Albert Square is one of the main city centre venues in Manchester, England. It contains the huge, Victorian town hall and is often used for rallies and demonstrations. It is Manchester’s Trafalgar Square.

On Sunday 30th July it was awash with Israeli flags, placards calling for peace not terror and pledging support for the Jewish State and between 2,500 and 3,000 people most from the Jewish community but some from Christian churches in Lancashire and West Yorkshire.

Manchester’s Jewish community has played a central role in the evolution of Zionism from the 1880s onwards and was an early trailblazer in the renaissance of Hebrew. Indeed the city has a strong claim to be considered a cradle of Zionism so it seemed appropriate that it should be the first to host a major rally in support of Israel in its very heart.

The speakers reflected the community’s diversity – among them were two MPs, a rabbi, the Chief Rabbi of Elad and a representative of the Israeli Embassy – and its unity of purpose in the face of the armed onslaught by Iran/Syria/Hizbollah and the media onslaught by the West’s appeasers of jihadist terrorism. The common themes were, as might be expected, Israel’s desire to live in peace and security, the proportionality of its response to Hizbollah aggression given that organisation’s declared genocidal intentions towards the Jewish people, the tragic inevitablity of civilian caualties as a result of the terrorists’ calculated tactic of using the Lebanese people as ‘human sandbags’ and the sheer scale of the jihadist military build-up as well as the lethal barbarity of the weaponry at Hizbollah’s disposal. Several speakers pointed out that, just as Nazi persecution of the Jews was the prelude to a more general war against civilisation and freedom, so the axis of evil linking Tehran, Damascus, Hamas and Hizbollah intended first to obliterate Israel and then turn on Jews worldwide before moving on to inflict a worldwide fundamentalist caliphate on whoever was left of the rest of us. As then, so now.

In what was certainly the most highly charged moment of the rally we were addressed by Shlomo Goldwasser, the father of Ehud Goldwasser, one of the two IDF soldiers kidnapped by Hizbollah. He made a moving appeal for the return of his son, described the family’s distress and stressed their support for the State’s actions in defence of its very right to exist.

Among the speakers, and something of a star turn, was Revd. Mark Madeley of Anglicans for Israel. He spoke without notes because, as he explained, he wanted to speak from a heart open to God. The impact of what he said could easily be gauged from the number of people who shook his hand and expressed their thanks when he had finished and long afterwards. Here is a brief account of his comments:

“I am very privileged to be here because I love the Jewish people and the State of Israel. I believe my love is given by the almighty as I do not know of any Jewish blood in my family.

Perhaps more importantly for today I am here on behalf of Anglicans for Israel and the many other Christians in the churches across the land who stand by Israel at this time.

I want to apologise from the bottom of my heart for the Church leaders who condemn Israel without reason, without fact and without doing their research. Sometimes their comments are so one-sided that if they were not so sad, they would be laughable. Anyone who knows anything about the Middle East will know that the current conflict goes back much further than the last couple of days.

Of course our hearts go out to all those who have lost their lives in Lebanon and Israel, the latter often forgotten. Our hearts go out to those who have had to flee their homes in Lebanon and Israel, the latter often forgotten and as for the parents of the kidnapped soldiers, I just do not know what to say except we are with you and pray for you.

Please be assured there are perhaps more people in the Christian Church that do stand by Israel than you might realise. We care about Israel because we believe you have a G-d given right to be in the land and to protect your citizens.

I feel so strongly that if it would do any good I would board the next El Al flight to Israel and proclaim this message there too. We stand by you and we pray for you. May G-d bless you.”

Also worth noting is that Dr Irene Lancaster, Academic and Interfaith Adviser to Anglicans for Israel, attended the pre-rally press conference and spoke to Shlomo Goldwasser. Irene is shortly to make aliyah and will settle in Haifa next door to Nahariya where the Goldwasser family live. There is more about Shlomo on Irene’s weblog.

Charles Brickdale (AfI Joint Organiser, Yorkshire)