The Jewish Representative Council of Manchester issued the following statement following an unprovoked attack on a highly-regarded Rabbi standing as candidate in the forthcoming elections:

“Councillor Rabbi Saunders is a much respected communal figure and we unequivocally condemn his treatment in this video. It is unquestionably antisemitic and we expect action to be taken.
The incident occurred following an invitation by the Mosque to meet their congregants. As an organisation, we were delighted to invite and welcome members from the Mosque to our Hustings.
The fact he has been attacked emphasises how individuals are importing the tragic conflict taking place in Israel and Gaza onto the streets of the UK.
This is manifesting itself in politicians campaigning in a General Election being targedt, abused and unable to freely move around the constituencies they are seeking to represent.
When politicians are unable to speak about their views in public, have meetings disrupted and their offices attacked, it constitutes a real risk to our democracy.
We hope that there are no further scenes of this nature as we approach polling day.”