A delegation of Scottish National Party MPs met with a group of young Scottish Jews in Tel Aviv at the end of a successful visit to Israel for the party. The MPs spoke about their trip which included paying their respects to Holocaust victims at Yad Vashem and seeing the Knesset in Israel’s capital of Jerusalem, as well as meeting with a range of public figures and travelling throughout the country.
Angus Robertson MP, who is deputy leader of the party and heads their 54 strong contingent in the House of Commons, stressed that the SNP supports Jewish self-determination, are strongly opposed to the BDS movement and are working hard to combat antisemitism in Scotland. Joining him were MPs Dr Paul Monaghue and Kirsten Oswald – the representative for East Renfrewshire, where more than 50% of Scotland’s Jews live – who said they had been surprised to learn about Israel’s diversity and spoke positively about the country’s world leading work in fields like high-tech, education and diaspora outreach.
The MPs believe that an independent Scotland could learn a lot from Israel and they are keen on strengthening bi-lateral ties between the nations. The group of Scots Jews ranged in age from 18-30 and told the MP’s about their upbringing in Scotland and life in Israel. They spoke with the SNP parliamentarians on a range of issues ranging from Brexit and Independence to antisemitism and Jewish life in Scotland.
The SNP is the third largest party in the House of Commons and forms the government in the Scottish Parliament. They support independence for Scotland.
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