The level of antisemitic abuse in Scotland in the past year has been dismaying, a leading politician has said.
The Scottish National Party’s Westminster leader, Angus Robertson, addressed the issue in a meeting with Jewish leaders.
He said: “There has to be constant vigilance against intolerance of all kinds in our communities – and any growth in antisemitism is quite simply unacceptable.”
His party would continue to support Holocaust education and reaffirmed the SNP’s commitment to protecting religious slaughter, he added.
Mr Robertson said that while his party had concerns about Israel’s military action in Gaza, Scottish Jews’ worries about the disproportionate focus on Israel in the Scottish Parliament must be acknowledged.
The MP was meeting representatives of the Board of Deputies and Scottish Council of Jewish Communities (SCoJeC) on Monday.
They discussed the Board’s Jewish manifesto for the general election and its ten commitments that politicians are asked to support.
Following the session SCoJeC director Ephraim Borowski said: “The Scottish political landscape is complicated by the fact that the SNP is predicted to take the majority of Scottish seats at Westminster only months after losing the referendum on independence.
“This was a useful opportunity to discuss how the SNP might influence UK government policy after the election as well as how the Scottish government should respond to the concerns of the community revealed by our ‘Being Jewish in Scotland’ survey.”
Source: Jewish Chronicle
Great to meet Ephraim Borowski of Scottish Council of Jewish Communities @ScoJec and @PhilR_R of @BoardofDeputies pic.twitter.com/xovfdkDm68
— Angus Robertson (@MorayMP) March 9, 2015