SNP minister condemns his own father for swastika image comparing Israel to Nazis
9 April 2024, 06:51
A Scottish National Party minister has apologised after his own father shared a swastika inside a Star of David on social media.
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Community Wealth & Public Finance minister Tom Arthur criticised his father, Tom Arthur Snr, for posting the image, which is also bears the caption 'Nazism = Zionism'.
Mr Arthur said: "As an SNP MSP, I stand against discrimination of any kind. The online post shared by a family member falls far short of that position and I condemn the views expressed.
"Six months on from Hamas's barbaric terrorist attack which claimed the lives of more than 1,000 innocent civilians, I will continue to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages and for a permanent two-state solution to pave the way towards peace in the region."
Mr Arthur Snr was a member of the SNP, although he has now quit.
A spokesperson for the party said: "The SNP stands firmly against anti-Semitism.
"The social media post is unacceptable and would have been subject to disciplinary investigation had the individual not resigned their party membership with immediate effect."
A comparison between Israel and Nazi Germany is considered anti-Semitic under the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition. Scotland signed up to that definition in 2017.
It was reported to the police last week under Scotland's new hate crime laws. Police said initially that they would not investigate, but u-turned and reopened the inquiry on Monday.
The laws criminalise material that a "reasonable person" would consider "likely to result in hatred being stirred up against a group".
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The woman who complained about the image, a former police officer herself, told Mail Online that Police Scotland told her they were "snowed under" with complaints under the new laws.
She said that a police officer asked her: "Can I ask you, are you Jewish?' I said no. He said, 'I'm going to ask you again; it's just because I need the box ticked. Do you identify as being Jewish?' I said 'no, I'm not going to lie to get anybody charged.'
"He said, 'Well, that falls outwith the parameters. It won't be moving forward as a crime. It will be logged as an incident, but it will not be going further criminally'."
Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Russell Findlay said: "This vile anti-Semitic post appears to be a genuine crime motivated by hatred and which would therefore merit an appropriate policing response.
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"It is deeply concerning if such cases are being lost amidst the vast deluge of spurious complaints being made to police from those who are weaponising Humza Yousaf's hate crime law."
Police Scotland said it could not comment on the woman's complaint.
The force was flooded with nearly 4,000 complaints in the first two days of the hate crime law coming in.
It comes after a Met police officer caused controversy by telling a protester that a swastika needed to be "taken in context".
Police confirmed that no disciplinary proceedings were launched into the officer. The force also confirmed that the man who was carrying the placard was arrested.
