Up to 50 per cent of activists involved with a Scottish pro-Palestine group hold anti-semitic views, according to a new report compiled by Jewish Human Rights Watch (JHRW).
The paper is based on a study of comments made on social media by core supporters of the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC) and claims that almost as many SOSC members deny the Holocaust and liken it to a Jewish conspiracy theory. It claims many are guilty of posting anti-Semitic images and conspiracy theories while outlining alleged global Jewish domination.
The report specifies the manner in which anti-Semitic opinions are spread:
“There is a strong probability that those who are introduced to anti-Israel material by SPSC activists on the streets are being influenced by people who adhere to an anti-Semitic mindset.”
“If Scotland is truly open for business, then why do we continue to see boycotts on our streets? If Scotland really is a beacon of tolerance and hope, then why does anti-Semitism continue to be tolerated and allowed to thrive and poison our society?”
John Mann, Labour MP for Bassetlaw, said he saw “a particularly virulent anti-Semitism amongst a small number of activists in Scotland, causing harm and distress to members of the Jewish community and encouraging further ignorance and hatred.”
Mr.Mann added somebody needs to put “these racists back into their boxes” before urging the leaders of the Scottish government and Scottish political parties to take the lead in fighting anti-Semitism.
The study was sparked by protests that occurred as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last year when an event was scheduled to celebrate Israeli culture. The SPSC responded by calling for a protest on the theme ‘No to Brand Israel at Edinburgh Festival’ and asked members from all over Scotland to attend.
As a result, hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters appeared outside the one-day International Shalom Festival calling out to those entering the venue, “Your tickets are covered in Palestinian blood.”
Just months earlier, students at the University of Edinburgh condemned a poster found on campus which claimed that the Holocaust was a Jewish invention designed for financial gain. As Breitbart News reported, the university opened an investigation into who was responsible for placing the poster on campus.
Elsewhere in Scotland, Jews are facing similar instances of discrimination and threats with Glasgow University a prime target, as Breitbart News reported.
Glasgow is currently home to the fourth largest Jewish community in the UK, but that community is dwindling thanks, in part, to an undercurrent of anti-Semitism in the country. Between the censuses of 2001 and 2011, Glasgow lost 20 percent of its Jews, with the population dropping from 4,222 to 3,396 in number.
Scottish football team Celtic has also been praised in the past by terrorist group Hamas after its supporters were seen flying Palestinian flags during a Champions League match against Israel’s Hapoel Beersheba.
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