The murders and attacks on Jews praying in their Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester yesterday are heartbreaking, deeply distressing, and concerning for all of humanity. We must consider how we live with one another in the world, in the UK, and in our own University. It is never ok to take innocent life and drive fear into communities, and it is never ok to cause Jews, or any people, to feel unsafe in their home, neighbourhood and country. While we do not yet know the provenance of Manchester attacker’s motives, we do know that Antisemitism has risen in the last few years, along with Islamophobia and Anti-Arab sentiment. Jewish voices are saying, ‘while this is shocking, it is not surprising,’ given the tone of violence that is becoming more commonplace in society. We are not passively visited by a polarising dynamic; we are all caught in the dynamic and must choose how we respond within it. A tone of violence will lead to threatening behaviour and actual physical violence; this is indeed shocking and sadly not surprising. It is a terrible reality that students, chaplains, and staff do suffer verbal abuse and physical assault on or near our campus, usually by people who are not members of the University. It is also true that all of us are operating on high alert, ricocheting off the reactive behaviours of one another.We need to care for one another and look out for each other. We need to mind our words, the images we employ, and the feelings and fears we project that obstruct our ability to look at one another and see our neighbour. We need to be disciplined in where we channel our energy so that it goes where it is needed to support life, instead of spilling out unmastered to fuel violence.In late September, we hosted Daoud Nassar at the Chaplaincy, a Palestinian farmer who struggles to protect his land. He operates under the banner ‘We Refuse to be Enemies’, drawing on four principles: we refuse to be victims, we pursue justice, we refuse to hate, we operate differently because of our faith. Underneath all of this, he attends always to living with faith, hope and love. It is a discipline to cultivate faith, hope and love within and among us. Jewish voices have said in the wake of the Synagogue attack in Manchester how important and strengthening it is when neighbours reach out to them in love and concern. This is one way that we keep faith with one another and keep hope alive. I am sure we can do this at Edinburgh, too. We need to do it together and to acknowledge that sometimes it takes courage because we need to disarm our own selves. The first step is pausing our initial fearful reactiveness and allow a life-giving response to emerge instead. How else can we refuse to be victims, refuse to be haters, and refuse to enemies? Daoud Nassar calls his farm the Tent of Nations. He invites international volunteers to support the farm and community work, and by their presence provide global witness, solidarity, and protection.Let us, in our widely international University, provide global witness, solidarity and protection to one another, in faith, hope and love. Blessed are those who do not give up hope Blessed are those who refuse to hateBlessed are those who do not kill Blessed are those who refuse to separate between “us and them”Blessed are those who give life Blessed are those who seek peace rooted in justice Blessed are those who care and love to the endThis is the true power to change the world We are running training in ‘Responding Wisely to Uncertainty and Conflict’ at the Chaplaincy Centre, 10-11 October. Book here for tickets.The Memorial exhibition '80 candles' will be at the Chaplaincy Centre from mid-October:https://80candles.com/ This article was published on 2025-10-03
