Manchester Synagogue Attack Survivor: 'I Saw Evil'
Yoni Finlay was just waking up to the sound of prayers being recited by a group of worshippers inside his synagogue. The 39-year-old father of four had arrived at Heaton Park shul in north Manchester early on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, ready to sing the dawn prayer with hundreds of others.
But their peaceful morning was shattered when a gunman burst into the building. Finlay, who has been described as a "very normal guy" by his friends and family, helped barricade the doors as the attacker tried to force his way in. He recalls seeing a large knife and what looked like a bomb strapped to the gunman's waist.
"It was his whole demeanour," Finlay said of the attacker. "He was angry. Very, very angry. He just wanted to kill Jews, and he was prepared to die for that."
The moment marked the beginning of a terrifying ordeal for Finlay and others inside the synagogue. Armed police arrived within seven minutes and shot the gunman, but not before he had attacked two people who were killed in the attack.
Behind the scene, Finlay was hit by a police bullet that pierced his chest and exited through his back. He has undergone extensive treatment to repair the damage.
Finlay's account of the attack is one of the most harrowing yet of its kind, with witnesses describing scenes of chaos and carnage. "I've got what I've been told is survivors guilt," Finlay said of the trauma he experienced in the aftermath of the attack.
As he struggles to come to terms with his ordeal, Finlay is also grappling with the reality that such an attack was possible in Britain because of normalised antisemitism. He believes that a lack of strong leadership and a failure to tackle hate speech have allowed this kind of hatred to flourish.
"The government does play a part in it," he said, warning against pushing British Jews behind their already visibly guarded community walls. "The answer isn't to keep putting up more walls and gates... We're not tackling the root cause of it."
Finlay's voice trembled with emotion as he spoke about the need for compassion to overcome hate. He believes that if people chose to learn from one another instead of dividing, they could build bridges and create a world where hatred does not have a place.
For Finlay, there is still much work to be done to prevent such attacks in the future. But with his courage and determination, he is determined to spread a message of hope and unity, even in the face of evil.
Yoni Finlay was just waking up to the sound of prayers being recited by a group of worshippers inside his synagogue. The 39-year-old father of four had arrived at Heaton Park shul in north Manchester early on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, ready to sing the dawn prayer with hundreds of others.
But their peaceful morning was shattered when a gunman burst into the building. Finlay, who has been described as a "very normal guy" by his friends and family, helped barricade the doors as the attacker tried to force his way in. He recalls seeing a large knife and what looked like a bomb strapped to the gunman's waist.
"It was his whole demeanour," Finlay said of the attacker. "He was angry. Very, very angry. He just wanted to kill Jews, and he was prepared to die for that."
The moment marked the beginning of a terrifying ordeal for Finlay and others inside the synagogue. Armed police arrived within seven minutes and shot the gunman, but not before he had attacked two people who were killed in the attack.
Behind the scene, Finlay was hit by a police bullet that pierced his chest and exited through his back. He has undergone extensive treatment to repair the damage.
Finlay's account of the attack is one of the most harrowing yet of its kind, with witnesses describing scenes of chaos and carnage. "I've got what I've been told is survivors guilt," Finlay said of the trauma he experienced in the aftermath of the attack.
As he struggles to come to terms with his ordeal, Finlay is also grappling with the reality that such an attack was possible in Britain because of normalised antisemitism. He believes that a lack of strong leadership and a failure to tackle hate speech have allowed this kind of hatred to flourish.
"The government does play a part in it," he said, warning against pushing British Jews behind their already visibly guarded community walls. "The answer isn't to keep putting up more walls and gates... We're not tackling the root cause of it."
Finlay's voice trembled with emotion as he spoke about the need for compassion to overcome hate. He believes that if people chose to learn from one another instead of dividing, they could build bridges and create a world where hatred does not have a place.
For Finlay, there is still much work to be done to prevent such attacks in the future. But with his courage and determination, he is determined to spread a message of hope and unity, even in the face of evil.
. This synogogue attack was literally horrific & I can only imagine how scared Yoni Finlay must've been 
. The fact that he's still survivin is a total miracle 
& we should all be sendin our love n support his way 
.
. We need 2 take a stand against hate speech & make sure the gov't is doin enuf 2 keep everyone safe 
. Yoni's right, we cant just build more walls n gates, we need 2 talk 2 each other & find ways 2 bring ppl together 
.
. We should all be learnin from him & tryin 2 spread love n acceptance wherever we go 
. I mean, can't we just have a peaceful community without some psycho showing up to shoot people? It's like, what's wrong with people these days? 
The fact that he was able to get away with wearing a knife and a bomb strapped to his waist on a holy day is just insane. And the police took a bullet for him? That's just crazy talk! 
we need to be vigilant and look out for each other, especially in communities that feel vulnerable 
. But rather than just blaming him or the synagogue itself, we need to talk about how we can prevent this kind of thing from happening again in the future 
.
. We need to be honest with ourselves and acknowledge that there are still some pretty serious issues out there that need to be addressed.
. We're all in this together, and we need to work as a community to build bridges and create more understanding between different groups of people.
. Instead, we need to be open to listening to each other's perspectives and trying to find common ground 
. It won't be easy, but it's worth a shot, right?
at the same time, we need to come together as a community and support each other instead of just building walls and gates 
it's not about individual bigots, it's about a culture that allows hate speech to go unchecked and leaders who fail to address it 
the fact that Finlay believes the government plays a part in this is a wake-up call for us all 
we need to do better, to stand up against hate and build bridges instead of walls 
. The fact that the gunman was armed with a large knife and what looked like a bomb strapped to his waist is just terrifying 
. It's also deeply disturbing to hear that he targeted people of Jewish faith and was prepared to die for it 
.
. It's not going to be easy, but I have no doubt that people like Yoni Finlay will keep fighting the good fight 
️.
That's some horror movie stuff right there. And Finlay's right, the fact that antisemitism has become "normalised" in Britain is super concerning 
. That's the kind of hope and unity we need right now. Not some empty rhetoric from politicians 
I was thinking about this attack on Manchester's synagogue yesterday and it made me think about how crazy our world has become. We're always talking about mental health and trauma, but what about the people who actually experience it? Like Yoni Finlay, he went through something that no one should ever have to go through and yet we're still debating whether or not governments are doing enough to stop hate crimes. 
. let's all take a page out of his book and try to be more understanding and empathetic towards each other 
.
. It's not just about having laws against hate speech, we need real consequences for people who spew that kind of trash 
. We need more than just words, we need action. And we need to start listening to survivors like Yoni Finlay, who's got a front-row seat to the evil that's out there.
. It's easy to get caught up in fear and division, but not Yoni. He's choosing to see a world where people can come together and overcome hatred with compassion and understanding. That's something we could all learn from 
.
.
. It's time for us to take responsibility for our words and actions, and work towards creating a world where everyone feels safe and valued