Peace lecture by US Consul General in Scotland scrapped in Israel row

But the £5-a-ticket talk due to be held at the Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries has been targeted by anti-war protesters in the wake of the US's support for Israel in the war in Gaza.

Picketing is a form of protest in which people congregate often in an attempt to stop others from going in.

It is understood some protesters were expected to get into the event to confront the US official about the country's stand on Gaza.

READ MORE: 'Campaign of disruption' plan for Scotland v Israel match at Hampden

Fliers circulating on behalf of the Fife Stop The War Coalition said they were protesting about the lecture from the key Edinburgh-based US Government diplomat on "how to build peace in the world".

The Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign also encouraged supporters to write to the venue in an attempt to stop the event while planning its own demonstration on the day.

Messages were sent saying: "It is unacceptable and highly provocative to Scottish public opinion to have a US diplomat deliver a lecture on peace at the Dunfermline Carnegie Library while that government is arming and facilitating what the International Court of Justice has ruled can plausibly be called a genocide.

"We won't take lectures on peace from defenders of genocide. The US Consul in Scotland is planning to share his reflections on peace in Dunfermline.

"Please cancel this event and withdraw the invitation immediately."

Managers of the library, which celebrated a 140th anniversary of its opening last year, have now told those who were due to attend that it has been cancelled and that tickets would be refunded to those who planned to attend.

An email from the venue sent to those due to go said: "Due to unforeseen circumstances, we have had to cancel this event, we are very sorry for the inconvenience and short notice."

The Fife Stop the War Coalition said that the lecture was cancelled as a result of their planned protest and believed that it was the US Consul that had pulled out.

"We're very, very pleased," said a spokesman. "We never believed that the people of Dunfermline needed lectures from representatives of the US government.

"The US government, have been amongst the world's worst warmongers, launching many a disastrous war abroad, and they currently are providing diplomatic cover and funding for Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza.

"So we think the fact that the lecture has been cancelled is a massive positive and shows the power of protest and mass movements. We think that it's a demonstration that when people stand together against war, genocide and imperialism, they can win.

"We cannot let the US, Israel and anyone else who stands idly by and watches genocide take place be unchallenged."

The First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney has written to Prime Minister and Tory leader Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Keir Starmer calling on them to “immediately” recognise the state of Palestine, demanding they “do the right thing”.

He said the the Nationalists would force a binding vote at Westminster after the General Election if they failed to do so.

It came as SNP MSP John Mason said the International Criminal Court (ICC) was “biased against Israel” after it stated it would seek the arrest of senior Hamas leaders and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes.

In an email to Show Israel the Red Card, a group urging politicians to sever sporting links with the country, he said the ICC was “not neutral” and “are biased against Israel”.

The Herald revealed last week that thousands of protesters are preparing a "campaign of disruption" at Hampden on Friday in defiance of a decision by the Scottish Football Association to play a match against Israel behind closed doors.

Anti-Israel protesters have been trying to find ways to get round the rules over ticketing to to infiltrate Hampden as part of the demonstration.

They have sent messages to all MPs and MSPs, including the First Minister and the Prime Minister in the past few days saying that the match on Friday should not be played along with the return fixture.

Spectators have been banned from the match between Scotland Women and Israel Women with the SFA saying the decision over the European Championship qualifier was made after its "stadium operations team were alerted to the potential for planned disruptions" at the Group B2 game.

The Dunfermline Carnegie Library originally opened in Dunfermline on August 29, 1883 and was the world's first to be funded by Andrew Carnegie. At the time it was regarded as the most significant local event of the year and a public holiday was declared.

Carnegie went on to fund more than 2500 other libraries after launching his first in his home town in August 1883.

The library was funded by an £8,000 grant provided by Carnegie and the rest was raised by taxation through the Public Libraries (Scotland) Act.

His grants went on to help fund the Central Library in Edinburgh as well as smaller branch libraries, village halls and reading rooms.

Mr Hillmeyer arrived in Edinburgh in August 2021 after serving as Deputy Consul General in Karachi, Pakistan.

The father-of-four previously served at the US Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, (NATO) in Brussels as political and public affairs advisor from 2015 to 2019.

He had previously been spokesman for the US Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa from 2012 to 2015 and served as the executive secretary at the US Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan from 2011 to 2012 and at the US Consulate General in Milan, Italy from 2008 to 2011.

From 2005 to 2008, he worked at the State Department headquarters in Washington DC and has also been posted to the US Consulate General in Durban, South Africa, and the US Embassy in Libreville, Gabon.

Before joining the Foreign Service, he was a Peace Corps Volunteer.

The US Embassy said that scheduling decisions regarding the event were made by the hosts at the Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries and suggested they comment on the affair.

Fife Cultural Trust (OnFife), which is responsible for the venue was approached for comment.