Two Palestinian men with axes entered the shul during morning prayers and attacked the worshippers. Five people were killed and seven injured. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) claimed responsibility.
The Times has revealed that, weeks earlier, PFLP leader Maher al-Taher stood alongside Mr Corbyn at the now infamous wreath-laying ceremony in Tunis honouring members of Black September, the group behind the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre.
Mrs Hirschfield, who lives in Britain, told the JC: “It’s absolutely terrible; here’s Corbyn supporting a terrorist group that has killed a British citizen. This is someone from his own country, how can he be like that?”
She described her cousin, to whom she was close, as “just an ordinary person, non-political, brought up in England".
She said: “We were all brought up in Liverpool. He was from a frum family, but he went to non-Jewish schools, to university, he was a scientist. He was involved in both worlds. He wasn’t a fanatic, he was just carrying on with ordinary life, he lived in both worlds. He was a British citizen, contributed to the country here, then went on aliyah."
Mrs Hirschfield said it was “very worrying” that many British people “don’t care” about Mr Corbyn’s past associations with people who advocate or plot violence.
“We live in a bubble. London, Golders Green and where we are is very different to going up north, to the rest of the country, it’s very frightening. People don’t care about the Jews," she said.
“Every Shabbat we say a prayer supporting the royal family and praying for good government… I think it’s terrible that he [Mr Corbyn] is leader of the opposition at the moment. If he becomes Prime Minister I think it would be awful. I really think the Jewish people have got to be very wary of it."
A spokesperson for Mr Corbyn told the Times: "Jeremy attended the conference convened by the president of Tunisia to support Palestinian rights and to bring together Palestinian factions to unite for a peaceful and just settlement of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
"He is, of course, completely opposed to attacks on civilians."
This week Mr Corbyn made a number of statements defending his presence at the wreath-laying ceremony for those behind the Munich Olympic massacre, in which 11 Israelis were killed.
These included the claim: “I was present when (the wreath) was laid, I don’t think I was actually involved in it."
