The Scottish Council of Jewish Communities and the Glasgow Jewish Representative Council are horrified by the barbaric attack by Hamas on innocent civilians in Israel. Hamas terrorists have indiscriminately murdered innocent men, women, and children, and have taken hostage old people, including Holocaust survivors, and young children. Nothing can justify such acts – nothing.

The vast majority of Jewish people in Scotland have friends and family in Israel, and our thoughts and condolences are with all those affected. We sadly already know of a number of families in our community who have lost loved ones, and tragically there may well be more.

In Scotland, unfortunately, we know that when conflict escalates in the Middle East, we see antisemitism rise in the UK. We thank the CST and Police Scotland for their ongoing efforts to keep our community safe.

We thank the First Minister Humza Yousaf MSP for his comments today unequivocally condemning the actions of Hamas. As he acknowledged, although we have family on opposite sides of the border, we are equally concerned for their safety.

Let us all hope and pray for a speedy resolution to this conflict, an end to terrorism and extremism, and a peaceful future for all.

We encourage anyone who would like to reach out to us, or requires support, to do so by getting in touch with either of our offices, and if anyone suffers or is aware of any racist or antisemitic incidents, please inform the police, CST, and SCoJeC with as much detail as possible.