Gaza conflict 'being used as excuse for attacks on Jews'

Published on Thursday 8 January 2009 20:59

CONCERNS have been raised that the recent troubles in Gaza are being used as an excuse for attacks on Jewish groups in Scotland.

Strathclyde Police have confirmed they are investigating two complaints – of an abusive letter sent a Jewish organisation and another connected to a phone call.

The issue was raised in the Scottish Parliament during a debate on Gaza and Israel's heavy attack following missile bombardment of its citizens by Hamas militants.

During the debate, aid agencies were invited to call on the Scottish Government for assistance as fighting continues in Gaza.

Nicola Sturgeon, the Deputy First Minister, told MSPs there was a "strength of feeling" among Scots who wanted to raise money and send aid to the region.

During the debate, both the Israeli government and Hamas were condemned and MSPs called for a ceasefire.

However, the Conservative Glasgow list MSP Jackson Carlaw raised concerns over how the conflict was being used as an excuse for attacks on the Jewish community.

He told MSPs about the abusive letter and call, and said he feared more serious incidents – like the desecration of a Jewish cemetery in Glasgow two and a half years ago – may be repeated.

His worries were matched by the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities. A spokeswoman said: "For some time, the temperature of the rhetoric has been rising, and the terms 'Israel' and 'Jew' are being increasingly conflated.

"This has become part of mainstream discourse and even if not intentional, it merely brings underlying anti-Semitic attitudes into the open."