To the Jewish people of Scotland,

As we approach two weeks since the shocking events that took place on Simchat Torah, and as we find out more details through mainstream news and social media, we have been encouraged to see support from all over the world. From governments to religious institutions, on the news, and from celebrities to our friends on social media, we know we are supported.

The Glasgow Jewish Representative Council (GJRC) and the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities (SCoJeC) would like you to know that we are here for you.  We have been working hard to ensure that Scotland remains the safe and friendly country we know and love. We have had many meetings with colleagues at Police Scotland, along with the Community Security Trust (CST), who are monitoring the situation very closely and have assured us that there is no specific threat to us in Scotland.

Our close working relationship with local and national government, developed over the past decades, has ensured that we have a voice at the highest level. Both the Scottish and UK Governments have reassured us that they stand firmly with our community. This support is unwavering at all political levels in Scotland and we have received genuine and personal messages from across the political spectrum.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has organised or attended any event of support, both for Israel and for our Jewish Communities here in Scotland. The First Minister, Humza Yousaf MSP, attended our Service of Solidarity on 12th October in Glasgow. Despite his wife’s family being stranded in Gaza, he prayed and cried with us. He reiterated his, and his Government’s, support for Jewish people in Scotland, and has stated that as long as he is First Minister ‘there is no room for antisemitism, islamophobia, or hatred of any kind here in Scotland’. (A report of the service can be read here, and the full text of the FM’s speech can be read here.)

In Edinburgh, trained therapists have and continue to provide support to members of the community. The student Chaplains, Rabbi Eliran and Ayalah Shabo, are supporting students and university staff, who are very much on the front line when it comes to anti-Israel demonstrations and rhetoric. In Glasgow, with the assistance of Jewish Care Scotland, we are in the process of setting up a series of drop-in support groups to help those in need of assistance with processing all that is going on. We are working with local Councils to make sure there is access to specialist counselling, where required, If you would like more information, please get in touch with us at either the Rep Council or SCoJeC offices.

Our teams will continue to produce and forward on any information on the conflict to you so that you can be sure of the most relevant and up to date facts. Our community leaders will do their best to represent you in the press and on TV so that your voice is heard and that the public discussion is balanced.

The immediate future may be uncertain for all of us. However, please remember that whilst Israel may be our homeland, Scotland is our home. We will continue to live here in peace and harmony today and forever.

Am Yisrael Chai