Hundreds remember Heaton Park synagogue attack victims at memorial event

In a message read out at the start of the service, King Charles said: "My wife and I hold all those whose lives were so tragically disrupted by that terrible day most closely in our thoughts and prayers."Though the months have passed, the sense of shock and sorrow remains undiminished."The memory of those who lost their lives, Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz, and of those who were injured, Andrew Franks, Bernard Agyemang and Yoni Finlay, remain especially vivid in my mind."He concluded: "Hatred can never prevail over our shared humanity."Raphi Bloom, chair of the Yom Kippur Commemoration, said the service was "not only about remembrance" but was also about resilience and "honouring Melvin and Adrian by ensuring that Jewish life continues to flourish".He said "the wounds remain, but so does our spirit" and, together, they were sending a simple message that they would not be intimidated, defined by hatred or "driven from the place we have called home for more than two centuries"."As Jews we will stand tall, united, proud and strong," he said.Yoni Finlay, who was hit by a stray police bullet while helping to barricade the doors during the attack, will also speak at the service. Earlier, asked by BBC Radio 4's Today programme about how the Jewish community in the UK feels almost a year on, he said: "I don't think things feel safer, I think we certainly live behind ever increasing gates, more security than we've ever had."Jewish people are having to hide their identity. Even my own son, who's in college at the moment, has faced death threats."Other speakers at the memorial service include Alan Levy, who helped barricade the doors against the attacker, and Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson.Although the first anniversary of the Heaton Park attack is not until October, the Jewish community will mark it on the religious anniversary rather than by the secular calendar.The attack happened on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, which falls in September this year.Rabbi Walker said the service was being held because the community also wanted to hold a public memorial before the Jewish High Holy Days, both to ensure those affected are remembered by wider society and to call for change in society.