The First Minister (Nicola Sturgeon):
The Scottish Government—I hope in
common with everybody across the chamber—is committed to
tackling hate crime and prejudice, and I want to reassure
Scotland’s Jewish communities that there is no place in
Scotland for any form of antisemitism or religious hatred. We
value our Jewish communities. We value the contribution that
they make to Scotland, and that is a message that should go out
strongly from this chamber.
As well as our ambitious programme
of work to tackle hate crime and build community cohesion, we
have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s
definition of antisemitism. That sends a strong message
that we believe antisemitism to be entirely
unacceptable in Scotland.
:
The First Minister will be aware of recent press reports
of comments made by Ephraim Borowski, director of the Scottish
Council of Jewish Communities, in this very Parliament. He
said:
“Mostly the Jewish community used to feel
that Scotland was a good place to be Jewish but for many that
has reversed. Many Jews actively discuss leaving Scotland
because they feel alienated, vulnerable and not at
home.”
I hope that the First Minister is as
worried and saddened by that assertion as members on these
benches are.
What guidance has been issued
specifically to Police Scotland to address the scourge
of antisemitism in Scotland? Will the
First Minister join me in calling for all political parties
represented in this Parliament to do everything in their power
to make sure that no one in the Jewish community feels
vulnerable or unwelcome in Scotland?
The First Minister:
I encourage all parties to do exactly what has called for. As for the
police, I believe that they have a good relationship and work
very closely with the Jewish community to tackle antisemitismand address its concerns about
security.
With regard to Ephraim Borowski’s
comments, I have huge respect for him and the work that he
does, and I have personally discussed this issue with him in
the past. He is more than capable of speaking for himself, but
I do not think that there was any suggestion that the very
legitimate concerns that he raised at the weekend were in any
way unique to Scotland. I think that he was reflecting not only
a feeling of the Jewish community across the whole of the
United Kingdom, including Scotland, but an apparent rise
in antisemitism not just across the UK but
further afield. We all have to be very vigilant about that, and
my responsibility is to make sure that that is the case,
particularly in Scotland. As I have said, I have had and will
continue to have discussions with the Jewish community about
exactly that.
I made this point when I spoke
earlier this week at the reception in Parliament for the
Holocaust Educational Trust, and I will say it again here: the
Jewish community is a valuable and vital part of our society in
Scotland, and if one member of that community feels unsafe
here, all of us have a duty to respond to that and do
everything possible to change it. It is a responsibility that I
take very seriously for the Jewish community and for any other
minority community living in our diverse country, and I hope
that all members will agree with and echo that.
[Applause.]
