Transcript [00:00] You have the go away. [00:01] >> He's got a problem. [00:02] >> Manchester on the holiest day of the [00:05] year for the Jewish community, Yam [00:07] Kipur. [00:12] Walking to Shaw, I only live 5 minutes [00:14] from the shore. So I get I get here [00:16] around 9:00 and uh first person I see is [00:20] Bernard who's our security guard. [00:21] Incredibly friendly. Um we have our our [00:24] usual fist bump. We say hello to each [00:26] other. How you doing? The first uh [00:28] inkling we have that something is wrong [00:31] is we hear a very loud bang [00:35] and we all kind of look at each other [00:38] and you know what what was that? In what [00:40] seemed like seconds Alan who's the chair [00:43] of trustees comes running in uh shouting [00:46] to get the back doors of the shaw that [00:48] were open at the time to get them [00:50] closed. [00:50] >> The terrorist came along from down [00:52] there. [00:52] >> Yes. [00:53] >> And there were two security guards [00:55] standing here. Um, and this was as [00:57] Melbourne was arriving. So, literally as [00:59] Melvin arrived at Shaw car just missed [01:01] him and drove from there into one of the [01:04] security guards. [01:05] >> Oh, yeah. [01:06] >> And and pinned him against the wall. [01:08] >> Melvin turned to look to see what was [01:10] going on. Everyone at that time were [01:11] thinking, "Oh, really bad car crash." [01:14] Um, and the terrorist gets out the car [01:17] and sees Melvin there. [01:18] >> Manchester police are saying they are at [01:21] the scene of a reported stabbing. I kind [01:23] of felt like Melvin got the brunt of [01:26] this terrorist anger, like this [01:28] terrorist's hate for for Jewish people. [01:32] I feel like [01:34] a lot of that was taken out in that [01:37] force and in how we just attacked Melvin [01:40] >> shows a man wearing a kipper, a Jewish [01:42] cap lying in a pool of blood. [01:45] >> We've heavily blurred this because it's [01:47] too graphic. [01:48] >> Um, so Bernard was the paid security [01:50] guard. He's outside Manova. Andrew was a [01:54] is a member of the Shaw [01:56] um trained by um by CSD. He came out [01:59] here um to stop on attack and he was he [02:03] wrestled with him and he was very badly [02:05] um wounded again. As Andrew was holding [02:08] him back, Allan managed to run inside [02:11] and close the doors so that he couldn't [02:13] get in or thereby preventing his [02:15] entrance into the shore prevented the [02:17] whole tragedy from being being much much [02:19] >> from being a massacre. Well, we know how [02:21] many people were in [02:24] >> tens of lives. [02:25] >> Yes. [02:25] >> Men and women and children. They were [02:27] inside. [02:27] >> Children running around this area. [02:30] >> The as he was here everywhere. [02:33] >> Yeah. Adrien, he sits closest to the [02:35] door on his side. He leaps up. Literally [02:39] leaps up. [02:39] >> He just leapt up. As we know, that made [02:42] a massive big difference because the [02:45] back doors were open and he was trying [02:46] to get in. [02:48] >> There's a number of people on the door. [02:50] holding the doors closed. And then I [02:52] notice a very large, very angry person [02:56] who is doing his level best to break [03:00] into the shaw itself through those [03:02] doors. I notice he's got a very large [03:06] knife, a green handle, and a very large [03:08] blade. And he's using that to try and [03:11] break the window. He's picking up stuff [03:13] from the grounds of the shaw, throwing [03:15] them, trying to get in through the [03:18] doors. We're moving from door to door as [03:20] he's moving from door to door and we're [03:22] just stopping him coming in. He was [03:24] wearing what looked like a bum around [03:26] his waist. [03:28] >> EVERYBODY ELSE GO AWAY. [03:30] >> He's got a bubble. [03:31] >> So, we just we we can't let him in. [03:34] And that's when I feel a bullet going to [03:37] me. [03:38] >> The way I remember it, Yanni was shot. [03:41] Andrew, it seemed to move to the next [03:44] stage of his of his injury. he was in an [03:46] even worse way cuz obviously he'd been [03:48] bleeding foolishly by this point. And [03:51] then standing behind your knee had been [03:53] Adrien. [03:55] >> I didn't know at that time that the same [04:00] bullet that had gone through me and come [04:02] out had gone into Adrien and he hadn't [04:04] survived. I didn't know that [04:07] >> he he he he died over here [04:12] by by the um by the door. [04:16] So he he he died holding the doors. He [04:19] died trying to protect everyone else. [04:21] >> So this is this is the kettle that I was [04:23] wearing on [music] that morning. [04:26] I I didn't I didn't realize how much [04:29] blood there was. And obviously it's it's [04:31] in pieces because they tore [music] it [04:33] off me. [04:34] So [04:36] >> where the bullet had gone in, it it [04:37] collapsed the lung. So I'm struggling to [04:39] breathe and [04:42] and I'm thinking that I don't I don't [04:44] want to die here. This this can't be [04:48] this can't be it. [04:51] >> You have four children. [04:53] >> Four beautiful children. [04:54] >> Four gorgeous children. I know. [04:57] >> I've got what to live for. I've I've got [04:59] four kids that need me and [05:03] what that would do to them. It would it [05:06] would destroy them and I that that [05:08] couldn't happen. [05:10] I felt so strongly that I need to I need [05:12] to survive. I've I've got what to [05:13] [music] survive for. But someone had [05:15] shot footage of standing across the road [05:17] of the courtyard and you could see at [05:19] that point you could see someone lying [05:20] on the floor which [music] I was told [05:21] was a security guard and you can see the [05:24] police shouting at someone [music] [05:25] shouting at the terrorist and screaming [05:28] at other people cuz some people were [05:29] literally standing right up against the [05:31] wall to get back. [05:33] >> Get back if you're not involved. Move [05:35] back. [05:38] I said I get to the house and it's a [05:41] moment they've probably lived with me [05:42] forever and I knock on the door and [05:44] Shel's mom comes to the door [music] and [05:47] I said you don't I've just come to check [05:50] that you guys are okay and her response [05:53] was that's very sweet but what do you [05:54] mean you guys [music] it's just me set [05:57] off for sure this morning and he's not [05:58] back yet at which point alarm [music] [06:01] bells start ringing because I know for [06:03] definite there was nobody left in Shaw [06:05] >> and I can never get the image out to my [06:07] mind that he was rushing to shore. So he [06:10] was he was trying to be that for as [06:12] close to the beginning as he could. [06:14] >> So that pushed him to go early. [06:23] >> He got mad for going early. [06:28] And that was like kind of hard for me [06:30] cuz I felt guilty, you know, cuz it [06:33] wouldn't have gone so early. for me. [06:37] >> So tell me a little bit about Melvin the [06:39] man. [06:39] >> His superpower and what really mattered [06:41] [music] to him was connecting with [06:42] people. So it didn't matter who that [06:45] person was. He [music] like didn't see [06:48] like you know religious clothing. He [06:50] didn't see [music] [06:51] color of skin, age, gender, anything [06:53] like that. He just he really did treat [06:55] everybody the same. I had the fortunate [06:57] and experience of being his wife for 16 [07:00] years [07:02] and it was um he was a very complex [07:05] character but we all are but he was [07:07] loving and kind and uh he wasn't wealthy [07:13] but a very close friend of mine said if [07:15] you're going to find a husband find [07:18] somebody [07:19] with kindness [07:21] and I did you know and um I had to uh [07:27] kiss a few frogs before me, [laughter] [07:31] but it was worth it. [07:32] >> He impacted, [music] you know, so so [07:35] positively on people's lives just by [07:37] being genuinely interested in other [07:41] people [music] and giving them that time [07:42] and listening to them. But it was all [07:44] genuine. The amount of support that I've [07:46] had even like with this charity now, [07:48] Mench like Melvin, every single [music] [07:50] person in this world can be a mench. [07:52] >> This applies to the whole world. Yes, [07:55] there's no limits. [07:56] >> I like it. [music] [07:57] >> Every single person in this world can be [08:00] and should be a mench. [08:03] >> So, take a step back and just tell me [08:05] who [music] is Adrien. [08:06] >> He was a very very special man. He was a [08:08] quiet man and he was very unassuming, [08:13] but he was very very um kind and very [08:15] interesting to talk to when you're in a [08:17] spare time. [08:18] >> He'd make the effort. He'd stand up. [08:20] He'd come over, you know, he'd [music] [08:21] wish me a pabas. How are the family? [08:23] >> Isn't that like [08:25] so unbelievable how much that means? The [08:28] smile, the [music] question, like it's a [08:30] simple few words, how's the family [08:32] doing? But when someone says that it [08:34] means it and genuinely wants [music] to [08:36] hear the answer. [08:37] >> I'm not surprised that he did the right [08:38] thing. I'm surprised that um [08:42] I'm surprised at the the the heroism, [08:44] but when I think about it, that was him. [08:45] He was a really good man. He was good in [08:47] the different situations that he had to [08:49] be in life. [08:49] >> Yeah. [08:50] >> Yeah. And that one of the heroes of this [08:52] story. [08:53] >> Yeah. Brand. [08:57] I really wish he didn't need to be one [08:59] of the heroes. [09:14] It gives me a responsibility because I [09:18] survived and Adrien didn't. And [09:20] therefore, I have a responsibility to [09:22] make sure that Adrien didn't die in [09:25] vain. [09:26] >> We're looking back at this last [music] [09:28] year at the most devastating, deadliest [09:31] attacks that have happened to the Jewish [09:33] people across the world. They've [09:35] happened on the holidays and it started [09:37] here in Manchester the start of the new [09:39] year and on Yamipur most holiest day. [09:44] What hope do you give to the Jewish [09:48] people that are watching now? [09:49] >> First is like as in like whenever [09:54] anything happens we all feel it. No [09:57] matter what our political beliefs are, [09:59] our thoughts, our opinions of others, [10:02] whatever's going on in our lives, if we [10:04] hear that a Jewish person anywhere has [10:07] been hurt, attacked, killed, we all feel [10:11] it. Like we're all family, these type of [10:13] things, [10:14] >> you see how much is the hand of Hashem. [10:17] >> Even it being Melvin, I have no idea [10:20] why it was Melvin. And I'm not going to [10:23] be able to answer that, you know, even [10:24] hearing all the details about what [10:26] happened. So apparent that it was meant [10:28] to be Melbourne. It, you know, he [10:30] arrived and the timing of it that Hashem [10:33] chose him. Hashem chose him on the way [10:36] to Davin on Yamapour. [10:39] The timing of it, everything, Hashem [10:41] chose him. [10:42] >> First time I actually spoke to the [10:43] community was Friday night. And I don't [10:46] remember my words, but I said pretty [10:48] much the same thing every single Jabus [10:49] for quite a long time. um that that he [10:53] wasn't going to beat us, but also that [10:55] he wasn't going to take away our joy [10:57] either. [10:59] So, we're quite um quite an English kind [11:02] of community. I know a lot of [11:03] communities dance every Friday night. We [11:05] don't dance on normal Friday night. Um [11:07] we dance that Friday night [11:10] and and we danced despite our our pains [11:14] aspirations. Every possible stream of [11:16] the community was here. At least a [11:18] thousand people standing room only in a [11:20] space that big. [11:21] >> I came to pray. [11:22] >> Yeah. And dance. And that was the first [11:25] time I think I cried. [11:29] When I stood there, I saw that cuz I [11:30] knew [11:33] a young one. [11:36] It's a [11:38] we weren't just surviving, but we were [11:41] also being um proud and and joyous. [11:46] Open [11:48] [singing] [12:00] Mercy.
*EXECUTIVE PRODUCER*
THE SCHERR FAMILY FOUNDATION
*PRODUCERS*
ERIC AND JILL LAVITSKY
ROSENBERG FAMILY, SURFSIDE, FLORIDA
DANIEL AND DIANA SRAGOWICZ
*GOLD SPONSOR*
THE MANNE FAMILY FOUNDATION
*BRONZE SPONSOR*
IN HONOR OF JERRY AND GOLDIE TAUBER
JONATHAN AND CHANNIE SPETNER
*SPECIAL THANKS*
JONATHAN AND IRIT TRATT
On Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year, a terrorist rammed his car into a security guard outside Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in Manchester, then tried to force his way inside with a knife. Inside, congregants held the doors shut against him, some paying with their lives.
Survivors and community members describe the attack in their own words: the loud bang that first signaled something was wrong, the guards and volunteers who threw themselves against the doors, the moment gunfire broke out, and the man who was shot and killed holding the door closed so the terrorist couldn't get in. They remember the two men the community lost, one, a security guard on his way to pray, remembered as someone who treated every person the same; the other, a quiet congregant who became one of the day's heroes, and the choice the community made days later to dance, not just survive, on Friday night.
This is one chapter of 'While We Were Celebrating', a documentary about faith and resilience in the face of hatred.
Subscribe to Aish for more.
0:00 – Cold Open: Attack in Manchester
0:12 – An Ordinary Morning at Heaton Park
0:50 – The Terrorist's Car Arrives
1:39 – Storming the Synagogue Doors
1:49 – Bernard and Andrew Hold Him Back
2:33 – Adrian Leaps Up to Help
3:27 – Shots Fired
3:38 – Adrian Is Killed Protecting the Congregation
4:20 – A Bloodied Kittel and the Will to Survive
5:15 – Chaos Outside, a Family Waiting at Home
6:37 – Remembering Melvin: "Every Person Can Be a Mensch"
8:03 – Who Was Adrian?
9:14 – A Responsibility to Honor the Fallen
9:26 – A Year of Attacks on Jewish Holidays
9:44 – Dancing in Defiance: A Message of Hope
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