Jewish group heralded for ‘huge difference’ by Scottish Parliament’s speaker

The Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament has paid tribute to Scotland’s Jewish representative body for “building a reputation out of proportion to the size of the Jewish community”.

Ken Macintosh made the comments during a meeting with the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities (SCoJeC) in Glasgow, 20 years after the organisation emerged from its predecessor, the Standing Committee of Scottish Jewry.

“SCoJeC has made a huge difference in the past 20 years,” said Macintosh. “It has not tried to pretend to be the only voice in the community, but has acted as the point of contact, as the way in to the community.

“From the perspective of Parliament it has always been effective, always present, making the views of the Community known, speaking with common sense, balance, and experience. It is up there with the Law Society. It builds a reputation out of proportion to the size of the community.”

SCoJeC said he also noted the “disproportionate” number of anti-Israel motions in the Parliament, with 26 about Gaza and only four “casting Israel in a positive light,” adding that he understood “how this can spill over into being anti-Jewish”.