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John Swinney has been told he is fanning the flames of anti-semitism in Scotland in a brutal assessment of his stance on Palestine. In an open letter to the First Minister, signed by 3,000 people, he has been accused of endorsing a "modern-day blood libel" which only risks stoking the flames of anti-semitism, after he controversially called for the Palestinian state to be officially recognised.
The letter has been sent by Scotland Against Antisemitism (SAA) warns that recent Scottish Government announcements will further endanger its Jewish community.
As well as calling for recognition of a Palestinian state, Mr Swinney also announced last week that his government would pause new awards of public money to arms companies supplying Israel.
This provoked a furious tirade by SAA, who stated: "The Scottish Government holds no power over foreign policy and no meaningful influence over the State of Israel. The decision to pull a tiny amount of funding from a handful of commercial projects will not impact the Israeli government or change the course of the war.
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"In short, the only people this announcement will materially affect are Scottish Jews who are already under siege." Perhaps most damning though, is their accusation of the Scottish Government's "blood libel".
This refers to a centuries-old anti-semitic trope which alleged that Jews murdered Christian children in order to use their blood in religious rituals. Such claims have been used to incite hatred and justify violence against Jews for centuries.
In his address last week, Mr Swinney told MSPs: "We will pause new awards of public money to arms companies whose products or services are provided to countries where there is plausible evidence of genocide being committed by that country - that will include Israel."
In response, SAA stated: ""The accusation of genocide is one of the gravest under international law. It requires an exceptional standard of proof that can only be met in a court of law by producing irrefutable evidence of intent."
The organisation went on: "Neither viral propaganda nor the claims of discredited UN figures, such as Francesca Albanese, who denies proven sexual atrocities and is accused of misrepresenting her legal credentials, or Tom Fletcher, author of the immediately debunked '14,000 dead babies' allegation, are sufficient. For the Scottish Government to endorse this modern-day blood libel will not save a single innocent life in Gaza but it will embolden those who now use the language of genocide to justify the harassment and intimidation of Jews here in Scotland."
The letter states: "We at Scotland Against Antisemitism write with grave concern following yesterday's announcement from the Scottish Government regarding Israel. As you are no doubt aware, our small and increasingly vulnerable community is living in an extraordinarily hostile environment, one that has only worsened since October 7th."
It goes on: "We number around 5,000 people. Just 0.093% of Scotland's population, yet we were the victims of approximately 17% of all religiously-motivated hate crimes last year. That figure alone should be a matter of national shame."
The letter continues: "The human suffering in Gaza is real and cannot be understated, nor is it our intention to do so. But we must be absolutely clear with you about the real-world impact of the measures your government has announced.
"We believe with sorrow and outrage, that this decision was made to appease a small, extremist, and increasingly aggressive fringe of the activist class, a group whose support is being courted for political reasons. It appears the government has calculated that the cost of alienating Scotland's Jews will be outweighed by electoral rewards."
The letter concludes: "But in the very week that yet more members of our community are leaving Scotland for Israel out of fear, we ask you plainly: We call on the Scottish Government to retract its inflammatory language and meet with the Jewish community to discuss how the government plans to protect us -- not just in words but in action."
The letter has been signed by lawyers, politicians, educators, clergy, students as well as concerned citizens across Scotland and beyond. Leah Benoz, is the founder and director of Scotland Against Antisemitism.
She said: "The Scottish Government has no power over foreign policy and the proposed funding cuts are tiny and will have no effect on events in the Middle East. Not one Palestinian life will be saved by these measures, but Jewish life in Scotland will be put further at risk.
"Our question to Mr Swinney is simple; is our safety really a price worth paying for this kind of gesture politics?"
Last week, in response to the First Minister's comments, the leader of the Scottish Tories expressed his concner over its impact."
Russell Findlay told Holyrood: "I am concerned by his demand to immediately recognise Palestine statehood. This will be seen by Scotland's Jewish community and many others as premature, impractical and counter-productive."
A Scottish Government A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "As the First Minister made clear in setting out his statement to Parliament, the Scottish Government deeply values our relationship with Scotland's Jewish community and it is vital that they feel safe and supported. There can be no place for antisemitism or hatred of any kind in Scotland.
"The First Minister met with representatives of the Jewish community this week to assure them of this, and will continue to engage in dialogue with the community. The International Court of Justice has found a prima facie case that the Israeli government was committing genocide and the First Minister, along with many international leaders, shares the concerns that the actions of the Israeli government in Gaza constitute a genocide."
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