In the wake of violence like we saw last week in Manchester, communities often ask: what can we do now?
Last week, Neil Denton, Eddy Canfor-Dumas and Peter Osborn shared a message with our Newcastle Community Bridgebuilders: some of the immediate, practical steps to help people come together in ways that build safety, trust and connection.
Though it was written with our Bridgebuilders in mind, we are sharing it here too, because now, more than ever, we must build bridges, not walls: protecting each other, staying open in the face of fear, and meeting the deep human needs for safety, dignity and belonging across all our communities.
We do not yet know what drove this attack. It is being described as antisemitic and may also have been shaped by wider conflicts and grievances.What we do know is that acts like this are often the outcome of division, despair or a sense of powerlessness — sometimes twisted into revenge for perceived wrongs.Whatever the motive, the effect is the same: lives brutally cut short, trust eroded and fear spread through our communities.
At such moments, the temptation is to retreat behind walls — of suspicion, anger or identity. But the only lasting answer is to build bridges. That means:
- – Standing with those directly targeted.
- – Refusing to let one person’s violence define whole communities.
- – Staying open to complexity and resisting easy explanations that fuel more division.
- – Recognising the fundamental difference between opposition to the actions of a state and hatred of a people — and strongly resisting the conflation of the two, which only deepens misunderstanding and fear.
- – Meeting needs for safety, dignity, respect, and belonging across all communities.
What now? Responding together
In the wake of violence, communities often ask: what can we do now? Here are some immediate, practical steps to help people come together in ways that build safety, trust and connection:
1. Acknowledge the pain
- Hold space for grief and anger
- Begin any gathering with a moment of silence or reflection
2. Stand with those targeted
- Reach out to Jewish neighbours, friends and colleagues
- Offer support without assumptions: ‘What would help right now’?
3. Create safe conversations
- Use small gatherings, vigils or online spaces to share feelings and fears.
- Encourage listening first, before speaking
4. Name needs, not labels
- Move the focus from blame and suspicion to the human needs that have been
shaken: safety, dignity, respect, belonging. - Ask: ‘What do we need most right now, and how can we meet those needs
together?’
5. Resist divison
- Avoid language that tars whole communities with one person’s act.
- Challenge prejudice calmly and model staying open in the face of fear.
6. Prepare for what's ahead
- Recognise this may not be the last such attack.
- Build local ‘bridge teams’ ready to respond: faith leaders, youth workers,
community organisers, neighbours. - Share and practise the skills of creative conversation before the next crisis.
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