Yoni Finlay's Voice Rises Above the Chaos as He Confronts the Evil that Attacked Manchester's Synagogue
In the early hours of Yom Kippur, Britain's holiest day, 39-year-old Manchester resident Yoni Finlay was preparing to sing a dawn prayer at his local synagogue in north Manchester. It was just another morning for Finlay, but for him and hundreds of other worshippers, it turned into a nightmare.
The sound of breaking glass pierced the air as two men stormed into Heaton Park shul. The attackers shouted vile threats towards Jewish people before one of them pulled out a knife and attempted to force his way inside.
Finlay rushed to the entrance to see that Bernard Agyemang, a security guard at the synagogue, was lying on the ground after being stabbed by another attacker, Andrew Franks, a volunteer security guard. Finlay joined in with other members of staff as they barricaded themselves behind reinforced glass doors.
"We were in the presence of evil," Finlay would later recall to the Guardian in his first interview since the attack. He described seeing an assailant shouting "I'm going to kill children" before he was shot by police who had arrived within seven minutes. Finlay himself had been struck in a chest and another worshipper, Adrian Daulby, died shortly after from a police bullet.
The day's deadly antisemitic assault left 3 people dead, with dozens more injured, including Yoni Finlay. Seven weeks into his recovery, he was still grappling with the aftermath of that horrific event.
Finlay expressed concern that normalising hatred and antisemitism in Britain had been allowed to fester under governments' policies and societal shifts.
In the early hours of Yom Kippur, Britain's holiest day, 39-year-old Manchester resident Yoni Finlay was preparing to sing a dawn prayer at his local synagogue in north Manchester. It was just another morning for Finlay, but for him and hundreds of other worshippers, it turned into a nightmare.
The sound of breaking glass pierced the air as two men stormed into Heaton Park shul. The attackers shouted vile threats towards Jewish people before one of them pulled out a knife and attempted to force his way inside.
Finlay rushed to the entrance to see that Bernard Agyemang, a security guard at the synagogue, was lying on the ground after being stabbed by another attacker, Andrew Franks, a volunteer security guard. Finlay joined in with other members of staff as they barricaded themselves behind reinforced glass doors.
"We were in the presence of evil," Finlay would later recall to the Guardian in his first interview since the attack. He described seeing an assailant shouting "I'm going to kill children" before he was shot by police who had arrived within seven minutes. Finlay himself had been struck in a chest and another worshipper, Adrian Daulby, died shortly after from a police bullet.
The day's deadly antisemitic assault left 3 people dead, with dozens more injured, including Yoni Finlay. Seven weeks into his recovery, he was still grappling with the aftermath of that horrific event.
Finlay expressed concern that normalising hatred and antisemitism in Britain had been allowed to fester under governments' policies and societal shifts.
... i feel so helpless when ppl can just walk into a place of worship and try to hurt others cuz of their background or beliefs... it's like, we're all human beings here, deserving of respect n kindness 
... what's crazy is how society's normalized this kinda hate speech & stuff, and now ppl are like "oh, it's okay" 
... but for those who've been affected by such violence, it's NOT OKAY 
... we need 2 take a step back n think about the impact of our words & actions on each other's lives 
! This whole thing in Manchester's synagogue is like a setup, you know? Like, what were the chances of all these people bein' there on that particular day? It's too convenient, if you ask me. And now we got Yoni Finlay talkin' about how normalizin' hatred has been allowed to happen in Britain... I'm thinkin' it's more than just coincidence 
. What if this is some kinda wake-up call for all the stuff they're tryin' to push through without us noticin'? The gov't might be tryin' to distract us from somethin' bigger... I don't know, man, my mind's racin' with possibilities 
.
. Yoni Finlay's got some serious guts for speaking out like that 
, and yeah, I can see why he'd be worried about antisemitism just festering away in the background. It's wild to think about how quickly society can shift when we let hatred seep into our culture 
.
... but I guess you never know what's going to happen until it happens, right? 
Oh man, this is so sad 
. The fact that he got stabbed by Andrew Franks, another security guard, is absolutely horrific 
. And the shooter getting shot by police within seven minutes is still unbelievable 
.
.
. But what really gets me is that Yoni Finlay believes that normalising hatred and antisemitism has been allowed to fester under certain policies 
. Let's all try to spread some positivity and understanding 
instead of hate 
.
, but a symptom of a bigger problem. we need to have open conversations, listen to each other's perspectives, and work towards creating a more inclusive environment... for everyone 
.
.
. I mean, what is going on? Can't we all just get along and respect each other's differences? 
. We need to start having more open conversations about hate speech and how we can prevent these kinds of attacks from happening in the first place 
.
I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that we're having to have conversations like this in 2025. Like, where was our society when Andrew Franks was roaming around with a knife, thinking it's okay to attack people because of their faith? 
. It's just heartbreaking that something like this can happen in a place of worship, where people go to find peace and community 
i remember when people were more chill about everything, like back in the 90s when everyone was all about peace and love 
what's going on with our society? 
"Hey, let's see how many people we can hurt with some subtle changes and then wonder why 
". Give the attackers a participation trophy for showing up! 
. It's time to hold hands and work towards creating an inclusive Britain where such attacks can never happen again 
. And can we talk about how quick the police were? 7 minutes is just crazy fast 
. This attack highlights so many issues, from antisemitism to security measures 
. Let's all be honest with ourselves and work towards creating a more compassionate world 
, like what's going on in our society? We're living in a world where hate crimes are becoming more & more accepted as if it's just part of the norm now 
We need change, like now