The leaders of a Muslim community in Edinburgh, Scotland this week offered to protect their Jewish brethren in the wake of what was seen as a probable anti-Semitic attack on a synagogue.
Ken Imrie, chairman of the Scottish Islamic Foundation, wrote to Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation's Rabbi David Rose to express his group's "revulsion and horror" after the synagogue's windows were smashed. According to a report on the unusual offer published in The Scotsman, Imrie added in his letter, "We trust you have adequate security arrangements in place, in line with places of worship across the country. If not, such is our strength of feeling on this matter, we would wish to physically guard the synagogue ourselves.
“We wish you to know that the Muslim community stands full square with you in revulsion and horror at this vandalism. To violently damage any building is wrong. That this is a respected place of worship, faith and spirituality makes the crime even more heinous,” Imrie wrote.
Two male suspects, aged 22 and 17, pleaded guilty at an arraignment on charges of malicious mischief aggravated by religious prejudice in Edinburgh Sheriff Court last Friday in connection with the attack. The two allegedly were holding a baseball bat at the time of the incident. The trial is set for April 8.
The synagogue, which serves the 700 Jews of Edinburgh, was also attacked once before, seven years ago. Last week's vandalism appears to be part of a wave of rising anti-Semitism around the world after Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
Mark Gardner, a spokesman for the Community Security Trust, said Wednesday night that there has been a growing number of anti-Semitic incidents in recent weeks.
“This was a disturbing incident," Gardner said. "Scottish Jews do not expect to experience the relatively high level of anti-Semitism that has occurred during and since the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza at the turn of the year,” he told The Scotsman. According to the organization, which protects British Jews against anti-Semitic violence, 10 anti-Semitic incidents have been recorded since January – the number Gardner said that the group would expect to see during the span of an entire year.
Haven for Jewish Refugees from Nazi Europe
The Edinburgh Jewish community can be traced back to a Minute of the Town Council in 1691, when application was made by David Brown to reside and trade in the city. There was an organized community by 1780, which consisted of twenty families by 1816. The community converted a property for use as their first synagogue in 1825.
Edinburgh’s Hebrew Congregation was built in 1932 to accomodate 2,000 people. It was eventually converted in 1979 to considerably reduce the size of the prayer hall, with a community center built underneath.
The Scottish Jewish community was boosted by becoming a haven for refugees from Nazis during World War II. According to the 2001 census, about 6,400 Jews live in Scotland, most of whom are in Edinburgh (about 1,000), Glasgow (about 5,000) and to a lesser extent in Dundee.
A strong Palestinian Solidarity campaign led by George Galloway is currently being conducted in Scotland, which has occasionally led to friction with Scottish Jews, particularly over the Jewish National Fund's fundraising efforts in the country.