THE SNP have been condemned over an MSP’s continued leadership of the “Building Bridges With Israel” cross-party group.
SNP MSP Fergus Ewing was appointed again to the role of deputy convener of the group at the annual general meeting (AGM) last month.
Other members include Independent John Mason, Labour’s Paul O’Kane and Tories Murdo Fraser, Jamie Greene, Rachael Hamilton, Douglas Ross and convener Jackson Carlaw.
It comes amid Israel being investigated by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over alleged war crimes in Gaza and recent arrest warrants issued against prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several other Israeli officials.
The SNP Government also pledged to not meet with Israel again until “real progress has been made towards peace” in August after Angus Robertson faced criticism for meeting with a senior Israeli diplomat.
The Scottish External Affairs Secretary said he felt the meeting was an “opportunity to express the Scottish Government’s clear and unwavering position on the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza”.
Robertson (below) added that it was not intended to be seen as a meeting that “legitimised the actions of the Israeli government in Gaza”.
But that same Israeli official – deputy ambassador Daniela Grudsky (above) – was invited to Holyrood last month for the group’s AGM on November 12.
Gaza was mentioned just once in the meeting according to the official minutes – by Tory MSP Brian Whittle who stated he was “uncomfortable with the loss of life” in Gaza.
Ewing, meanwhile, asked the deputy ambassador whether there was a new envoy to the USA, stating the “relationship between the two is critical and for any insight into the future”.
At the previous meeting in September, Ewing opened the meeting by highlighting the October 7 attack by Hamas and said he was “concerned” the debate in Scotland had become “very one-sided” as well as the importance of peace.
But in the past year, there is no mention in official minutes of an intervention by Ewing highlighting the humanitarian situation or the amount of Palestinian lives lost to Israel’s brutal war on Gaza.
The Gaza health ministry recently said at least 45,028 people have been killed and 106,962 others have been wounded – the majority of which are women and children.
The Scottish Greens have hit out at Ewing’s continued leadership of the group and said that every MSP has a “duty to call out the genocide being carried out in Gaza by Israel’s military”.
Co-leader Patrick Harvie (above) told the Sunday National: “Failure to do so risks validating Israel’s far-right government, and legitimising its war crimes.”
He added: “The SNP Government must keep its pledge to not meet with Israel until there is real progress towards peace, and set the tone that represents Scotland’s views loud and clear – that what is happening in Gaza is unacceptable; it is genocide and an immediate ceasefire must be effected.”
Campaigners from a Highlands pro-Palestine group have also called on John Swinney to intervene and insist Ewing stops attending the meetings or else leave the party.
Ben Frimet, a member of the Highland - Palestine group, said it “cannot be business as usual” – adding that he wrote a letter to the First Minister in October highlighting concerns over the group but is yet to receive an answer.
He told the Sunday National that Ewing’s leadership of the group is “incredibly worrying”.
“I kind of understand that, as a cross-party group, it's not solely with the SNP. But I would have definitely expected John Swinney to haul in any party member of his who's attending those meetings,” Frimet said.
“We cannot accept empty platitudes condemning the indiscriminate targeting of civilians by Israel or calling for a ceasefire or for the recognition of a Palestinian state if we continue to uphold normal relations with Israeli partners.”
He added: “We need sanctions and the severing of normal ties now and we need this to be done publicly.”
The SNP didn't respond to a request for comment.
