Police Scotland is investigating after one of their officers told a Jewish man in Edinburgh to hide his Star of David necklace for his own safety.

The gentleman, who we are calling I, was approached by an officer on Castle Terrace as thousands gathered in the capital on 3 February to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

He was warned that his chain may “trigger” a "dangerous situation" and that if people on the demonstration saw it “they will just get very, very angry".

READ MORE: Police Scotland tell Jewish man to hide Star of David for 'safety'

The officer then told I that as there were just three officers policing this section of the protest it may be “difficult for us to manage the situation".

Video of the footage shows the policeman saying: “That's my concern that once there is an argument that can evolve into a fight, you put yourself in a dangerous situation. Okay. And there's only three of us to manage that. I'm going to ask do you mind tucking your star behind the jumper?”

When I said he did mind, the officer told him that there were over 1,000 people on the march.

“I'm guessing there'll be a lot of them walking around the city later on,” he adds, warning that he might end up being surrounded by them which would not be “a nice situation".

I, who comes from Tel Aviv and has lived in Edinburgh for the last twelve years, told The Herald this was not the first time he had been warned by police about provoking a dangerous response.

A week after the massacre on 7 October, he held an Israel flag at the bottom of the Mound as protesters called for a ceasefire.

“It was just kind of like Israel barely started to react to what happened. And they were out in numbers and I just stood there with with a flag of Israel and the police immediately approached me and said pretty much the same thing.

“‘We're outnumbered and if people here become violent and start attacking you, we can't protect you.’

"It seems like it's a pattern of the police to just get the easy way out, let the big crowd just do its thing. And if you're on the receiving end, just try to hide.”

I said he lost a good friend on 7 October, and a family member in the war in Gaza.

“So it is it is personal for me.

“I once tried to approach the police officer when they shouted ‘from the river to the sea’ and all that and I said, you know, this is basically a call for the destruction of the State of Israel, and the poor woman said ‘this is way over my paygrade’.”

I’s local MSP, Miles Briggs has contacted the local police commander about the situation and it’s understood a meeting is imminent.

I says he’ll be asking if this is policy for the police. 

"I do know a lot of Jewish people and Israeli people who are feeling scared. I mean, when I walk around, other than this Star of David on my chest there's nothing to suggest that I'm not Scottish.

"I have a ginger beard. If you put a kilt on me, you would never know the difference until I started speaking and you can hear that I don't have a Scottish accent.

"But if I was a religious person with a skullcap, a kippah and the external symbols of Judaism I think I would be concerned.

"If I went to the university with a flag of Palestine, no one would even look at me, but if I went there with a flag of Israel there's a very good chance I will be mobbed.

"The reality here is that there is a lot of hatred towards Israel, and by proxy, the Jews. And I think there's also a lot of ignorance out here and people just don't know the difference.

"So this is exactly the problem for the Jewish community here that they're saying, look, just because we're Jewish doesn't mean that we automatically back Israel with everything it does.

"And even in Israel, not everybody agrees with what the government decides."

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A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Yet again, a supposed peace march has proved to be about everything but peace, so much so, that police felt that they had to ask Jews to hide signs of their identity.

“For months now, we have been calling for restrictions to be placed on these marches. The police are so outnumbered that they cannot cope and are unable to protect the rights of law-abiding citizens and, instead, are appeasing the mob.

"If you want to know why 90% of British Jews say that they avoid travelling to a city centre if a major anti-Israel demonstration is taking place there, this is why.

“Police have powers to ban or restrict these marches under the Public Order Act and it is high time that they used those powers so that they can finally bring Britain’s streets back under control.”

Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary Russell Findlay said: “It’s chilling to hear a police officer in Scotland warning a member of the public about a possible risk to their safety simply because they’re wearing a symbol of their religious faith.

“While the officer may have been seeking to maintain public safety, such an interaction will be of concern to Jewish people whose right to freedom of religious expression should be sacrosanct and no different to those of any other faith group.

“Anyone who might be ‘triggered’ by a Star of David has no right to break the law and the police should robustly deal with any antisemitism in our communities.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We are aware of the video and the contents are being reviewed.”