Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney has condemned antisemitism as “cannot be tolerated” following a shooting at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia, that left fifteen people dead. The attack has prompted concerns within the Scottish Jewish community about their safety and future in the country.
Bondi Beach Shooting Condemned
Fifteen people were killed after a father and son targeted celebrations on the first day of the festival in Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday. Australian media have named the gunmen as Sajid Akram, 50, and his son Naveed Akram, 24. The older man was shot dead by police, while the younger one remains in critical condition in hospital.
‘Do Jews have a future in Scotland?’
Members of the Jewish community in Scotland have expressed concerns and are “considering their future” due to increased abuse. Two people died in an attack on a Manchester Synagogue on October 2, during Yom Kippur. Sammy Stein, chairman of Glasgow Friends of Israel, said the community was “afraid” a similar incident could happen in Scotland, noting increased security outside synagogues following the Manchester attack.
“This kind of event does not just happen in a vacuum,” Stein told BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast. “We need to have guards outside our synagogues. We need to have guards outside our primary schools. Of course people are afraid, they are terrified, because the calls for hate and intimidation have been allowed to grow without being checked.”
Calderwood Lodge Primary School in Newton Mearns, Scotland’s only Jewish school, already has a security guard on site and has not increased security measures. East Renfrewshire Council stated it would work with the school, local police, and the Jewish community to provide support and review the need for additional measures.
Mark Gardner, of the Community Security Trust, said some individuals were considering leaving Scotland. He highlighted the extensive security measures already in place at Jewish institutions and emphasized the desire for Jews to be fully integrated into society.
Concerns Over Rising Antisemitism
Scotland’s senior Rabbi, Rabbi Moshe Rubin, said some people chose not to attend Hanukkah celebrations on Sunday evening. He cited an “institutionalised anti-Israel feeling” in some Scottish public bodies and a “definite” rise in antisemitism over the past two years. “There is a definitely a fear, there’s a sense of not feeling welcomed any more in Scotland,” he said.
‘People stampeded in panic’
A 10-year-old girl was among those killed in the shooting – the deadliest in Australia in 30 years. The attack occurred during an event named Chanuka by the Sea on Bondi Beach. Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has vowed to strengthen the country’s gun laws and stated the gunmen were “motivated by extremist ideology.”
A Scottish man working at an open-air cinema near the scene described a scene of panic. Kian Bentley, 22, from Stirling, said people “stampeded” after hearing gunshots, which he initially mistook for fireworks. He opened a gate to allow people to run towards a nearby police station.
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