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7 October attacks vigil London: British Jewish organisations to honour victims
British Jewish organisations were to hold a 7 October attacks vigil in London on Wednesday, with the gathering expected to begin at 5pm at Richmond Terrace, opposite Downing Street, honouring the victims three years after the attacks in Israel.
By Haut Monde Post
• October 7, 2026
• 4 Min Read
Vigil at Richmond Terrace
British Jewish organisations were to gather in central London on Wednesday for a vigil honouring the victims of the 7 October attacks in Israel. The gathering was expected to start at 5pm at Richmond Terrace, opposite Downing Street. It followed a day of tributes from politicians and community leaders.
Remembering 7 October
The Board of Deputies of British Jews marked the anniversary by recalling how, three years earlier, Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel:
- •1,200 men, women and children were murdered
- •thousands more were injured
- •251 people were taken captive
The organisation added a wish for the victims:
May their memories for ever remain a blessing.
The Jewish Leadership Council called 7 October the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust. The attacks were followed by Israel's war in Gaza, and last month Gaza's health ministry, part of the Hamas-led government, reported that the Palestinian death toll across the three years had surpassed 74,000.
Burnham's assurance: 'we stand with you'
Andy Burnham marked the third anniversary of the attacks in a statement, saying:
Three years on from the 7 October attacks on Israel, we remember those who were senselessly killed by Hamas terrorists.
Burnham said he wanted Britain's Jewish community to hear from him directly that "we stand with you" against antisemitism. The attacks' impact, he added, has been felt not just in Israel but in Jewish communities across the world who still bear the burden of that day, and the years since have brought a disturbing rise in antisemitic behaviour in the UK. An attack on Jewish people in Britain, he said, is an attack on everyone.
His statement pledged:
- •Abuse and violence against Jewish people, in any form, would not be tolerated, not on streets, not online, not in schools or universities
- •The government is funding protection for synagogues, schools and community buildings
- •It will come down hard on antisemitism wherever it is found, in classrooms, on campuses and in neighbourhoods
- •Overseas, the UK keeps working towards a two-state solution in which Israelis and Palestinians live side by side in peace and security
- •Antisemitism has no place in the country, and everything possible will be done to stamp it out
Burnham also referenced an attack just over a year earlier, on Yom Kippur, by Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester, which left two worshippers dead. One of them, Melvin Cravitz, 66, died from multiple stab wounds. Adrian Daulby, 53, was struck by a bullet fired by armed police while blocking the synagogue doors from Al-Shamie. Police shot Al-Shamie dead during the attack.
Prime minister's warning, embassy criticism and the incident figures
In his statement, the prime minister described the rise in antisemitic behaviour in the UK since 2023 as "disturbing" and pledged that his government is committed to protecting citizens from vile hatred.
The Israeli embassy said it was a source of deep sadness that the British government's position towards Israel has changed substantially since 7 October, away from the early solidarity, and claimed the atmosphere for Jewish people in the UK continues to worsen. Last month, foreign secretary Ed Miliband announced an import ban on goods from illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine.
The Community Security Trust (CST), which monitors antisemitism, laid out the scale of the problem in its research:
- •1,926 antisemitic incidents were recorded across the UK from January to June 2026
- •The total was up by a fifth on the first half of the previous year
- •It was the second-highest total reported to the CST for the first six months of any year, behind only the 2,019 incidents recorded in the first half of 2024
- •The 2024 peak followed the 2023 Hamas attacks and Israel's subsequent war in Gaza
Celebrations of Jewish life and protest policing
Celebrations of Jewish life have been continuing in public spaces. From 27 September to 2 October, the Jewish festival of Sukkot was celebrated in the heart of the city, including the Sukkah in the City event in Albert Square, Manchester. The Metropolitan police, meanwhile, said it had "imposed stringent conditions" on those taking part in a pro-Palestine student march in London on Wednesday afternoon, and pro-Palestine rallies led by student societies were also due to take place at Edinburgh and Glasgow universities.
