Two survivors of the October 7 Supernova festival massacre were detained, berated, and treated with suspicion by UK Border Force Officers at Manchester Airport on Sunday, survivor Neria Sharabi told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday morning.
Sharabi and his brother Daniel, who according to Channel 12 had saved dozens of lives by administering medical aid and using the weapons of a disabled tank to fend of Hamas terrorists, were allegedly detained by the Border Force after the officers saw their Israeli passports and the pair had explained that they had come to the UK to speak to the Manchester Jewish community about their experiences as survivors of the slaughter in which over 260 partygoers were murdered. The Sharabi brothers had hoped to raise awareness for their non-profit to help fellow victims.
"Their faces immediately changed," when the border officers heard the reason for their stay in Manchester, said Sharabi. "I saw the antisemitism in their eyes, from the moment they started interrogating us."
The officers allegedly said that they had to detain and interrogate the survivors for two hours because "they had to make sure that you are not going to do what you are doing in Gaza over there."
When they were first detained, Sharabi asked if they were being treated in such a manner because they were Jews. In a video taken by Daniel, one of the border officers can be heard telling the brothers that "nobody has said that once, so knock the attitude off. I've made the decision, and you're coming in. Let us do the checks that we need to do and keep quiet...we're the bosses, not you.
The victims remained at the festival after the attack to help others
Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester and Region, which raised awareness of the incident in a Monday social media post, said that this comment proved the officers abused the survivors because they were motivated by "antisemitic intent."
The Sharabi brothers were interrogated for two hours about what they were going to talk about and about their past mandatory IDF service. They were grilled about how long they served in the army, and what roles they served in.
JRC chief executive Marc Levy said in a letter to the Manchester Airport Group that the border officer spoke in an aggressive "unnecessary and demeaning tone."
"I don't want to come back to the UK," Sharabi said. "I don't feel safe here, if that's how they behave -- they're police."
Levy demanded that the airport investigate the matter and ensure that Israeli passport holders are not subjected to similar discrimination.
"For clarity, the individuals were attending the music festival when terrorists attacked, murdering hundreds of innocent civilians," Levy wrote in the letter. "Instead of fleeing, the brothers, one of whom is a medic, remained at the festival site to save others, combat the terrorist and treat the wounded."
The Manchester Airport Group told The Post that Border Force personnel are not employees, but because of the seriousness of the allegations they were in touch with the agency and the Home Office to ensure that they were being looked into.
JRC also called on UK Home Secretary James Cleverly and the UK Home Office to address the issue.
“We are investigating this,” Cleverly told JRC on Monday night on X. “We do not tolerate antisemitism or any form of discrimination. This incident will be handled in line with our disciplinary procedures.”
North West Friends of Israel urged the Greater Manchester Police to investigate the issue as a hate crime.
"This is another shocking incident where UK government employees target Jews and discriminate against them because they oppose Israel's actions in defending itself in Gaza," said NWFOI co-chair Raphi Bloom. "In this case it was a border control officer and last week it was nurses at one of Manchester's largest hospitals. Jews are increasingly scared to identify themselves in public places. The UK government has promised to act on extremism and Jew hate but so far these are empty words. These civil servants need to be sacked and the police investigate them for antisemitism immediately."
The Home Office, Cleverly, and Israeli embassy to the UK did not immediately respond to Jerusalem Post requests for comment.
The Sharabi brothers managed to speak to the Manchester Jewish community about their experiences and their new non-profit to help Supernova festival and October 7 massacre survivors. The organization seeks to help survivors with treatment for post traumatic stress disorder, which the JRC said the brothers themselves still suffered from. The non-profit is also organizing therapeutic retreats for survivors, with one upcoming fun day set to welcome around 500 survivors.
The organizations also planned to "Send survivors to share their stories around the world," said Sharabi, "but after what happened I don't know if we will send them to Britain."