"In the face of loss, our community remains steadfast, determined to defend Israel's right to exist in security and peace, and determined to confront antisemitism wherever it appears.”
He also criticised the “despicable” protests in support of Palestine Action on Saturday, which he claimed were “almost gloating over the Yom Kippur attack”, before continuing: “I speak to you today having just returned from a solidarity visit to Manchester.
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Board President Phil Rosenberg called for 'Jewish joy' and 'Jewish pride' in the face of antisemitism[Missing Credit]
"I spent Shabbat with the Heaton Park Hebrew congregation. It was one of the most inspiring experiences of my life. After the most deadly attacks on British Jews since medieval times, we mourned together, we held each other and we cried together.
"But you know what else? We pray together, we sang together, we even danced together around the synagogue. That is the essence of Jewish spirit.
"Our response to antisemitic terror is Jewish joy, it's Jewish pride.”
Keith Black, from the JLC, added: “For the British Jewish community, [the Gaza War] is not and never was a distant conflict happening thousands of miles away. It is a conflict that is about us, the Jewish people, wherever we may live.
"And on Thursday, for the first time in our recent history, Jews in this country were killed for being Jews.
"We feared, even as the pogrom was taking place two years ago now, that the hatred driving it would not stay contained in the Middle East, that it would spill over onto our streets here in Britain. And two years on, antisemitism in this country is out of control.”
Mandie Winston, CEO of UJIA, used her speech to read aloud the names of all the hostages, dead and alive, with links to the UK, as well as those Britons killed during the October 7 attacks.
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Nova Festival survivor Shaun Lemel also addressed the crowd[Missing Credit]
In a recorded message from Israel, British-Israeli former hostage Emily Damari said it was “hard to watch” footage of anti-Israel protests during her captivity, but said she was buoyed by seeing the community rally to demand the release of the hostages, saying: “I knew I wasn’t alone.”
"All I ask of you, is to make sure you use your voice, because it’s your most powerful tool,” she went on. “Make sure [the hostages] hear you, we cannot give up on them. Bring them home now.”
Likewise, Shaun Lemel, a survivor of the Nova Festival massacre, recalled how he was dragged to safety by a group of friends after fainting during the attack.
"I am standing here today, but I could have easily been murdered or, like 251 others, kidnapped,” he said, fighting back tears.
"It took me a week to step outside my parents home...but I managed to rebuild myself.
"I want to build something meaningful out of the pain. I owe it to my friends who are no longer here, to live to the full, to love my country.
"Together we carry shared responsibility to stand against terror, to speak out against hate and to protect the values of life and humanity, that out enemies are trying to destroy.”
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Community figures lit 23 candles to commemorate the communities impacted by the October 7 attacks[Missing Credit]
And Sharone Lifschitz, whose father Oded died in captivity, called on the UK government and US President Trump to do all they could to end the war “so that by succot, we can sit in a succah of peace and cry in joy for the return of the living, and cry as we bury our dead”.
Meanwhile, Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis extended his thanks to the many non-Jewish attendees and those who had stood alongside the community against rising Jew hate.
He said: “We receive so much inspiration from your friendship, from your support. The Jewish people know that we are now not alone. Thank you, thank you for being with us during these trying times.
“Today we remember the determination of the Jewish people, despite everything that has happened, that we will guarantee with the help of Almighty God that, Am Yisrael Chai, we as a nation will continue to live on and to live on in even greater strength in the future.”
Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis speaks at a Stop the Hate memorial in Hendon, North London on October 4, 2025 (Image: Yochy Davis)[Missing Credit]
Mirvis also spoke on Saturday evening at a separate memorial organised by campaign group Stop the Hate.
He told the crowd in Hendon, North London: “We pray for an end to the suffering of the hostages.
"Please, God, may they all come home swiftly and safely. They are suffering so deeply, and their families are suffering so deeply, and the Jewish nation is suffering so deeply.
"You know, we might be one of the smallest nations on Earth, but we are definitely the largest family.”
