Anti-Israel comments at Holyrood exhibition condemned

REMARKS displayed in the Scottish Parliament that called for Israel to be wiped from the face of the Earth have been condemned in a motion to be debated by MSPs.

A comments book attached to a parliamentary exhibition called "Gaza Now" contained the message, written by Raza from Glasgow: "Israel must be (and will be inshallah) wiped off from the Earth!" alongside other demonstrations of support for the Palestinian people.

The Conservatives have now laid down a parliamentary motion calling on MSPs to join them in their condemnation of the comments and participate in Holocaust Memorial Day 2010, which takes place on 27 January.

Jackson Carlaw, Conservative MSP for West of Scotland, said all parties should unite against bigotry in all its forms

He said: "Simply paying lip service to the messages of Holocaust Memorial Day once a year is no good. That's why it's so disappointing that – just a few weeks before – the Scottish Parliament should be displaying the message 'wipe Israel off the face of the map' in an exhibition sponsored by a Labour MSP."

He added: "We wouldn't tolerate a message that Palestine or Pakistan or Ireland or any other nation for that matter should be wiped from the face of the map. Israel should be no exception."

Pauline McNeill MSP, who hosted the exhibition on behalf of charity Edinburgh Direct Aid to highlight their humanitarian work in the region, said she had been previously unaware of the comment and had drawn it to the attention of the organisers

"I completely disagree with and condemn those words," she added.

Meanwhile, another motion, laid down by SNP member Stewart Maxwell, has called on MSPs to acknowledge the death of Mep Gies, the last member of the group that hid Anne Frank and her family from the Nazis in Amsterdam, who has died aged 100.