ONE of Scotland’s leading Jews has told of her shock saying she was branded an “ideological terrorist” at a summit to discuss anti-semitism.
Micheline Brannan chairman of Scottish Council of Jewish Communities has lodged a complaint about her treatment to the Scottish Parliament presiding officer during a debate about the definition of anti-semitism.
The comments came as she and Nigel Goodrich, chief executive of the International Shalom Festival had asked to attending the cross party group on Palestine in the Scottish Parliament which played host to the discussion.
Ms Brannan said Phil Chetwynd, treasurer of the cross party group would not speak in the presence of “representatives of Zionist organisations”.
Mr Chetwynd said the duo and another unidentified individual should not be allowed to take part as they were not registered as members of the group. The process of joining involves signing a registration form and paying £1.
The purpose of the group, according to parliamentary papers is “to establish a forum for Palestinians living in Scotland”.
It is also looking to “promote a solution for the Palestinian people recognising the justice of their cause and the need for the Israeli and Palestinian leadership to adhere to UN resolutions and International Law.”
Ms Brannan said: “First and foremost, I feel that I and the other two people referred to above were subjected to an anti-semitic attack in the Scottish Parliament by the use of the term ‘ideological terrorists’.
“The effect of the anti-semitic attack which I experienced was distressing and concerning and indeed I have never in my adult life or my role as Chair of SCoJeC been targeted so overtly. I am proud of the Scottish Parliament that the MSPs did not concede Mr Chetwynd’s agenda but I do not know what may subsequently happen behind closed doors.”
Mr Chetwynd admits using the term “ideological terrorists” but denies being anti-semitic.
Vice convenor Sandra White MSP is said to have ruled out their exclusion from the meeting, but the discussion, in which Mr Chetwynd was due to speak in, was put off.
Mr Chetwynd, who is part of a campaign group aiming to showcase Palestinian photography throughout the world, said he objected to their presence because they were “not members” and would object to the purpose of the group.
“We challenged their right to be there, because it was clear they were infiltrators,” said Mr Chetwynd, who was in the forefront of a campaign to allow Palestinian photo-journalist amde Abu Rahma to be allowed entry to the UK after being previously banned. “The ground rules are are they have to accept the basic tenets of the group and one of the requirements is that they accept the need for Israel to abide all the United Nations resolutions and the rule of international law. They didn’t want to join.
“I said I regard Zionists as ideological terrorists because I think that is what they are. They actually infiltrate and try and destroy pro-Palestinian activities wherever they come across it.”
He added: “ “Anti-Semitism must be vigorously challenged in Scotland whenever it occurs but we absolutely cannot find ourselves in a position where criticising the state of Israel for its violations of international law and it’s illegal occupation of Palestine is automatically deemed to be anti-semitic.”
Ms Brannan, who questioned why the definition of anti-semitism in Scotland was relevant to the group said Mr Chetwynd was “quite clearly” calling for their removal from the meeting before he would proceed with his thoughts on the definition of antisemitism in Scotland.
“I stated that I represented the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities and that this is not a Zionist organisation but speaks for Jewish people living in Scotland and that we have a strong interest in the definition of antisemitism in Scotland. I said that I had thought the Parliament was open to all of Scotland’s citizens and was surprised at the suggestion anyone should be excluded,” she said.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel