Manchester England – Two In Custody In Manchester Beating Of Orthodox Jewish Teen; Police Searching For Third Suspect

Manchester England – Two 17 year olds have been arrested in a brutal beating that landed a 17 year old Jewish teen in the hospital with a fractured skull and a blood clot in his brain.

As previously reported on VIN News, Moshe Fuerst was critically injured on Saturday night when several attackers beat him and three friends in an incident that began as the group waited for a train at the Bowker Vale Metrolink station.

Police did not release the names of the two suspects, who are residents of Whitefield and Derbyshire. The pair were taken into custody after being arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm and violent disorder. Greater Manchester Police are continuing to search for the third attacker.

Natasha Bolton, senior press officer for the GMP confirmed that the attack was religiously motivated.

“These arrests demonstrate that the police are taking this incident very seriously which I hope gives reassurance to the Jewish community and the wider public,” said Greater Manchester Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd, in a statement released today. “The police are treating this as a hate crime and while we don’t know the full details of this particular incident, I want to make clear that all reports of hate crimes will be dealt with seriously.”

Police said that the incident began on a train platform and the four victims were chased to the street where Fuerst was punched in the face and then kicked in the head while he was lying on the ground. The attackers are believed to have left the scene by train.

The swift apprehension of two out of the three attackers came as good news to the Fuersts.

“The family wants to express our deep feelings of gratitude to the Ribono Shel Olam and all of the beautiful yidden around the world who davened for him and extended tremendous chesed to us,” Rabbi Michael Fuerst, father of the beaten teen, told VIN News. “Moshe wants to express his gratitude to the Greater Manchester Police and all of the wonderful staff at Salford Royal Infirmary. He hopes that his attackers will go to jail for a long time and experience the kind of pain he has suffered.”

Anti-Semitic incidents continue to rise in the United Kingdom. A report released by Community Security Trust, which promotes the safety and security of Jews in the United Kingdom, stated there was a 53 percent increase in the number of anti-Semitic incidents in the first half of 2015 compared to the same period in the previous year. 44 of the 473 incidents reported were classified as violent anti-Semitic assaults, two of which were life threatening or involved grievous bodily harm. The CST issued a bulletin on Tuesday to all synagogues in Manchester calling for tight security measures during the upcoming Jewish holidays.

Detective Inspector Liam Boden of the North Manchester division of the GMP acknowledged that Jews in Manchester have been feeling uneasy in the wake of this most recent attack and said that police are working closely with CST to provide extra protection to the Jewish community over the upcoming holidays.

“I want to offer reassurance that hate crime will not be tolerated and we will do everything we can to stop it,” said Detective Inspector Boden.