Scots Jews' fears at FM 'inflammatory words'

LEADING members of Scotland’s Jewish community have said the First Minister’s “inflammatory” language is making things more difficult and unsafe for them.

- BY BEN BORLAND

John Swinney joins members of the Jewish community at an anniversary vigil to remember the October 7 attacks

One business owner said it was “absolutely terrifying” to be Jewish in his part of Edinburgh, and a Jewish woman from Glasgow described the atmosphere in the city as “pretty horrible”.

She told The Sunday Times: “For the first time in our lifetimes we can relate to Jews in the 1930s, something we never thought possible. Each morning I’ve been half expecting a yellow star painted on my business, I swear that has crossed my mind.”

Speaking over the summer, John Swinney accused Israel of carrying out a “genocide in Palestine”.

Matthew Shaps, chairman of the Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation, said: “What he doesn’t appreciate is that the language he uses about Israel and Palestine, which is quite inflam-

matory, bleeds into the experiences of Jews on the streets of Scotland.

“It imports the conflict on to the streets of Scotland and holds Jews personally responsible for the action of a government in another country that is not their government. That is a key issue.