A Green MSP accused of a “vile” response to the weekend terror attacks in Israel has been “spoken to” by her party’s co-leader Lorna Slater about the matter.
However Ms Slater refused to say whether Maggie Chapman would face disciplinary action by the party.
Ms Chapman, a list MSP for North East Scotland and deputy convener of Holyrood’s human rights committee, was widely condemned for a post on Twitter/X on Sunday.
READ MORE: Maggie Chapman criticised over Hamas tweet in wake of attack
Writing about the raids by Hamas militants that left over 1,000 Israelis dead and 150 taken hostage, she said: “What’s happening in Palestine is a consequence of Apartheid, of illegal occupation,m & of imperial aggression by the Israel state. Palestinian civilians have seen their homes destroyed, their water stolen & their land appropriated illegally.”
What’s happening in #Palestine is a consequence of #Apartheid, of illegal occupation,m & of imperial aggression by the Israel state. Palestinian civilians have seen their homes destroyed, their water stolen & their land appropriated illegally.#GazaUnderAttack#VivaPalestine https://t.co/JHdFrZ3Y2l
— Maggie Chapman MSP (@MaggieChapman) October 8, 2023
She also shared a tweet from another account which said: "The OPPRESSED are fighting back for their rights.. Don't let the Western media fool you into thinking it's terrorism, this is decolonization..”
First Minister Humza Yousaf later condemned the violence unequivocally, while SNP External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson said there was no justification for them.
Tory MSP Jackson Carlaw said the comments were vile and laid bare “the disgusting bigotry that pollutes the Scottish Greens and makes them totally unfit to be a party of government”.
He said that if Mr Yousaf did not end the SNP’s joint government deal with the Greens, he would be “deemed an apologist for antisemitism”, a suggestion the FM called “crass”.
Ms Chapman later condemned Hamas for killing civilians.
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland today, Ms Slater, the minister for the circular economy, said she did not support Ms Chapman’s comment.
He said: “The attacks on the weekend were absolutely acts of terrorism.
“To attack unarmed civilians, to take hostages of civilians, these are clearly acts of terrorism and I and my party absolutely condemn those."
She said Ms Chapman was responsible for her own social media output.
She went on: "I have spoken to Maggie Chapman about her tweet. What we really need to do is move the conversation on to how we deal with the humanitarian interest."
She said she did not want social media rows to distract from efforts to secure an immediate ceasefire with humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to flee conflict zones.
Ms Chapman explained her comments more fully on Twitter/X on Wednesday.
🧵
— Maggie Chapman MSP (@MaggieChapman) October 11, 2023
The killing of innocent civilians by Hamas & Israel is reprehensible. I condemn them wholeheartedly & anyone who knows me will know this is my view.
This crisis goes back decades. Earlier this week I shared a Tweet trying to put this complex situation into some context.
1/3
She wrote: “The killing of innocent civilians by Hamas & Israel is reprehensible.
“I condemn them wholeheartedly & anyone who knows me will know this is my view.
“This crisis goes back decades. Earlier this week I shared a Tweet trying to put this complex situation into some context.
“As a campaigner I have always spoken out against Israel’s targeting of Palestinians, in the same way I have no hesitation in condemning Hamas for killing civilians.
“My thoughts are with all affected by events of this crisis, regardless of where they come from.
“I fear worse is to come. I support calls for a humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians and get aid to those most in need, and urgent international action to end this situation.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel