SNP used my brother's murder as cynical Jew-washing exercise

(Image: Contributed)

In the days that followed Bernard’s heinous murder, as well as that of 1,200 Israelis at the hands of the UK-recognised terror group, then Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf met with my family. There is a photo of Mr Yousaf took hugging my 82-year-old mother as our whole family mourned the loss of Bernard. I have since reached the conclusion that the actions of the SNP since then, especially since Monday, have shown me that this was nothing other than a photo opportunity for the party, an act of Jew-washing, to avoid any accusation of inaction on combating the rife anti-Semitism that we suffer from in this country.

In the last two weeks, one of the biggest scandals in Scotland has been the fact that a meeting took place between the Scottish Government and an Israeli diplomat. The SNP membership, including numerous councillors and MSPs, have called for the resignation of both the Scottish cabinet minister and the First Minister over the mere fact that they met with, and sanctioned a meeting with, a representative of the world’s only Jewish state. Indeed, on Monday afternoon, a Scottish Government statement went further and even announced the suspension of talks with Israel.

Humza Yousaf hugs Bernard and  Colin Cowan's mother

However, earlier this year, when Mr Yousaf met with Turkish President Erdogan and warmly invited him to come to Scotland, I didn’t hear any such calls for his resignation, in spite of the shameful Turkish human rights record and their disgusting treatment of Kurdish people. Indeed, Scotland and China has a multi-million-pound annual trading portfolio, and this is in spite of China’s woeful and routine human rights abuses, including the imprisonment of its Uyghur Muslim population in North-West China. China’s treatment of the Uyghurs has often been labelled a form of cultural genocide. Yet, why has there been no calls for the resignation of Scottish leaders for their pursuit of strong relations with China?

Now, I’m not for a moment comparing the human rights record of Israel to Turkey or China. Israel is a democratic country, and consistently outperforms Turkey and China on any democratic rating index. Also, the Scottish Government was happy to give £250,000 of taxpayers’ money to UNWRA, an organisation that has been exposed as having directly supported the massacre on October 7 which killed my brother. Yet, even if we put that to one side, it seems to me that there is a blatant double standard here. It seems that the SNP isn’t so concerned with alleged human rights abuses as much as it is concerned with the world’s only Jewish state. What is so objectionable about the world’s only Jewish state that leads so many to criticise it above that of any other country?

READ MORE: 

• Bernard Cowan: Tributes paid to Scot killed by Hamas
• Yousaf triggered diplomatic row by meeting Turkey's President Erdogan

For me, as with many in Scotland’s Jewish communities, there is no doubt about the answer.

Anti-Semitism is the worst it's ever been in this country in my lifetime. Indeed, a report from the CST (Community Security Trust) earlier this month noted that anti-Semitism is at its highest ever recorded level in the UK. Bernard's son keeps asking me if I'd move to Israel due to the level of anti-Jew hatred here. That may seem absurd, that Scottish Jews would consider leaving Scotland for Israel amid safety fears, but I assure you that it's a conversation taking place in Jewish communities across our country. That should ring alarm bells for the leadership in Scotland. Sadly, it does not seem to.

Jewish people make up around just 0.08% of the population of Scotland, so we're acutely aware of the fact that policies towards combating antisemitism and standing up for our community are not vote winners. Solidarity with ethnic minorities never seems to stretch to the Jewish community, whether in our universities, in civil society or the political sphere in Scotland. That is a depressing reflection on the state of our discourse here.

Israel and Zionism are closely connected to one’s Jewish identity in Scotland. The majority of Jews in the UK describe themselves as Zionist. It is not a dirty word; it just means we believe in Israel's right to exist. Much like Palestinian nationalists believe in the right of a state of Palestine to exist. Anyone who purports to believe in a two-state solution is, therefore, a Zionist. It's not a controversial, dirty or slanderous word. For me, it's the enactment of the principle of self-determination, which has been enshrined in international law for decades.

Promoting a two-state solution is supposedly the explicit policy of the Scottish Government. Yet, how can the Government even claim to endorse this policy if meeting with one of the two states that they claim to support, proves to be so controversial for the party? A blanket suspension of relations with Israel seems more like an endorsement of a Palestinian state "from the (Jordan) River to the (Mediterranean) Sea", in which Israel would be erased from the face of the map. That position fills me with fear and dread, and I am not alone in that, as far as Scotland’s Jewish communities are concerned.

Humza Yousaf 's meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Image: Scottish Government)

Please remember there was peace on October 6: a ceasefire was in place. If Hamas would just release the remaining 109 hostages and lay down their arms, there would be peace today. Clearly, there is culpability from Israel for not having defended the borders on the October 7, as it took over eight hours for the army to get to my brother’s kibbutz to defend it as it came under attack from over 40 Hamas terrorists.

Scottish Jews are fearful and we want to see a reaction from our First Minister, John Swinney, one that acknowledges the legitimate fears of my community. In writing this piece, I would call on FM Swinney to meet with me and my family personally, show solidarity with the victims of the deadliest day for Jews in 80 years. Meet with, and listen to, Scotland’s Jewish community. Our Government must stand up for every minority in this country, and that includes the Jewish community.

Lastly, with SNP Conference under two weeks away, I would call on the party to let me speak at their conference. Allow me to address SNP delegates and tell the conference about the murder of my brother, the horrors of October 7 and the plight of the Jewish community here in Scotland. A progressive Scotland means nothing if one of our own communities is being ignored and left behind.