23-07-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Israel meeting could prove the downfall of SNP government
17 October 2023. I am at the SNP National Conference in Aberdeen, notepad in hand.
Humza Yousaf is telling the assembled faithful about the plight of his wife's parents, trapped in Gaza in the wake of the 7 October attacks.
That day, Mr Yousaf says: 'We are absolutely clear that the life of a Palestinian is equal to the life of an Israeli. It is right for the world to condemn the actions of Hamas – unequivocally.
'But any form of collective punishment, as we are seeing in Gaza, can never be justified. 2.2m innocent people cannot pay the price for the actions of Hamas.'
Indeed, talk of the ongoing conflict, and Mr Yousaf's personal connection, dominates conversation among the press corp and attendees.
Mr Yousaf and Nadia el-Nakla pictured at the conference in Aberdeen. (Image: PA) Since assuming the premiership in May 2024, John Swinney has tweeted about [[Gaza]] two dozen times, condemning the 'intolerable' and 'unimaginable' humanitarian suffering caused by the [[Israel]]i invasion.
All this to say, the Scottish Government's position on [[Israel]] and Palestine has been clear, at least publicly.
Yet, reporting by The Ferret on Sunday laid bare a much different approach, one in which Scottish Government representatives and Israeli diplomats discussed bilateral meetings.
A month after Mr Swinney took office, a government official emailed the Israel embassy looking to set up a meeting between the First Minister and ambassador Tzipi Hotovely.
And on 8 August, cabinet secretary Angus Robertson met with deputy ambassador Daniela Grudsky.
According to The Ferret, minutes from the meeting state:
'The Scottish Government's position remained that the Palestinian people had the right to self-determination and that a secure Israel should be able to live in peace and security. There was value in dialogue between Scotland and Israel as critical friends.'
'Critical friends'? Such a declaration no doubt comes as a surprise to members of the SNP who regularly champion the party's rhetoric on [[Gaza]], especially in the UK Parliament.
If the [[SNP]] continues to waffle, don't be shocked if they bleed enough progressive support in 2026 to tip the balance of power to Labour and Anas Sarwar.
Already, some voters have been turned off by Mr Swinney's middle-of-the-road approach to independence and close ties to socially conservative Kate Forbes.
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In a statement, Mr Robertson told The Ferret that increasingly extreme rhetoric by Israeli politicians and mounting deaths at aid centres were 'abhorrent' and as such, 'the Scottish Government is unequivocal that it would not be appropriate to meet with the Israeli Government.'
Yet, on the day he met with Ms Grudsky, 8 August 2024, two schools housing refugees were struck by Israeli munitions, according to Al Jazeera. 15 people were killed and dozens were injured.
And by the end of August, according to the United Nations, citing the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, more than 40,000 Palestinians had been killed and 1.9m had been displaced from their homes.
One might ask Mr Robertson what changed between August 2024 and now to warrant the government's 'unequivocal' stance.
The answer, like that of a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar, has less to do with the number of civilian casualties and more to do with the embarrassment of being found to have rolled out the red carpet for a state which is hated by the governing party's staunchest supporters.
