Dr. Sandi Mann, Chairwoman of the Jewish Action for Mental Health in Manchester, shared her first-hand perspective with Arutz Sheva-Israel National News following the deadly terrorist attack on a Manchester synagogue during Yom Kippur, in which two congregants were murdered.
“I was at home at the time and noticed unusual police helicopter activity,” Dr. Mann recalled. “My husband came home from synagogue and told me what had happened. My phone had been ringing, I don’t normally answer on Yom Kippur, but as a member of the community security emergency response team, I checked in and realised I had been called for duty. I grabbed my kit and went straight into security duty.”
Dr. Mann described the mood within the Jewish community as both shocked and resigned. “Everybody I encountered was in shock. We are a community in shock, but not surprised. Sadly, there’s been a lot of resignation about this. We’ve been expecting something like this. Nobody was surprised, but everybody was shocked. Antisemitism has rocketed in the UK over the past two years, and we all felt it was a matter of not if, but when. Nobody thought it would be on our own doorstep, in our own community in Manchester, but deep down, we knew it could come.”
She emphasized the courage shown by those inside the synagogue. “We are hearing incredible stories of bravery from the rabbi and the congregation. People were injured and even killed trying to stop a much worse attack. They are absolute heroes. I think it reflects a community that the entire Jewish community in the UK is prepared and ready. We know, it's really sad that we know what to do. It’s easy to say what we might do in such a moment, but no one knows until they are faced with it. None of us can tell how we will react, what our psychological makeup will be. I am proud of how our community reacted.”
Turning to her professional role, Dr. Mann explained the importance of mental health support in the days ahead. “After October 7th, 2023, we realized our community needed a protocol for a mass trauma event. We have the ability to cope with offering individual therapy, but not to that many people at once very quickly. So we developed a protocol. We were trained by a top expert in mass trauma protocol, and some of that expertise has come from Israel. We are, I think, the only place, the only facility in the UK that can offer this mass protocol service. We hoped we'd never have to use it, but now we are.”
She outlined the steps being taken: “We are beginning with a Shabbat drop-in for counselling, followed by an online session to help calm the adrenaline response. On Sunday, our main trauma therapy protocol begins. It allows people to work through their own experiences while still reaching many individuals at once, so it’s very special.”
Despite the tragedy, Dr. Mann said she draws strength from the resilience of the community, “As I said, we are a community in shock. But the way that those congregants responded, I've seen videos. I know most of the people. In fact, a good friend of mine has been all over the BBC with his response, and it was so calm, so measured. The way the rabbi led the congregants to continue to daven on Yom Kippur, to lead them, those who needed to break their fast, and to obviously keep the terrorists out in the first place as best they could. The response from that community has been incredible. The response from the wider community has also been amazing. We're all here for each other. We're all here to support. We want to lift the community. We want to build and support those people who were so sadly bereaved and seriously injured.”