Who carried out the appalling attack yesterday at a synagogue in Manchester on Yom Kippur? Little is currently known about Jihad Al-Shamie. I've found a couple of things using open sources - which I'll post in this thread, starting with a photo of him:
As ever, there's a lot of misinformation and disinformation about the attacker, so I think it's important to just stick to what the evidence shows. So far, police have said he was 35 years old and a British citizen of Syrian descent.
The photo I posted above is from his father's FB. Dated 23/10/2024, it shows Jihad holding a newborn (which I've cropped out), captioned "Great welcome grandson" So Jihad recently had a son. A friend comments "congratulations Abu Jihad [father of Jihad]"
He's wearing a beanie with a keffiyeh pattern. A keffiyeh is a traditional headdress in the Middle East. It's not exclusive to Palestinians, but the black and white pattern is heavily associated with the Palestinian cause and identity. Google Lens shows the exact model.
18 days ago, on a fundraiser for an orphan in Gaza, one "Jihad Alshamie" made a donation of £3. There probably aren't many people called Jihad Alshamie in the UK, so it's likely (but not definitive) this was also him.
It's likely he also went by the name "Jay Alshamie", and this may be another image of him (date unknown). If so, he spent some time in Leeds and offered his services as an English and programming tutor.
In Google Street View images by the family home, you can see the car used in the vehicle ramming.
So far, there's nothing out of the ordinary. What about his family?
His immediate family also appear supportive of the Palestinian cause. One has the watermelon symbol as his FB banner and Al-Aqsa as his profile pic. The watermelon has been around for a while, but surged in popularity following the Gaza war.
From the breadcrumbs we've seen so far, do we have anything out of the ordinary? Not really. And there's of course a huge jump from the Palestinian "paraphernalia" (like a hat and a donation) to then deciding that you want to kill Jewish people as they worship in a synagogue.
After a terrorist attack, people often ask: "What did the parents know? How was he raised? Were they supportive of violence" We don't know the answers yet. His father made many political posts on Facebook, a few I'll cover here...
- wishing sectarian harmony in Syria (photo of crucifix and Quran) - memories of the 1996 Manchester IRA bombing and praising the peace process ending the Troubles - Alaa Al Najjar and her 9 children killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza - lots of praise for Ahmed Al-Sharaa
Nothing there suggests he would have supported or encouraged his son's act of terrorism Then he makes this post, on September 27th, which suggests bad news for Israel shortly. How do we interpret this? With hindsight, it appears strange and even ominous
I haven't come across any of Jihad Al-Shamie's social media profiles yet, so these are just small pieces to help build the context of his life and radicalisation. There's a lot missing, which will surely come out in the days ahead. If you have more details, please post them.
This story from 2012, when the MP John Howell received some death threats related to Israel/Palestine, is also circulating. One threat was from a Jihad Alshamie. Again, given the rarity of that name in the UK, it's likely (but not definitive) it's him. https://www.jpost.com/internat...
