I send my warmest greetings to Jewish communities here in Scotland who will be celebrating Rosh Hashanah and marking the holy day of Yom Kippur.

Covid-19 has created particular challenges for many of our faith communities. For our Jewish communities this included being unable to celebrate festivals as you usually would, as well as being unable to attend synagogue.

These sacrifices have been difficult. However these restrictions have helped us to make major progress in eliminating Covid-19 and have allowed us to ease many of the lockdown restrictions. That includes the reopening of places of worship, and as a result many of you will be able to gather at synagogues to celebrate. However, I recognise that not everyone will be able to do so, since attendance at places of worship remains limited with physical distancing measures in place.

While some of these restrictions around coming together will remain as you celebrate Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, I hope you will still find ways to come together, either in smaller groups or virtually.

I am immensely proud of the way in which communities across Scotland have come together to support one another during this crisis, and I hope we can continue to work together to tackle prejudice and build a more inclusive, safer Scotland.

Antisemitism is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated. While reported instances of antisemitism remain relatively low in Scotland, I am aware that it remains a significant issue for our Jewish communities and we must not be complacent. I would like to reassure you all that I remain committed to tackling hate crime and prejudice in all its forms.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for all you have done to support communities across Scotland during this crisis. The support of our faith communities, including our Jewish communities, has been invaluable.

I hope you and your loved ones continue to stay safe, and that the year ahead brings joy and happiness to you all. So on behalf of the Scottish Government, and the people of Scotland, Shanah Tovah.