic State. He said, “I have killed two Jews in the name of the Islamic State.” That’s not just a crime — that’s terrorism, plain and simple.
It turns out the police accidentally shot one of the victims during the chaos. That’s tragic, and it shows how fast things can go wrong in a high-risk situation. But the blame for this violence lies squarely on the attacker, not the officers who were trying to stop him.
Al Shamie was a Syrian-born immigrant. He had a troubled history. He became more extreme during the COVID-19 lockdowns, isolating himself and diving deeper into radical beliefs. He married a British woman in 2022 while still married to someone else — which is illegal in the U.K. — and chased after other women online. One woman said he forced her to watch violent videos and later stalked her. All the red flags were there, but somehow, no one stopped him before he turned violent.
What makes this worse is that al Shamie lived in a part of Manchester where Jewish and Muslim neighborhoods sit side by side. Tensions have been rising there for years, especially with the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Witnesses said al Shamie shouted, “This is what you’re going to get for killing our children.” That was clearly a reference to the war in the Middle East. But no matter what happens overseas, there is no excuse for murdering innocent people attending a religious service.
Authorities say al Shamie acted alone. They call it a “lone wolf” attack, even though he pledged loyalty to ISIS. This is a pattern we’ve seen before. Terrorists with no direct link to ISIS still carry out attacks in its name. These people are inspired by propaganda, and they don’t need much to become violent. That’s why it’s so important to take every sign of radicalization seriously.
At the same time, British police are dealing with another case — two men on trial for planning an ISIS-inspired shooting against Jews in the same city. Police say there’s no connection between that plot and this attack, but it’s hard to ignore the pattern. Islamic extremism continues to target Jewish people in Europe, and the danger is real.
Let’s not forget, Manchester has seen this evil before. In 2017, a suicide bomber killed 22 people at an Ariana Grande concert. That attacker was also connected to ISIS and came from a radicalized family. It’s been eight years since then, and the threat still hasn’t gone away.
What happened in Manchester is a lesson for all of us. We cannot let political correctness blind us to real dangers. We cannot ignore the signs of radicalization. And we must support law enforcement and military personnel who stand between us and those who wish to do harm.
This is also a wake-up call for Western nations. Open borders and weak immigration policies have allowed too many dangerous individuals to slip through the cracks. We need stronger vetting, better surveillance, and leaders who are willing to call terrorism what it is — not make excuses for it.
The people of Manchester are grieving right now. They deserve justice, and they deserve to feel safe in their own neighborhoods. As veterans and patriots, we stand with them. And we won’t stay silent while radical hate continues to spread.
