The man injured by a police bullet in the Manchester synagogue attack feels so unsafe he no longer wants to live in this country, his ex-wife has told Sky News.
Along with their children, Naomi Finlay has been visiting Yoni Finlay in hospital since the attack last week.
She said he was “shocked” to hear about the level of antisemitism she and their children had been facing before the synagogue was targeted.
“When I went to see him in the hospital, I spoke to him about some of the antisemitism we’d faced personally,” Mrs Finlay said.
“Some of the things I hadn’t discussed with him before, and he didn’t know. And he was really, really upset for me and the children that this is what we’ve been through.
“He expressed that he definitely does not feel safe in this country – and he’s questioning his future here.”
Ms Finlay told Sky News that she and her children have faced threats and abuse, some reported to the police.
“We’ve been shouted at, the kids have been shouted at,” she said.
“My son, his biggest fear is being recognised as Jewish. The second he leaves the synagogue, the kippah comes off his head.
“On October the 7th, two years ago, someone tried to knock my brother over while he was walking back from the synagogue.”
‘It’s something you’ve been waiting for’
Ms Finlay added that although the attack on the Heaton Park synagogue was a shock, as her family had been living on “constant alert”, it did not come as a surprise.
“The second I heard something, I knew absolutely – I knew what it was,” she added. “There’s no doubt in your mind. Because it’s something, yes, you’ve been waiting for – but anticipating with dread.”
It took hours before Ms Finlay was able to find out from a family member who was also at the synagogue that Yoni had been injured but was still alive.
“We live close to the synagogue – we saw and heard everything,” she said. “The beginning of the day – where we are just on the streets asking anyone, ‘Have you seen him? Have you seen him?’ – that was definitely the hardest part.
“It was so difficult for the kids, because that’s their dad.”
Read more about the synagogue attack:
Friends of attacker reveal how he became radicalised
Man who helped barricade says attacker was ‘monster’
Shapps: My father-in-law was at synagogue attack
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Yoni was among those barricading the doors to stop the attacker, Jihad al Shamie, from getting inside the synagogue.
Al Shamie was shot and killed by police, but one of their bullets came through the synagogue door – striking Yoni and killing Adrian Daulby, one of the two men who lost their lives.
Yoni was in surgery for seven hours on the day of the attack. Ms Finlay added he “remembers everything”, including the moment the bullet struck.
Although she said he is still in a lot of pain, he is now stable and recovering.
“The kids have been taking him some treats,” she said, “saving him half of their chocolate bars and taking them into him.
“Things from school, letters from friends they’ve been taking in to show him. They are just really wanting him back.”
‘Who’s going to protect us?’
Two years to the day since the 7 October terror attack in Israel, Ms Finlay finds it “really hurtful” that pro-Palestine marches are taking place across the country, less than a week on from the attack in which Yoni was injured.
“It was just that little bit further away – and now it’s not further away,” she said. “Even today there’s protests going on – on one of the saddest days for Jewish people worldwide.
“I feel like we can’t even get a break on that one day to actually grieve and process our feelings.”
Although she said the police have been “amazing” since the attack, she worries about what will happen to her and her family when the attention dies down.
“We worry that in a few weeks, when all this simmers down, are we still going to feel reassured? Are we still going to be protected?
“You know, who’s going to look after our kids when they’re in school? Who’s going to look after us when we go pray in the synagogue? Who’s going to protect us?”
