The SNP has found itself embroiled in a growing antisemitism controversy after several of its MSPs signed a motion suggesting that the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) should be classified as a terrorist organisation, reports The Times.
The motion, tabled at Holyrood by SNP backbencher James Dornan, called for the UK government to proscribe the IDF alongside groups such as Al Qaeda, the Wagner Group, and Islamic Jihad — instead of the campaign group Palestine Action.
The move has sparked outrage from the Board of Deputies of British Jews, which said branding the IDF as a terrorist group was inherently antisemitic. “If the IDF did not exist, Israel would cease to exist,” said Michael Wegier, the organisation’s chief executive. “The only implication of this motion is that it is calling for the dissolution of the state of Israel, which is clearly antisemitic.”
MPs this week voted overwhelmingly to ban Palestine Action, a group responsible for criminal acts across the UK, including in Scotland. From this weekend, membership or support of the group is now a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
The SNP abstained from the vote. Brendan O’Hara, the MP for Argyll & Bute, later said he and his colleagues would have opposed the ban — had the UK government not included two “neo-Nazi” groups in the same vote. That position triggered backlash from the SNP’s own Friends of Palestine group, who called the abstention “genuinely disappointing” and said it sent a “dangerous message”.
Dornan’s motion described Palestine Action as a “non-violent campaigning organisation” and accused the UK government of “utter compliance and subservience to the Israeli government”. It urged Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to “proscribe only those organisations [that] really do, or did, cause a threat to life, such as the Israel Defence Forces”.
The SNP was approached to comment.
The motion was supported by five other SNP MSPs, including Paul McLennan, who served as housing minister under John Swinney until last month. Former international development minister Ben Macpherson also signed, along with Evelyn Tweed, Stephanie Callaghan, Stuart McMillan and four Green MSPs — including party co-leader Patrick Harvie.
Wegier condemned the motion as “ludicrous” and said the rhetoric coming from elements within the SNP had left Scotland’s Jewish community “horrified”. “We, as Jews, are not horrified by the idea that people might criticise the Israeli government,” he said. “But there is a distinction between that and calling for Israel’s dissolution.”
First Minister John Swinney last month declined to say whether Palestine Action should be banned, calling it “an issue for the home secretary”.