As the world holds its breath and awaits Israel’s decision whether to respond to Iran’s unprecedented direct attack from Iranian soil on the State of Israel, it is easy to forget that there are real threats against Israel and the Glasgow Scottish Jewish community much closer to home.

Recently the Jewish Telegraph reported on the decision made by Glasgow City Council to fly the Palestinian flag from the city chambers building every year on November 29. This proposal was included in a wide ranging anti Israel motion proposed by Leòdhas Massie, the Scottish Green Party Councillor for Newlands/Auldburn in Glasgow.

It should not come as a huge surprise that this anti Israel move was initiated by a member of the Scottish Greens, a party that until recently was on the periphery of Scottish politics but was embraced in 2021 by the then First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who brought the co-leaders of this toxic political party, Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater, into government in order to ensure a parliamentary majority in Holyrood for the SNP.

The Scottish Greens are the only party with seats in any UK parliament that openly hold blatant and biased anti Israel policies. One of its long standing objectives and most extreme beliefs is to support the removal of Hamas from the international terrorist lists, despite the atrocities committed by this group on 7 October.

The Scottish Greens state that Israel was created through “colonisation and ethnic cleansing” and calls for Palestinian self-determination by those who “have a legitimate stake in the future of Palestine” including the residents of the West Bank, Gaza, Israel, refugees and the Palestinian Diaspora.

The Greens call for the right of return of Palestinian refugees despite the fact that this right is not enshrined by itself in any internationally recognised motion or resolution.

This extreme anti-Israel party states “We condemn Zionism as a racist ideology based on Jewish supremacy in Palestine, as well as the related ideology of Christian Zionism”.

And importantly, the Scottish Green Party supports the call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel, a call that is intended to completely isolate the Jewish State by the boycotting of Israeli goods and services and an academic and cultural boycott. It further demands that Israel must fulfil its obligations under international law by withdrawing to pre-1967 borders; withdrawing from East Jerusalem, Golan Heights and other lands seized in 1967. This is a blatant misrepresentation of United Nations Resolution 242 that was agreed following the 1967 Six Days War.

And now the Scottish Greens party have persuaded the SNP controlled Glasgow City Council (GCC) to adopt its toxic anti Israel bias accompanied by a betrayal of the Glasgow Jewish community.

In its wisdom, GCC has called for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza and condemns the Israeli Government and the IDF in the same language that it condemns the internationally proscribed terrorist organisation Hamas.

The GCC is falsely claiming that the ICJ has concluded that Israel is enacting measures that would lead to genocide by way of the unjust killing of Palestinian civilians, particularly children, and is responsible for a growing humanitarian aid crisis as observed by NGOs such as Amnesty International.

Furthermore, Glasgow City Council is demanding that the United Kingdom Government endorse the Scottish Government’s call for an arms embargo on Israel. It instructed the Leader of the Council to write to the Foreign Secretary to request that the UK Government introduces such an embargo and takes additional steps as required to ensure the UK is not at risk of supporting genocide.

Additionally, the Council instructed the Leader of the Council to write to the Scottish First Minister to encourage him to prevent the production and transfer of weapons and weapon components from arms companies in Scotland to Israel.

But it’s the Council request that the Lord Provost adds to the flag policy the Palestinian flag, to be flown on the 29th November each year for the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People that is most concerning for the Jewish Community. This is the same Lord Provost who refused the request to fly the Israeli flag on 7 October to show solidarity with Israel and the Glasgow Jewish community stating that this would be too political.

This is clearly a biased and one sided motion and by its adoption, Glasgow City Council is abandoning our community when it should be taking an even handed approach to the conflict and showing its commitment to peace by also flying the Israeli flag from the City Chambers Building.

But worse is still to come from Glasgow City Council. Despite its recognition that antisemitism towards Jewish people continues to be on the increase and it agrees that all Jewish people deserve to live without harassment and discrimination, at the same time it is calling for the internationally recognised and adopted IHRA definition for antisemitism, which has been endorsed by the Scottish Government, to sit alongside the Jerusalem Declaration of Antisemitism (JDA). This Declaration has been defined in order to replace the IHRA definition despite the fact that it has not been adopted by any government or reputable organisations This is in essence a step that would achieve the exact opposite of what the GCC claim it would like to see happen and is likely to lead to an increase in the number of antisemitism incidents in our city.

And to add insult to injury, Glasgow City Council has completely bypassed and sidelined the long standing and recognised representatives of Glasgow Jewry by ignoring it and deciding instead to engage about antisemitism with the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities (SCoJeC), and Na’amod.

But who or what is Na’amod?

The name means ‘We will stand’ in Hebrew, a reference the word used to call Jews to read from the Torah in synagogue and its leader recently confirmed that its objective is to de-centre Israel from Judaism.

Na’amod members, estimated by the group to number about 300, believe that they are the future of the British Jewish community and they find it difficult to stay silent as Israel dispossesses Palestinians of their land, strips them of their dignity, freedom and rights, and violently suppresses all efforts to challenge an unjust status quo. It is determined to ensure that the occupation and apartheid will end.

But Na’amod has no presence in Scotland. Who in the Glasgow Jewish Community has heard of this organisation or is familiar with it? Where did Glasgow City Council find this nugget of Judaism and decide that this organisation can or should represent the Glasgow Jewish Community for any purpose?

If Na’amod is known by anyone, it is for two reasons. Firstly, in May 2018, Jewish members of this self-proclaimed anti-Israel organisation recited Kaddish for Hamas terrorists that were killed in Gaza by the IDF as they were participating in riots and an intention to breach the border fence and cross into Israel to participate in acts of terrorism.

In 2022, Na’amod assisted alleged Holocaust denier Pete Gregson to organise an anti Israel UK tour across the UK featuring senior anti Zionist Neturei Karta Rabbi Dovid Weiss and British-Jordanian academic and Hamas sympathiser Dr Azzam Tamimi. The content of the tour included the spreading of anti Israel propaganda and the call for Hamas to be decriminalised.

Although Na’amod originally denied providing any assistance to Gregson, in a statement its spokesperson eventually confirmed that it had completed a thorough investigation and concluded that helpful information was sent from Na’amod to Pete Gregson.

Although Na’amod offered its unreserved and sincere apologies that this happened, it is difficult to accept regret from an organisation that proclaims support for the Palestinians whilst at the same time actively taking a position that Zionism upholds and practices occupation and apartheid.

How many Jewish people in Glasgow, most of whom identify as Zionists, would concur that an anti Israel organisation such as Na’amod can truly represent them when it comes to discussions with Glasgow City Council how antisemitism is impacted by Judaism and Israel.

It would seem therefore that the Scottish Green Party, Glasgow City Council and Na’amod are a troika that the Glasgow and Scottish Jewish Community should now be most concerned about.

But who will stand up for our Jewish community?