Jewish people continue to feel like they have "a target on our backs" a year after the Manchester synagogue attack, according to Mark Levy of the Jewish Representative Council for Greater Manchester. He described the first anniversary of the tragedy at Heaton Park Synagogue as a day of "immense grief and trauma".
Melvin Cravitz, 66, and Adrian Daulby, 53, died in the attack. Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, drove his car into the synagogue gates and attacked worshippers with a knife before being shot dead by police. Al-Shamie, who was wearing a fake suicide vest, had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist organisation during a 999 call.
Police stated that Mr Cravitz died from multiple stab wounds, while Mr Daulby was fatally struck by a stray police bullet. Mr Levy said that despite the pain, the community has maintained a sense of "strength and resilience".
Mr Levy's comments follow counter-terrorism police announcing two weeks ago that they had disrupted an "advanced" plot to attack Manchester's Jewish community again during this year's Yom Kippur holiday. Two men arrested in Manchester's Northern Quarter remain in custody on suspicion of terrorism offences.
Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, Sir Stephen Watson, said the Jewish community "faced a threat not shared by anybody else" in society and pledged that officers would "exercise every sinew" in its defence.