Brother of Hamas sufferer accuses SNP of double requirements on Israel

The brother of a British-Israeli man killed by Hamas has accused the SNP of double requirements in its stance on Israel.

Bernard Cowan, initially from Glasgow, was killed by Hamas gunmen in his residence on a kibbutz in Southern Israel throughout the 7 October assault.

The 57-year-old left his household in Scotland when he was simply 19 to maneuver to Israel.

Then first minister Humza Yousaf was broadly praised after he embraced Mr Cowan’s grieving mom throughout a go to to Giffnock Newton Mearns Synagogue in East Renfrewshire just a few days after his dying.

Mr Cowan’s brother, Colin Cowan, stated he now believed Mr Yousaf had merely used the assembly together with his mom as a photograph alternative and questioned how honest he has been in his feedback on the time.

He additionally stated he had been angered by criticism of Exterior Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson, who apologised after meeting an Israeli diplomat earlier this month.

Mr Cowan stated Scottish Jews wished First Minister John Swinney to acknowledge the “official fears” of the neighborhood and to satisfy them.

An SNP spokesperson stated the celebration stood “totally towards” antisemitism, and the primary minister stated he would be thankful for the chance to satisfy Mr Cowan and his household.

Mr Robertson was closely criticised by a number of senior members of his personal celebration – together with former SNP ministers Emma Roddick, Kevin Stewart and Elena Whitham – after he met Israel’s Deputy Ambassador to the UK Daniela Grudsky on 8 August.

Mr Robertson subsequently stated he was sorry that the assembly was not “strictly restricted” to talks a couple of ceasefire.

He stated the Scottish authorities wouldn’t settle for additional invites to satisfy Israeli diplomats till “actual progress” had been made in the direction of peace and humanitarian help, and till Israel “co-operates totally with its worldwide obligations on the investigation of genocide and warfare crimes”.

The SNP additionally withdrew the celebration whip from MSP John Mason over social media posts wherein he questioned whether Israel was committing genocide in Gaza.

Greater than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed because of Israeli navy motion in Gaza for the reason that 7 October assaults, the Hamas-run well being ministry has stated.

That equates to about 1.7% of the two.3 million inhabitants of the territory, with satellite tv for pc picture evaluation suggesting practically 60% of buildings in Gaza have been broken or destroyed for the reason that starting of the warfare.

Mr Cowan stated he believed Israel was being “focused” because the Scottish authorities had met with representatives from different international locations with “horrible civil rights” akin to Turkey.

“Israel is the one Jewish state on the planet,” he instructed BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland. “The definition of antisemitism is prejudice towards Jewish individuals.

“So if the Scottish authorities aren’t prepared to speak to Israel, is that not being prejudiced towards Jewish individuals?

“Why is it that Israel is being focused when each different Western nation is sort of completely happy to speak to Israel? If you’d like a balanced, neutral view, you need to meet with each side.”

Talking on the service on 12 October on the Giffnock Newton Mearns Synogogue at which he met Mr Cowan’s mom, Mr Yousaf stated he stood in solidarity with Scotland’s Jewish neighborhood.

He added: “I need you to know that this primary minister, who’s proudly Muslim, shares the ache of our Jewish communities.

“Your heartbreak is my heartbreak. Your loss is my loss. Your tears are my tears.”

Mr Yousaf has been a vocal critic of the Israeli navy motion in Gaza, which says has gone “approach past a official response” and has been “tantamount to ethnic cleaning”.

Mr Cowan stated he now believed Mr Yousaf had used the service on the synogogue as a “photograph alternative” and questioned how real he had been.

“On the time, it appeared fairly real,” he stated.

“However a few of what he stated not too long ago, it does not appear so real anymore. It appears a bit biased, what he did on the time.”

Mr Yousaf stated his ideas had been with the entire households impacted by the 7 October assault, in addition to households in Gaza “who’ve been devastated by Israel’s horrendous actions”.

He stated: “Once I participated within the service of solidarity at Giffnock Shul in October final 12 months, it was at a time of maximum private grief as my in-laws continued to be trapped in a warzone in Gaza, not realizing whether or not they would dwell or die day-by-day.

“My dedication to the Jewish neighborhood then, and now, is to be an ally within the face of antisemitism, and I’m happy with my lifelong campaigning towards hatred in all of its kinds, and imagine that Islamaphobia and antisemitism are two sides of the identical coin.”

However he stated that criticism of the actions of the federal government of Israel was not antisemitism.

“Whereas I help diplomacy, even with international locations we essentially disagree with, there have to be limits,” he stated.

“That’s the reason I help the Scottish authorities guaranteeing there will not be regular diplomatic relationships with the federal government of Israel till they adjust to their worldwide obligations and stop killing civilians with impunity.”

Mr Cowan stated he had observed a spike in antisemitism for the reason that escalation between Israel and Gaza following the 7 October assaults.

“I’ve by no means felt so unsafe in Scotland as I’ve within the final 12 months,” he stated.

“Strolling down the road, would I be focused in the event that they knew I used to be Jewish? It’s positively an unsafe feeling for the time being.

“There have been quite a few incidents of buildings being attacked, individuals being attacked since 7 October. The Palestinian help that we see, the protests on a weekly foundation, makes us really feel unsafe.”

He instructed BBC Scotland that his family residing in Israel had been displaced amid the continued violence.

“They’re not residing of their residence, they’re residing elsewhere,” he stated.

“They’re distraught. They’ve misplaced a father, husband, grandfather, we’ve misplaced a brother, my mum’s misplaced a son. It’s exhausting.

“It’s not straightforward when somebody so younger is taken. We’re nonetheless reeling from it.”

An SNP spokesperson stated the celebration stood “totally towards” antisemitism.

They stated: “Following final 12 months’s horrific assaults by Hamas, SNP coverage has been constant and clear that hostages have to be launched, a direct ceasefire have to be put in place and {that a} viable Palestine state have to be recognised inside a two-state answer the place Israelis and Palestinians can dwell alongside one another in peace.”