Jewish people still feel like they have "a target on our backs" a year on from the Manchester synagogue attack, a community leader has said.

Mark Levy, of the Jewish Representative Council for Greater Manchester, described the first anniversary of the tragedy at Heaton Park Synagogue as a day of "immense grief and trauma".

Melvin Cravitz, 66, and 53-year-old Adrian Daulby, were killed when attacker Jihad Al-Shamie drove his car into the gates and began attacking worshippers with a knife.

The attack - which ended with 35-year-old Al-Shamie being shot dead by police - took place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

Al-Shamie, who was wearing a fake suicide vest, had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist organisation in a 999 call he made during the attack.

Police later said Cravitz had died from multiple stab wounds, while Daulby was fatally struck by a stray police bullet fired at Al-Shamie.

Levy, whose father was one of a number of congregants who barricaded the synagogue doors to prevent Al-Shamie getting inside, said despite the pain of losing "two very special people", the community maintained a sense of "strength and resilience".

"The dignity in which we have held ourselves is absolutely astonishing," he said.

"We've heard from Melvin's family this morning to want to mark this appalling anniversary of the senseless terrorist attack with acts of kindness."

Levy said he knew Cravitz and Daulby personally and described them as "wonderful people".

But he said that since the attack, the community felt antisemitism was still "so prevalent" across society.

Levy's comments came just two weeks after counter-terrorism police said officers had disrupted an "advanced" plot to attack Manchester's Jewish community again during this year's Yom Kippur holiday.

Two men who were arrested in the Northern Quarter area of Manchester remain in custody being questioned on suspicion of terrorism offences.

Reflecting on the one-year anniversary of the Heaton Park attack, Levy told the BBC: "There are a number of people who were involved on that day who were still naturally struggling with the after-effects of the grief, trauma and shock.

"What we have to acknowledge here is that after 12 months what we'd hoped would be a line in the sand - of a terrorist attack targeting British Jews on the holiest day of the year - has been anything but as antisemitism continues to be rife across society."

He said news of another alleged plot were "incredibly distressing not just for the Jewish community here in Greater Manchester but for communities around the world".

Levy said friends and family were "actively questioning" whether they had a future in the UK.

"I feel incredibly anxious to be Jewish at the minute, as do a lot of people who are visibly identifiable as Jewish," he said.

"We have heard lots of testimony about those who now cover up their identities, people who are scared to say that they are Jewish when they are attending the NHS."

However, Levy added: "We need to also recognise that we are strong and resilient and we are determined not to let these appalling people who are out there to cause us harm, actually define our community and lead us to lead smaller Jewish lives.

"Because we're incredibly proud to be Mancunian, proud to be British and proud to be Jewish and all three of those identities sit alongside one another in perfect harmony."

Earlier, Sir Stephen Watson, chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, said the Jewish community "faced a threat not shared by anybody else" in society.

He promised officers would "exercise every sinew" in its defence.

"We continue and are committed to their defence and will remain so for as long as it takes to ensure that those who would seek to do harm to innocents are brought to justice and prevented in their endeavours," he said.

Earlier this week, Cravitz's family called for people to mark the first anniversary of his death with acts of kindness.

His family said they and his friends always described Cravitz as a "mensch" – a Yiddish word for a person of decency who shows up and takes responsibility for those around them.

Cravitz's stepdaughter Sherelle Dresner wants 2 October to become National Mensch Day and is setting up a charity, Mensch Like Melvin, to create a lasting legacy.

She said: "Being a mensch transcends religion, background, and identity. It just means being a good person.

"It can be checking on a neighbour, holding a door for someone struggling, volunteering your time for someone – something that is right, kind, and decent."