A Green Party press release commenting on the alleged foiled terror plot against the Jewish community in Manchester also referred to Jews “celebrating” Yom Kippur.
Two men in their 30s were arrested on Sunday in connection with a suspected terror plot against the Jewish community in Manchester.
The arrests were made hours before the beginning of Yom Kippur, almost a year on from the Heaton Park Synagogue terror attack.
Commenting on the developments, Green Party MP Hannah Spencer, who represents the Manchester constituency of Gorton and Denton, said she was “horrified to learn of a suspected terrorist plot targeting the Jewish community here in Greater Manchester just as Jewish people are celebrating Yom Kippur, which is all the more distressing”.
She went on to say that the Green Party “stands in full solidarity with Jewish communities in Greater Manchester and across the country”.
The MP, who was elected in a by-election earlier this year, added: “Less than a year on from the horrors of the Heaton Park synagogue attack and amid rising antisemitism and hate crime, we have to work together and do everything in our collective power to tackle antisemitism”.
But some social media users took issue with the use of the word “celebrating” to describe the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, a time of fasting and atonement.
However, others defended Spencer, with one saying: “Don’t see the issue here. Very innocuous mistake, she meant well”.
During her successful election campaign in February, Spencer was accused of using “sectarian” tactics after publishing leaflets in Urdu calling on voters to “punish Labour for Gaza”.
Meanwhile, Green Party leader Zack Polanski, who is Jewish, has also been criticised on social media for posting a photo of himself eating a bowl of chips on Yom Kippur while out campaigning ahead of the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.
Much needed stop in Pedro's cafe in between interviews and doorknocking!
— Zack Polanski (@ZackPolanski) September 21, 2026
Thanks for the chips 💚 pic.twitter.com/g8buixKu6n
Author and influencer Hen Mazig responded to Polanski’s post on X, saying: “You can choose not to fast. That's completely fine, and many Jews I love don't. But posting this Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, is either incredibly stupid or viciously intentional. I think it's both.”
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