On Thursday morning in Manchester, UK, an individual rammed a car into a group of people gathered outside a synagogue on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year for Jews. The suspect then exited the vehicle and stabbed a member of the public. Local police arrived minutes later and engaged the man believed to be the attacker, shooting and killing him. Two people were killed in the attack, with at least three others listed in serious condition. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that security around synagogues would be stepped up across the country in response to the attack, which has been declared an act of terrorism by local authorities.

Europe has indeed seen attacks on houses of worship explode, especially since the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel that claimed over 1,200 lives. That year, Molotov cocktails were hurled at a Jewish community center in Berlin, Germany. Last year, police killed a man who set fire to a synagogue in Rouen, France in May. Then in August, another man garbed in a Palestinian flag attempted to set fire to a synagogue in La Grande-Motte.

These attacks are the latest in an escalating pattern of violence that has enveloped religious houses of worship in America over the last two years as well. A study published earlier this year by Family Research Council found that acts of hostility against churches in the US surged to 485 in 2023 and totaled 415 in 2024, with both figures remaining "significantly higher than the yearly totals recorded in 2018 through 2022."

This year, the pattern is becoming more deadly, with fatal violence directed at houses of worship seemingly becoming a weekly occurrence. At the end of August, a shooter killed two children and injured 21 others during a Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis. Weeks later, another shooter killed four and injured at least eight others in a gun and arson attack on a Mormon church in Michigan. Another Michigan church narrowly avoided a mass casualty event when a man dressed in tactical gear and carrying a loaded rifle and handgun was shot by church staff before he could enter CrossPointe Community Church during Sunday services in June.

The Washington Post reported Thursday that houses of worship are increasingly stepping up their security measures as violent attacks increase. Wiley Thompson, a 25-year FBI veteran, told The Washington Stand in June that every place of worship should employ "layered security" that includes monitoring the outermost borders of church property, guards at church entrances, and security team members within the congregation and near the pulpit.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration appears to be keeping close tabs on hostile acts directed at houses of worship. On Monday, the Department of Justice announced that it was filing federal FACE Act charges against violent protestors who targeted a synagogue in West Orange, New Jersey in November 2024.

Dr. Moshe Glick, who serves as president of the New Jersey chapter of Israel365 and who hosted the West Orange event that was targeted, joined "Washington Watch with Tony Perkins" Wednesday to describe what happened.

"[W]e had a religious service at one of the synagogues in West Orange, New Jersey, where my wife and I live," he explained. "[A] group of aggressive protesters just descended on the synagogue—a mob—shouting the most vile anti-Semitic tropes. You know, it felt like 1930s Germany. The group ... stormed up to the synagogue. We had coordinated with the police in advance. [The mob] did not have a permit ... to march. Police still allowed them to march, marched right up to where we were holding our service."

As Glick went on to describe, officers who were at the scene stood by even as he screamed for them to help after an individual from the mob launched themselves at a worshiper, putting him in a chokehold.

"This is what's happening when the police allow this lawlessness, and they allow it when it's targeted at churches and synagogues," Family Research Council President Tony Perkins responded. "Thankfully, a new message is being sent now that the law is being enforced to protect the freedom of worship." Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

Dan Hart is senior editor at The Washington Stand.

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