Flags, Symbols and the SNP
Phillip Rodney has a point when he accuses Scotland's First Minister John Swinney of allowing Jew-hate and antisemitism to flourish - by symbolically waving a Palestinian flag while having nothing serious to say about terrorism and holding Hamas to account. 
What the Palestinian flag flying over St Andrew’s House really means
For many Jews in Scotland, the gesture is more than political — it recalls a history of persecution and raises questions of who counts and who doesn't.
When I read that the Palestinian flag had been raised over Scottish government buildings last Wednesday, I was on the other side of the world — in the Australian outback. As a Scot, disbelief quickly turned to anger, then to shame.
Just before I left, I had met with the police — who, as ever, were courteous, supportive and helpful — to report what I believed to be a hate crime targeting the Jewish community in Glasgow.
I had also helped my wife compose a letter raising concerns about the biased portrayal of the Middle East conflict in an exhibition at the V&A in Dundee.
Please understand: we are not the sort of people who readily make these kinds of complaints. But perhaps we shouldn’t have been surprised. According to a poll commissioned by the Campaign Against Antisemitism, anti-Jewish hatred in the UK has reached its highest recorded level, having doubled in the past five years.
According to the findings, one in five Britons now harbour views that can be classified as antisemitic. Dig deeper and the picture becomes even more alarming. Almost half (49 per cent) of young people surveyed expressed discomfort at the idea of spending time with individuals who openly support Israel. Only 31 per cent agreed that Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish homeland. Despite these strong negative views, 54 per cent said that they did not know what “Zionism” actually means.
One would have hoped that, in a moment like this, there would be a call for reflection and a push to foster calm, clarity and compassion. Instead, during the short month we were away, the atmosphere has grown noticeably darker. What was once whispered on the fringes is now spoken openly. Antisemitism no longer lurks in the shadows — it feels emboldened, even institutionalised. Shockingly, it now appears to carry the tacit approval, if not the active endorsement, of the Scottish government.
Let’s pause to consider what the raising of the Palestinian flag represents in this context. On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a co-ordinated attack on Israel: shooting, burning alive, raping and hacking to death more than 1,200 people — including children and the elderly — and kidnapping 250 more, held in underground captivity, often without adequate food or medical care.
This wasn’t indiscriminate violence. It was deliberate, calculated terror designed to humiliate and inflict maximum pain. If you doubt it — and can bear the horror — footage filmed by the attackers themselves via bodycams is available online. Unlike the Nazis, who tried to hide their crimes, Hamas broadcast theirs.
Gaza remains under the control of Hamas, an internationally recognised terrorist organisation. Every innocent civilian death, especially of children, is a tragedy and I grieve deeply for that loss. But it must be said: Israel does not target civilians. Hamas, by contrast, explicitly calls for the murder of Jews worldwide. (There is no carve-out for Scotland.)
This war is tragic. Gaza could thrive in peace. Instead, billions in aid have been funnelled into tunnels and weapons — not schools, hospitals or infrastructure. If Hamas were to disarm and release the hostages, the war and the suffering could end immediately.
The first minister told MSPs there was a “prima facie case of genocide in Gaza” and that “the world cannot wait for the final court ruling before acting”. Israel firmly denies that its actions amount to genocide, as defined under the 1948 UN Convention: crimes committed “with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”. Israel argues that its actions are self-defence, targeting a terrorist organisation, not a population.
John Swinney’s use of such loaded language, ahead of any determination by the International Court of Justice, is both irresponsible and dangerous. Can you imagine him being injudicious enough to declare a “prima facie” case of embezzlement against Peter Murrell before a court had ruled? Of course not. And stop the presses — it would appear that the UK government, following an assessment carried out by the Foreign Office, does not consider Israel’s actions in Gaza to be genocide.
When Hamas attacked Israel, it did so carrying the same flag now flying above Scottish government buildings. Neville Chamberlain may be remembered for appeasement but even he didn’t raise the swastika over Westminster after Kristallnacht.
For many Jews of my generation, this gesture has a similarly chilling effect. My maternal grandparents fled Belarus at the turn of the 20th century to escape pogroms, seeking refuge in Scotland. My father left Nazi Germany in 1938, narrowly avoiding the fate that claimed his parents. They all loved Scotland and contributed meaningfully to its economy and culture. Until recently, I believed my generation — and, more importantly, my children’s generation — wouldn’t need to fear uprooting itself again nor worry about being targeted for who we are. Now, I’m no longer sure.
Under the UK’s devolution settlement, foreign affairs remain the responsibility of Westminster, not Holyrood. The actions of the Scottish government then, are entirely performative. So why bother? This is not mere clumsiness on the first minister’s part. He is far too clever for that. Rather, it appears to be a calculated attempt to appeal to a demographic of the electorate that, while often ignorant of or uncaring about other humanitarian disasters across the world, has chosen to fetishise the Palestinian cause at the expense of the 0.1 per cent of the Scottish population who are Jewish.
To borrow the title of David Baddiel’s book for Swinney it would seem that Jews don’t count.
