Jewish leaders call for Fontaines D.C. gigs to be cancelled

Jewish leaders have called for two Fontaines DC concerts to be cancelled over concerns for the Jewish community.

The Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester (JRC) said it had raised "profound concerns" with Manchester City Council about the Heaton Park gigs on 3 and 4 July 2027.

"At a time of heightened antisemitism, comments and chants linked to the band risk importing tensions from the Middle East into the UK, with Jewish people becoming the targets," the statement said.

Manchester City Council said it understood the community's concerns and that addressing them would be "front and centre" of preparations for the concerts. Fontaines D.C. has been approached for comment.

Fontaines DC - a five-piece punk band from Dublin- have voiced support for the Palestinian cause and criticised Israel's actions in Gaza.

The JRC said: "The JRC has registered our profound concerns with Manchester Council regarding Fontaines DC's forthcoming concert at Heaton Park and has called for it to be cancelled.

"Despite our representations, it appears the concert will be going ahead."

The JRC said "the safety of our community must be paramount", adding that it expected Manchester City Council "to ensure robust and adequate safeguards are in place to protect the Jewish community" and would be working with them on this.

The JRC added that it had "no objection to Heaton Park hosting concerts" and that its concerns "are not about legitimate political expression, but the potential consequences of inflammatory rhetoric from the band".

A Manchester City Council spokesperson said it had recently met members of the JRC and would continue to work with them.

"The organisers, city council and GMP will put in place suitable and proportionate mitigations and assurances to make sure that the concerts are delivered in full compliance with the licensing conditions," the spokesperson said.

"They are clear that discrimination or intimidation, including antisemitism, have no place at their events."

Earlier this month, JRC community leader Mark Levy said Jewish people still felt like they had "a target on our backs" a year after the attack on Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester, in which two worshippers were killed.

He described the first anniversary of the tragedy as a day of "immense grief and trauma".

Manchester City Council said it stood "shoulder to shoulder" with Manchester's Jewish community and would continue to work with the JRC as plans for the concerts were developed.

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