Little information is available publicly about Scotland Against Antisemitism but a press release put out on Sunday claimed that the letter to Swinney, blasting the Scottish Government’s position, had attracted nearly 3000 signatures.
The National asked Scotland Against Antisemitism’s press representative for further information about the group.
We asked:
- Who is involved with the group?
- Is it a solo outfit for director Leah Benoz?
- Is her position paid?
- Is Scotland Against Antisemitism a membership organisation? If so, how many member does it have?
- Is it affiliated with other Jewish groups such as the Campaign Against Antisemitism?
- Does it have a corporate identity, for instance, is it registered with the Scottish charity regulator or listed on Companies House?
- Does the organisation make any money? If so, what are its revenue sources?
We received the following response from director Leah Benoz (below): “Scotland Against Antisemitism is a volunteer only, grassroots civic initiative responding to the serious and growing problem of antisemitism in Scotland.
“We are not affiliated with any other organisation. We are not a membership body. We are not funded.
“Our letter speaks for itself – and the widespread response it has received in Scotland and beyond (as stated in our press release) demonstrates how many people are ready to stand up against antisemitism.
READ MORE: ‘Neo-Nazi’ filmed addressing Falkirk hotel protest for second time
“As to myself, I am not the story. Scottish antisemitism is. I’m simply a Jewish mother living in Scotland who decided she’d had enough of her child living in fear, and began organising.”
Benoz bills herself as a journalist and political commentator on her social media. She has written five pieces for The Times of Israel since July 5, 2024. Her first article for the outlet accused Scotland of a “deep-seated antisemitism”.
She does not appear to have written for any other news outlets.
What is in Scotland Against Antisemitism’s letter?
Benoz has been canvassing support for her missive to the First Minister on social media.
It is accessible as a Google Doc and makes no requirement for signatories to confirm their addresses, meaning it can be signed by anyone around the world. Signatories are also given the option to be listed as a supporter of the letter from “outside Scotland”.
We asked Benoz if she had made any assessment of support for the letter from within Scotland versus outwith but she made no comment on this.
READ MORE: Douglas Alexander fails to say whether Scotland is in a voluntary union
The letter sets out her “grave concern” about the Scottish Government’s announcement it will no longer fund weapons companies that are linked with the Israeli miliary.
It adds: “As you are no doubt aware, our small and increasingly vulnerable community is living in an extraordinarily hostile environment, one that has only worsened since October 7th. We number around 5000 people, just 0.093% of Scotland’s population, yet we were the victims of approximately 17% of all religiously motivated hate crimes last year. That figure alone should be a matter of national shame.”
According to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal’s Office, there were 505 religiously-motivated hate crimes in Scotland in 2024-25. A breakdown by religion was not available.
Her figure appears to come from the Community Safety Trust, which said that in 2024 there were 74 antisemitic hate crime reports in Scotland.
It noted: “In 1844 incidents [UK-wide] – 52% of the annual total – the offender used discourse relating to Israel, Gaza, Hamas and the war in the Middle East.
“There were 1533 incidents that showed explicitly anti-Zionist motivation alongside anti-Jewish language or targeting, 422 employing variations on the terms ‘Zionism’ or ‘Zionist’, often as euphemisms for ‘Jewishness’ and ‘Jew’, or in conjunction with other anti-Jewish sentiment, and 327 wherein equivalences were drawn between Israel or Jewish people and the Nazis.”
READ MORE: Boris Johnson would ‘never’ be welcome in Reform, says party chief
The letter goes on to dismiss the Scottish Government’s new policies because Holyrood has “no power over foreign policy and no meaningful influence over the State of Israel”.
It adds: “The decision to pull a tiny amount of funding from a handful of commercial projects will not impact the Israeli government or change the course of the war. In short, the only people this announcement will materially affect are Scottish Jews who are already under siege.
“We believe, with sorrow and outrage, that this decision was made to appease a small, extremist, and increasingly aggressive fringe of the activist class, a group whose support is being courted for political reasons. It appears the government has calculated that the cost of alienating Scotland’s Jews will be outweighed by electoral rewards.”
Benoz’s letter claims that accusing Israel of committing genocide is a “modern-day blood libel” and argues that the charge can only be proven in a court by “producing irrefutable evidence of intent”.
The International Court of Justice has ruled that there is a plausible case that Israel is committing genocide and there is a positive duty under international law for governments to prevent genocide.
The letter ends: “But in the very week that yet more members of our community are leaving Scotland for Israel out of fear, we ask you plainly: Is our safety really a price worth paying?
READ MORE: Sacked Scottish secretary Ian Murray returns to UK Government in ministerial role
“We call on the Scottish Government to retract its inflammatory language and meet with the Jewish community to discuss how the government plans to protect us – not just in words, but in action.”
Before his announcement in Holyrood last week, Swinney was at pains to demonstrate his opposition to antisemitism.
Speaking on Monday – before measures were announced on Wednesday – Swinney told MSPs: “Today I met with Dr Husam Zomlot, head of Palestinian Mission, to show Scotland’s solidarity with the Palestinian people, and also members of the Jewish community, including the chief rabbi of Scotland, to reassure them of this government’s steadfast opposition to antisemitism and reaffirm their valued contribution to Scotland’s civic society.”
