Kenneth Gibson
No Party Affiliation · Scotland
“The next item of business is decision time. There are eight questions to be put as a result of today’s business. I remind members that, if the amendment in the name of Amanda Bland is agreed to, the amendment in the name of Stephen Kerr will fall.”
“The next item of business is consideration of two Parliamentary Bureau motions. I ask Jamie Hepburn, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, to move motions S7M-00492, on committee membership, and S7M-00505, on membership of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe.”
“The next item of business is general question time. Many members wish to ask supplementary questions, so, in order to get in as many members as possible, I prefer short and succinct questions, with answers to match. Artificial Intelligence Data Centres (Planning Guidance) 1.”
“There are seven questions to be put as a result of today’s business. I remind members that, if the amendment in the name of Tom Arthur is agreed to, the amendments in the names of Daniel Johnson, Murdo Fraser and Willie Rennie will fall.”
“The next item of business is consideration of revised business motion S7M-00480, in the name of Jamie Hepburn, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, revising this week’s business programme. Any member who wishes to speak to the motion should press their request-to-speak button.”
“Speak through the chair, please. Tim Eagle: The Scottish Conservatives recognise that a strong economy is not some optional extra but the foundation on which everything else depends. I actually agree with Reform, and others, that it is all about the economy.”
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“When it comes to Ferguson Marine operating or securing work, it needs to be able to demonstrate delivery. We believe that the four vessels are consistent with the technical capabilities of Ferguson Marine and the skills of the workforce; indeed, in many cases, they are replacements for vessels that it previously built. They are an excellent fit and will allow it to demonstrate that it is able to deliver vessels on budget and according to the timescales that I have outlined, which I believe will help it to secure work on the open market.”
“I warmly welcome the announcement of new vessel procurement at Ferguson Marine. However, given the difficulties in the construction of the Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa, will the Deputy First Minister elaborate on the Scottish Government’s future vision for the yard and how it will be supported to secure future contracts and long-term careers for the workforce? Kate Forbes: The commitment is to support Ferguson Marine to compete on the open market for additional work in order to safeguard its future. We will support it to do that in two ways: first, through the capital funding that has been announced to support modernisation and, second, through this bridge of four additional vessels. All of us in the chamber know that Ferguson Marine has been subject to extensive debate.”
“Kenneth Gibson, who is the MSP for Cunninghame North, has long and persistently— indeed, quite critically at times—made sure that the Government knows the importance of investment in Ardrossan. His question cuts to the chase and is about why that is important. We need to purchase the port to help the wider development of Ardrossan and to support that community as well as to ensure the service to Arran. I am conscious that there will be a need for support, which is why I have ensured that there will continue to be funding for the two-port service until the major development takes place. I am pleased that the Ardrossan task force, of which Kenneth Gibson is a member, will now be able to focus on the redevelopment of Ardrossan, which is what the communities of Ardrossan and Arran need.”
“Today’s announcement finally rights the wrong-headed 1992 Tory privatisation of Ardrossan harbour, which ensured that maintenance of that crucial infrastructure was left at the whim of private interests. I am deeply grateful to the cabinet secretary and the First Minister for delivering on that issue. Talk is cheap, and there has been much of it, but the Scottish ministers are delivering for the people of Ardrossan and Arran. Now that the harbour is finally being returned to public hands, can the cabinet secretary confirm that neglect of the harbour is a thing of the past and that, going forward, it will receive the attention and investment that such a key lifeline port needs and deserves? Fiona Hyslop: I thank the member for his interest.”
“Our scrutiny found that public inquiries remain an essential mechanism for holding public bodies to account, reviewing past wrongs, identifying solutions and recommending policy changes. Nevertheless, the current system is overstretched and poorly defined. Inquiries often lack a core objective, whether that is in forensic investigation, policy reform or truth telling. Instead, they often attempt to perform all those functions with ever- expanding timescales, costs and expectations.”
“They investigate issues of major public concern, which are often triggered by disasters, systemic failures or circumstances that can erode public trust. They have the power to compel evidence. In the past 18 years, Scottish ministers have commissioned 11 statutory public inquiries, with six continuing. Another was announced only yesterday, albeit with no apparent budget or timescale. Of the on-going inquiries, four have been running for more than four years. Indeed, the Scottish child abuse inquiry has been on-going for more than a decade. The cost to Scotland’s public purse has been more than £258 million since 2007. Across the UK, the figure is six times that much.”
“The merits or recommendations of individual public inquiries were not considered as part of our scrutiny. In addition to written evidence, we held 10 oral evidence sessions and two informal engagement sessions, hearing from stakeholders and academics from elsewhere in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand, from people with lived experience of public inquiries and from civil servants and public inquiry staff. We again thank all those who provided evidence to help to shape our conclusions and recommendations. I also thank my committee colleagues and our hard- working, dedicated and effective clerking team for their sterling efforts throughout this process. Statutory public inquiries are a powerful and important mechanism of accountability.”
“I thank you, Presiding Officer, and members of the Conveners Group, for helping to enable this debate to take place. I am delighted to open the debate on behalf of the Finance and Public Administration Committee. In the short time that is available, I can but touch on what is an in-depth and detailed 73-page report, which I recommend to all members. Our scrutiny, which was completed over nine months last year, marked the first time that a Scottish Parliament committee has examined statutory public inquiries in depth. We sought to bring greater understanding of the current position of public inquiries in Scotland, looking at their purpose, terms of reference, timescales and costs, as well as their recommendations and their cost- effectiveness more generally.”
“To ask the Scottish Government what criteria are applied in deciding on the location of the new walk-in GP clinics. (S6O-05568)”
“Kenneth Gibson: Together with PPP payments, that equates to a third of all moneys raised this year in North Ayrshire in council tax. The resource uplift in the budget is barely 1 per cent. Hard choices had to be made—and having the courage to make such choices separates those who support the budget from those who sit on their hands or who provide knee-jerk opposition. I urge all members to support the budget. 16:51”
“However, the cabinet secretary confirmed earlier this afternoon that Labour made no specific requests for additional local government funding, nor did it say from where any additional money would be found. Indeed, Labour should apologise to local authorities across Scotland for the billions of pounds of debt that has been foisted on them through the imposition of public-private partnership payments. In North Ayrshire alone, those amount to £17.127 million in 2026-27, as part of the astronomical £455 million of repayments towards four schools that were built 20 years ago for a capital cost of £83 million. That is before I talk about the £6.8 million in employer national insurance contributions that were imposed on the council by UK Labour. The Deputy Presiding Officer : You need to conclude.”
“On tackling child poverty, not only is the Scottish child payment—which has no equivalent elsewhere in the UK—increasing to £28.20 per week for the parents of each eligible child and £40 per week for eligible babies, but breakfast clubs will be delivered to all primary school children. Employability support worth £90 million will help people back into work, and estimated revenues from non-domestic rates will be 6 per cent lower in real terms than they were before the pandemic, with £870 million provided in reliefs. Unfortunately, Mr Ewing is not in the chamber. What of local authorities? The Scottish Fiscal Commission confirmed a modest real-terms increase. I am sure that members would like to see it boosted further; I certainly would.”
“Kenneth Gibson: The Scottish benefits bill is sustainable as long as the Scottish Government continues to balance its budget, which it will do for as long as my party remains in office. What does the budget deliver for the people of Scotland? It delivers Scotland’s priorities—that is what. It provides record real-terms investment in housing, the NHS, transport, culture and social justice. It provides a 10 per cent increase in college funding. For policing, resource funding is up by 4 per cent and capital funding is up by 23 per cent. There is 13.2 per cent more funding for the concessionary fares scheme, and there is more than 34.3 per cent more funding for ferries and piers. That augurs well for Ardrossan harbour’s redevelopment, once its purchase has been secured.”
“Why is it £1 billion every year? Have the Tories not heard of inflation? The fact that the figure is such a round number shows that it has been plucked lazily from thin air. As for the fiscally illiterate and desperate plan to hand back the underspend without any explanation of how the back-of-a-fag-packet idea will be delivered, I note that, even though the policy was announced only last week, Mr Hoy somehow failed to mention it in his nine-minute speech. With the latest opinion poll predicting that there will be only seven Tory MSPs after May’s election, the Tories’ strategy, such as it is, is entirely self- defeating. Craig Hoy: [Made a request to intervene.] Kenneth Gibson: Oh, Mr Hoy is going to enlighten us. Craig Hoy: Does Mr Gibson believe that the Scottish benefits bill is sustainable?”
“Growth across the UK is too meagre to deliver the services that people need and want. UK Labour’s paralysis is mirrored in its branch office in Scotland, which is terrified to upset any vested interests as it battles to hold on to third place in the polls. That is the logic behind its seemingly bizarre decision to abstain on the budget. As for the Tories, if the SNP had invented the light bulb, they would have denounced it as a dangerous anti-candle device, such is their mindless opposition, which was, again, signalled before the draft budget was even published. Once more, we expect to see their back benchers call for additional money to be spent here, there and everywhere, with no effort made whatsoever to detail how they would fund their demands or where the money for the £1 billion in tax cuts they seek would come from.”
“It could have been so different for Labour, but, due to an apparent communication glitch, poor Michael Marra was left forlornly waiting for a call that never came, although my understanding is that he was to contact the cabinet secretary, not the other way round. We will never know. The reality is that, at UK level, we have what The Economist called only last week a “zombie” Labour Government, which is failing to govern in the interests of anyone outside the Starmer clique and is terrified of its back benchers. In only 18 months, the UK Government has performed 15 major U- turns on subjects ranging from winter fuel payments and the removal of the two-child cap— support for which led to the suspension of seven Labour MPs—to the daft BritCard and the campaign by women against state pension inequality, on which there was a triple U-turn.”
“Step forward hero of the hour, one Michael Marra, who had the decency to let us know, even before the draft budget was published, with its content unseen, that Labour would decisively abstain, ensuring that the budget would pass. I know that SNP members are keen to congratulate our man in Dundee for his tacit support. Of course, at a stroke, Green and Lib Dem MSPs lost their bargaining power with the Scottish ministers. However, to their credit and Ms Robison’s, they continued to engage, and both parties were able to secure concessions from the Scottish Government, as did independent MSP Jeremy Balfour.”
“The nudges, hints and winks, as well as a full-blown press conference, meant that the Scottish Government faced numerous potential funding scenarios. Therefore, I pay tribute to the hard work of the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government, the Minister for Public Finance and their officials in preparing a budget that the majority of MSPs will support today. Things looked quite different before Christmas. The SNP does not have a majority, so ministers braced themselves for expensive and hard-to- meet demands from the Scottish Greens and Liberal Democrats. However, sometimes, help can come from the most unexpected quarter.”
“I am pleased to speak today not as the convener of the Finance and Public Administration Committee. Nevertheless, this is the last time that a number of my committee colleagues—John Mason, Michelle Thomson and Liz Smith—as well as the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government, and possibly I and others, depending on the election results, will speak in such a debate, so I must admit to feeling more than a modicum of sadness. But to business. As we all know, this year’s draft Scottish budget was much delayed due to the dithering of the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, who not only announced her budget weeks later than she did in 2024 but did so only after weeks of leaks to the media about what it might contain.”
“Will the cabinet secretary advise members what specific increases in funding Labour has proposed for local government in the 2026–27 budget, and where it has said that the money will come from? What will be the impact on services of the £17.127 million in public–private partnership payments in 2026–27 that Labour saddled North Ayrshire Council with, and the burden of £6.8 million in employer national insurance contributions, which together equate to a third of all moneys raised in council tax this year? Shona Robison: Kenny Gibson is quite right to point to the burdens on local government of the private finance initiative legacy contracts and of the higher employer national insurance contribution costs. The Labour Party had no specific asks and made no proposals on local government during the budget negotiations, but that is nothing new.”
“To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its discussions with the United Kingdom Government regarding free-to-air television broadcasting in Scotland, including in relation to sporting events such as the 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth games and 2027 Tour de France. (S6O-05518)”
“In addition, the split between delivery and development casts doubt on exactly what will be delivered when and at what cost. Given that the UK Government will reduce Scotland’s capital allocation in real terms over the forecast period, inclusion of shovel-ready projects to optimise capital investment would be helpful. We urge the incoming Scottish Government to flesh out both the pipeline and the Scottish spending review document with much more detail. The committee looks forward to receiving a response to our stage 1 report ahead of stage 2 proceedings on the bill next week, and I look forward to hearing members’ contributions in today’s debate. 15:43”
“We will of course be taking evidence on the Scottish spending review and the infrastructure delivery pipeline in the weeks ahead. Witnesses shared concerns about whether plans to make £1.5 billion of cumulative efficiencies across the spending review period are achievable and how progress will be reported. We urge the next Government to regularly report savings made, in order to allow scrutiny of progress towards overall efficiency targets and clarify any impacts on public service delivery. Although we welcome the Scottish Government’s infrastructure delivery pipeline, we had pressed for the document since December 2023, and it is, frankly, underwhelming. Detail should have been provided on costs, timelines and potential overruns for the projects.”
“Unfortunately, the Scottish Government did not, as requested, fully respond to the Scottish Fiscal Commission’s two key fiscal sustainability reports in 2023 and 2025. Regarding the medium-term funding outlook, publication of the first Scottish spending review outcomes for both capital and resources this parliamentary session is welcome. Although that should bring more certainty to portfolios, public bodies and local government on the spending trajectory over the next three years, we agree with witnesses that more detail should have been provided and, despite our request, the Scottish Government appears not to have taken a zero- based budgeting approach to the spending review. Indeed, the document includes little detail on the approach taken, leaving uncertainty over the figures presented.”
“On taxation, although we recognise the fiscal pressures on the Scottish budget, we have asked the next Scottish Government to consider the most effective way to ensure a fairer, more gradual and transparent approach to raising income tax revenues than continuing to use fiscal drag—a policy that has also been imposed by successive United Kingdom Governments. A further priority in the next session of Parliament should be reform of local government taxation—not easy, given the likely level of loss aversion, but necessary. The committee has consistently urged the Scottish Government to recognise and respond to the long-term fiscal sustainability challenges that lie ahead, given demographic trends.”
“The sustainability of social security spending and its impact on other areas of the Scottish budget that are being squeezed is a long-term committee concern. It is disappointing that the Scottish ministers have yet to undertake the reviews that we asked for on the fiscal sustainability of social security spending, the extent to which it supports economic activity and the outcomes arising from universal payments and services. We therefore urge the incoming Government to undertake that work without delay.”
“We support a continuation of that consultative approach while balancing the need for early resolution. On Scottish Government spending plans, the college sector will receive a very welcome uplift in funding, which the committee had called for. Housing has had an even more impressive boost, and although we welcome the additional £20 million that has been announced today, the committee has significant concerns that pressures on local government finances may lead to large council tax rises and some local authorities struggling to meet their statutory obligations. We have therefore urged the Scottish Government in our report to discuss with local government how and where further support might be provided to ease such pressures if additional funds become available.”
“As we note in our report, the Scottish Government appears to bank on the fact that it will not need to draw down ScotWind funds, because new moneys are considered certain to become available, particularly in the run-up to the next United Kingdom general election. The committee is not convinced that that is an efficient or effective way to manage Scotland’s public finances. The committee’s 2026-27 budget report recognises significant financial pressures faced by the Scottish Government and its limited flexibilities to manage cash flow over years. We therefore believe that a comprehensive review of the fiscal framework is now urgent. It is encouraging that the two Governments are currently discussing the scope of that, and we welcomed the opportunity just before Christmas to input the committee’s views on the priority areas for the review.”
“We therefore recommend that formal agreement be reached between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Fiscal Commission on how regular in- year transfers should be presented. We also seek greater clarity on which elements of funding announces new money, to provide certainty for public bodies and local government and avoid the unhelpful and unnecessary confusion that has occurred this year, notably in relation to increased funding for the college sector and where money saved from mitigating the two- child cap will be spent. The committee also expressed concerns that one-off ScotWind leasing revenues are being used to plug funding gaps rather than being allocated to net zero projects, as intended.”
“As the committee noted, that provided an unacceptably short time for parliamentary scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s proposed tax and spending plans for the next financial year. It is not the first time that the committee has called on the UK Government to give much greater regard to devolved budgets when setting the timing of future fiscal events. The need for greater transparency in relation to budgetary information has been another consistent theme. The committee recognises improvements that have been made by the Scottish ministers throughout this parliamentary session in providing more budgetary data and presenting it more clearly. However, like many witnesses and commentators, we are frustrated and disappointed that, despite repeated requests, the Scottish Government has fallen short of baselining all routine in-year transfers.”
“I am pleased to speak on behalf of the Finance and Public Administration Committee, following publication of our “Report on the Scottish Budget 2026-27”, and I look forward to receiving the stage 2 amendments that the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government touched on a moment ago. This is the final stage 1 budget bill debate in this parliamentary session, so I am keen to discuss issues that the committee has raised that have been key themes throughout our scrutiny over the years. I also wish to thank our excellent committee team of MSPs and clerks, who have worked so hard and with dedication throughout the past half- decade. I can see Liz Smith nodding in approval. This year’s draft budget was published much later than usual, on 13 January 2026, as a consequence of the late United Kingdom budget.”
“Some very interesting work was undertaken in Denmark, where more than 3,500 people were released from prison via a community service programme. There is much to learn in that regard from our European friends and neighbours, and I think that that would also help to alleviate public concerns.”
“Given the value and importance of community payback orders in reducing reoffending, does the cabinet secretary agree that those who are released early from prison should undertake work in the community throughout the time that they would otherwise have served in jail? For example, there is rubbish scattered along the verges of our trunk and country roads, and I am sure that having several hundred extra pairs of hands tackling that would make a huge difference, while helping offenders to productively pay their debt to society. Angela Constance: That is a really good question and a really interesting point. Although community payback orders and unpaid work can be used as alternatives to custody, they are a sentence in their own right, and we do not currently have the legal powers to impose another sentence on a sentenced prisoner.”
“To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when the purchase of Ardrossan harbour from Peel Ports Group will be successfully concluded. (S6O-05502)”
“However, we do not have the powers to replicate the proposals that have been outlined by the UK Government for the removal of more foreign national offenders, as returns and deportations are matters that are entirely reserved. I previously shared—either in the chamber or in committee—the number of UK Border Agency staff that the UK Government allocates to work across Great Britain and Northern Ireland. That figure is around 50-plus. However, I have to say that the number of officers who support such work in Scotland is particularly low—from memory, I think that it is about four, but I will write to the member with the accurate facts.”
“The Presiding Officer: I invite the cabinet secretary to respond, to the extent to which the subject matter of the question relates to that of the substantive question. I remind members that follow-up questions should be on the same subject as the original question. Angela Constance: I am considering what further action can be taken within our devolved remit. The SPS regularly engages with the UK Government to identify the foreign national offenders who are eligible for removal from prisons in Scotland. As a matter of fact, we support the co- ordination of prisoner transfer arrangements between the UK and other international jurisdictions.”
“Scotland is in a similar position to Europe, where half the countries’ prisons exceed 100 per cent prison occupancy. Many are considering alternatives. In 2021, Kosovo agreed to take 300 Danish prisoners at a similar cost to the cost of housing prisoners in Scottish jails. Sweden, Estonia and Belgium are exploring similar schemes. The Scottish Prison Service has 653 foreign nationals in custody. Many, including 94 Albanians, would be closer to family if they were housed in Kosovo. Given that the European convention on human rights already features prominently in Kosovan law, will the cabinet secretary commit to exploring a similar scheme to help to reduce Scotland’s foreign national prison population and free up space in our jails?”
“The increase means that public services in Scotland face a £400 million annual shortfall, which will have an impact on local government. If Labour colleagues want to be helpful, perhaps they could lobby the UK Labour Government to give us full funding for the increase in employer national insurance contributions.”
“How much will local authorities have to find in 2026-27 to meet the on-going costs of the United Kingdom Government’s public-private partnerships from some 20 years ago—which I believe are still costing us around £1 billion a year—and the increased employer national insurance contributions that were imposed on local authorities from April last year? Shona Robison: Kenny Gibson is right to draw attention to the fact that local authorities will be paying the price for the Labour and, indeed, Tory flawed private finance initiative and PPP deals for some years to come. I think that the scale of the costs were outlined in an answer to a written question that he received. Kenny Gibson is also right to point to the additional costs as a result of the increase in employer national insurance contributions.”
“Demography remains a problem in Bhutan, with many people emigrating, particularly to Australia. Reversing that will be a major issue for the people of Bhutan as years go forward. One of the things that I have suggested is that Bhutan could learn from countries such as Lithuania, with its create Lithuania project, and Poland and Ireland, which have successfully attracted return migration through education, market diversification and investment incentives. Rural depopulation, which is mirrored in many places in the world, is also an issue there, and is also something to address. Without further ado, I will pass on to one of my colleagues, as I believe that my time is up. 18:35”
“It is quite a culture shock to arrive in Bhutan because the airport itself is unique. I do not think that there are many places where you see a mini Buddhist monastery in the middle of the carousel where you collect your suitcase but that is what you have when you visit Paro. There is a lot that we can learn from a country such as Bhutan and it is important that we have strong economic links with it. It might not be the biggest market in the world but it is extremely important and the links should involve looking at how Bhutan can diversify and work with Scotland. There is much that the Bhutanese can learn from us and much that we can learn from them. It is about working together in partnership and looking at how we can help them to preserve their local festivals and culture, and how they can perhaps help us to appreciate more of ours.”
“We could do many different things, from cultural evenings and screening Bhutanese films to social networking, community learning and engaging with academics and the business community in Scotland and Bhutan. The trip that we were on was exhilarating. It was also exhausting. When we went to the bottom of a very large mountain with a well-known monastery known as the tiger’s nest at the top, Pam Gosal and I were both delighted to find some lovely and willing ponies to carry us half way up as some of our colleagues applauded. We did not just climb hills and have an exciting cultural experience, although we had an exciting cultural experience meeting film director Tashi Gyaltsen and seeing one of his most important films. We also met the Prime Minister and the leader of the Opposition, visited Parliament and met business leaders.”
“It is an historically strong country with deep culture and traditions. It has many languages and is very diverse despite having a population of less than 750,000. When we were there, we wanted to explore opportunities for co-operation, environmental management, education, healthcare and sustainable tourism. Bhutan does not want to overload itself with tourists. It wants people to go there who will appreciate the country for what it is and not change it to something that it is not. Not only is the country is unique but it will, I believe, remain unique. Michelle Thomson talked about a possible cross-party group. If such a cross-party group is established in the next parliamentary session, and if I am re-elected, I would certainly want to be part of it. I hope that the colleagues who were with me last October would also join that group.”
“I never thought that I would open a debate on the Holocaust and speak about the wonderful country of Bhutan on the same day, but that is how the Scottish Parliament works sometimes. I thank Michelle Thomson for bringing the debate to the chamber but, most of all, I thank Angus Tulloch and the Tam O’Shanter Trust, ably supported by Lesley Kennedy and Tess Sampson, for taking me, Michelle, Pam Gosal and Claire Baker to Bhutan, along with Tshering Dorji, last October. It was an astonishing trip. I never thought that it would happen either. When Michelle asked me whether I would be interested in going along, she did not have to twist my arm too much. The sheer beauty of the place and how clean the air and atmosphere were in that wonderful country were astonishing. From every angle, the Buddhist culture of that nation permeated of us.”
“I spoke to some of the detailed work on teacher training that has been undertaken with COSLA, the teaching trade unions and our initial teacher education institutions, to provide a more consistent approach to the employment of teachers and the support that they receive in relation to initial teacher education.”
“Does the cabinet secretary think it acceptable that some local authorities advertise full-time permanent posts only to tell successful applicants when offering a job that the post is, in fact, temporary? Working with local authorities and teaching unions, what steps will she take to end that deceptive practice? Jenny Gilruth: I do not think that the points that have been set out by Kenny Gibson are acceptable. It is important to state that the Scottish Government plays no role in the direct employment of Scotland’s teachers. We have 32 local authorities with various approaches to recruitment practices. That allows for inconsistency, but the issues that Mr Gibson has alluded to should not be happening with fair approaches to employment and employment practices more broadly. We will continue to work with COSLA on that.”
“As Hannah Arendt observed, the real risk lies in thoughtlessness—the tendency to overlook familiar patterns of hatred until they repeat themselves. Each generation inherits not only the memory of antisemitism but the responsibility to recognise its reality. Remembrance, then, is not just about the past but about paying careful attention and challenging antisemitism today. 12:58”
“Australian authorities identified the Bondi beach attack as being influenced by antisemitic ideology. Despite that, early commentary framed the violence as anomalous rather than part of a longer continuum of hatred. Among those who were killed was Alex Kleytman, an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor. On the 75th anniversary of the Holocaust, he publicly warned of rising antisemitic violence in contemporary society. Eight decades after surviving genocide, he was murdered celebrating Hanukkah. Sadly, here in Scotland, Jews report feeling increasingly unsafe. Events in the middle east lead to Jews here being collectively blamed for acts of a Government that they did not vote for in a country that they do not live in. Bridging generations begins with understanding that remembrance is not a passive act.”
“There has been a 97 per cent decline in Jewish populations across the Muslim world in 80 years. The vast majority emigrated to, and thereby strengthened, Israel, where half the world’s 16 million Jews now live. That is hardly surprising, when attacks on Jewish communities can seemingly happen anywhere at any time. From the murder of 11 Jewish athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics, through 285 people being killed in the 1974 Buenos Aires bombing, and dozens being killed in a series of Istanbul synagogue attacks between 1986 and 2003, to the attack at Bondi beach, where 15 were slain only last month, antisemitism is too often dismissed as marginal or incidental and framed as the actions of isolated individuals rather than a symptom of broader social currents.”
“It is a hatred that accuses Jews of being too white or not white enough and is rooted in a ludicrous mythical conspiracy that they are responsible for the ills of the world. In the 1950s, communist parties across eastern Europe purged their Jewish members. Stalin’s campaign against “rootless cosmopolitanism” was set to culminate in the deportation of all Soviet Jews to Siberia, had he not died in 1953. Although Arab countries were traditionally more tolerant of Jews than the Christian world was, massacres took place in many of them, where Jews had lived since before Islam. In 1941, 180 were killed in Iraq, 133 in Libya and 97 in Yemen. Iraq’s thriving 150,000-strong Jewish community dwindled to zero. Libya has had no Jews since 1969, and Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan also have none.”