A university teacher who was inside the Manchester synagogue when it came under terrorist attack said he and other worshippers continued the service after the building was evacuated.
Rob Kanter said the congregation at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue were moved by police first into the rear hall of the building, then to a nearby centre, where they tried to continue to mark Yom Kippur, which is the holiest day in the Jewish religious calendar.
Mr Kanter said: “Of course it’s awkward and it’s difficult and people have got a multitude of emotions going on but we did what we did in the circumstances.
“Our rabbi’s role was to try and say yes, this is a terrible tragedy but at the end of the day we want to remember where possible today is Yom Kippur, the day of atonement.
“That is a gesture that says there are certain things that are eternal, there are certain things that cannot be stopped by this.”