RISE OF ANTI-SEMITISM IN SCOTLAND (uk)

Attacks ranging from verbal abuse to vandalism of synagogues and cemeteries have coincided with events in the Middle East, says the report written by two Scots academics, due to be published in the journal of the Institute for Global Jewish Affairs next week. The document accuses the Scottish Trades Union Congress of bias after the STUC called for sanctions against Israel last year. The study was compiled by Ephraim Borowski, director of the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities and former head of the philosophy department at Glasgow University, and Kenneth Collins, chairman of the Scottish Jewish Archives Centre and visiting professor at the medical faculty of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. They wrote: “There has been historically little anti-Semitism in Scotland, and in particular good relations with the churches. Recently there has been a significant increase, much of it associated with events in the Middle East. “Specifically, the Scottish trade union movement has pursued a policy of boycotting Israel despite a dialogue with the Jewish community aimed at understanding both sides of the conflict.” It is claimed that in 2008, 10 out of 541 anti-Semitic incidents recorded in the UK (1.8%) occurred in Scotland.

However, in 2009 this increased to 30, according to the Community Security Trust, a charity that “represents British Jewry to police, government and media on anti-Semitism and security”. The authors continued: “Events in the Middle East, often accompanied by popular conflation of Israelis and Jews, have a habit of leading to outbreaks of anti-Semitic activity. “These include anti-Semitic daubing at synagogues and cemeteries as well as threats and verbal abuse.” The study claims some Jews in Scotland believe community relations are deteriorating after the STUC opted to boycott Israel last year. The authors said: “The report of the STUC delegation [to Palestine] itself showed considerable bias in the way information was presented and their decisions were made. In fact, subsequent reports indicated that the STUC had already decided on a boycott and divestment policy and their visit was intended to confirm the decision.” David Moxham, deputy secretary of the STUC, said yesterday: “The study is a very partial account. It is out of context and attempts to show that we have approached this in a biased fashion. We are biased to the extent that we don’t consider the situation in the Middle East to be a conflict between equal partners. We do think that Israel does have an enormous responsibility to change its activities, as does the international community.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “There is no excuse for any form of hate crime; it is simply not acceptable and it will not be tolerated. That is why Scotland has tough legislation to prosecute those who carry out crimes based on discrimination. Only by working together can we all prosper in an equal, modern Scotland.” The document describes a long-standing Jewish community in Scotland which numbered 18,000 in the 1950s but is now around 10,000, largely due to emigration. About half live in the Glasgow suburb of East Renfrewshire. A further 1,119 Jews are living in Glasgow itself and 790 in Edinburgh. The study said the Jewish community in Scotland is more aged than wider Scottish society, and some 2.5% live in a medical or care establishment – the highest proportion of all religious groups in Scotland. Around 30% of Jews were of pensionable age, compared to 19% of the general population, and the study said: “In line with historical Jewish employment patterns, 27% of those working were self-employed, compared to a national proportion of 11%. Jews had higher educational qualifications, and more than twice the proportion of Jews were in higher managerial and professional occupations than in the wider community.”

Herald Scotland