MANCHESTER stood proud and strong this week as the Jewish world commemorated the horrific events that took place on October 7 last year.
Sunday’s well-supported march through the city centre and rally in St Peter’s Square sent a defiant message to the terrorists and their supporters that we will stand together and Israel will never bow to those who wish it destroyed.
So many questions remain, however, not least those raised by the devastating Channel 4 documentary that was, at times, extremely difficult to watch.
Survivors from Kibbutz Be’eri — many who had suffered heart-breaking losses on that fateful day — spoke of the traumas they had experienced at the hands of the Hamas butchers.
Many had escaped death by the skin of their teeth as their homes were set alight before the IDF finally arrived to end their nightmare.
Over 100 residents were massacred and many suffered life-changing injuries but one big question remains.
As the poorly-defended security fences separating the Jewish state from Gaza were breached with virtually no opposition to the rampaging mob, why did it take so long for the authorities to react to what amounted to an invasion?
It seemed to take many hours for troops to arrive at Be’eri and other places affected by the incursion which started at 6.30am on that fateful Shabbat morning.
The bitterness that those broken communities still harbour will doubtless come to the fore when the enquiry as to how this second Holocaust was allowed to happen.
Lewis Fink,
Prestwich,
Manchester.
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