UK probing alleged harassment of Oct. 7 survivors by Manchester airport authorities
Jewish council says 2 Israelis invited to share their experiences at Nova rave massacre were detained for 2 hours, told ‘you’re not going to do what you’re doing in Gaza over here’
British authorities were investigating the UK Border Force’s treatment of two Israeli brothers who survived the Supernova music festival massacre, the country’s interior minister announced Tuesday, after they were detained at Manchester Airport.
The two traveled to England to share their experiences of rescuing other rave-goers and raise awareness for a nonprofit established to help survivors of the October 7 onslaught by Hamas, according to the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester and Region, which sent a complaint over Sunday’s incident.
Over 360 men and women partying at the Supernova Festival rave close to Kibbutz Re’im near the Gaza border were murdered by Hamas terrorists who invaded Israel on October 7, and dozens of hostages were seized from there and taken to Gaza. In all, the terror group killed some 1,200 people in southern Israel, overwhelmingly civilians, and abducted 253 that day in the worst terror attack ever against the country.
In the complaint published online, the council’s chief, Marc Levy, said the Israelis were stopped at the airport after the border guards noticed their passports and asked them why they were coming to Manchester. When they responded that they had been invited to tell their stories to the local Jewish community, the officers told them they would be questioned.
“The only reason for their detention and interrogation is because they are Israeli,” Levy charged.
A short video clip of the incident shared on social media showed one of the guards upbraiding the Israelis, who cannot be seen onscreen, after one appears to say they are not being allowed to enter.
“Nobody has said that once, so knock the attitude off,” the guard is heard saying. “We’ve made the decision, and you’re coming in. Just let us do the checks we need to go and keep quiet.”
After asking if they were “clear with that,” the guard then says, “We’re the bosses, not you.”
The two survivors are my friends- this is the level of aggression they faced after producing Israeli passports. @JamesCleverly @UKBorder @manairport @JewishChron @JewishMCR https://t.co/wR5THYDbaZ pic.twitter.com/F5diItYVxV
— Daniel Berke (@DanielBerke1) March 25, 2024
Levy said the Israelis were then detained for two hours and upon being released, the same officer told them, “They had to make sure that you are not going to do what you are doing in Gaza over here,” referring to the military offensive Israel launched against Hamas following the October 7 atrocities.
“The comment upon their release proves beyond any doubt that this individual was motivated by antisemitic intent,” Levy alleged.
Responding to the Jewish council, UK Home Secretary James Cleverly said, “We are investigating this.”
“We do not tolerate antisemitism or any form of discrimination,” he wrote on X. “The incident will be handled in line with our disciplinary procedures.”
The UK has seen a surge in antisemitism since October 7, with a report released last month by the Community Security Trust finding the number of antisemitic incidents since then exceed all previous totals in the 40 years the group has been tracking Jew hatred in Britain. Some of the incidents have been violent, including in January when workers and shoppers at a family-owned kosher supermarket in Golders Green fended off a knife-wielding attacker who asked them, “Do you support Israel or Palestine?”
Many in the UK’s Jewish community have expressed concern over massive weekly anti-Israel demonstrations held by pro-Palestinian protesters in London, which have seen calls for an “intifada” or uprising, as well as chants that advocate for the destruction of Israel, such as, “We don’t want two states, Palestine ’48.”
Demonstrations have also featured people glorifying Hamas, and antisemitic incidents and chants.
There have also been numerous reports of antisemitic attacks on people who were hanging posters of hostages kidnapped by Gaza terror groups, and speaking Hebrew on the streets of London.