The Scottish Government claimed it would be “antisemitic” to release information about Angus Robertson’s secret meeting with an Israeli ambassador, The Ferret can reveal.
Robertson, Scotland’s external affairs secretary, apologised after being criticised over a meeting he had last year with Daniela Grudsky Ekstein, Israel’s deputy ambassador to the UK.
Critics accused Robertson of trying to normalise relations with Israel and called for him to be suspended.
After the row erupted last August, The Ferret submitted a freedom of information (FOI) request to the Scottish Government asking for correspondence about the meeting with Grudsky. Officials initially refused to disclose any information.
When we appealed against the decision, the government told Information Commissioner, David Hamilton, that it could be antisemitic to release logistical information about the meeting.
According to Hamilton, an independent official charged with overseeing transparency laws, the government “stated that it had to be mindful of the need to treat Israel as it would ‘any other democratic nation’, in line with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of Antisemitism”.
He said in a report: “The (Scottish Government) argued that ignoring Israel’s wishes in circumstances where other countries’ wishes have been respected, could be considered as an antisemitic action under the IHRA definition.”
The IHRA definition of antisemitism, and its attendant examples, conflates criticism of the policies, practices, and constitution of the State of Israel, with antisemitism.
Ben Jamal, Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Hamilton noted that “the withheld information is mostly concerning the logistical arrangements” of the meeting and that “the majority of information withheld by the [Scottish Government has no inherent sensitivity”. Dismissing almost all of the government’s objections, he ordered that the withheld correspondence be released within six weeks.
The government had breached transparency laws, Hamilton added, “by failing to identify, locate, retrieve and properly consider all of the information that fell within scope of the request and incorrectly withheld information” in response to the original request. He ordered a fresh review of relevant documents within six weeks.
The IHRA definition has been accepted by 45 countries including the UK. The IHRA is an intergovernmental body established in Stockholm in 1998. It comprises 31 member nations whose purpose is to place political and social leaders’ support behind the need for Holocaust education, remembrance and research, both nationally and internationally.
The Scottish Government adopted the definition in 2017. But critics have claimed it conflates criticism of Israel with antisemitism.
In 2023, more than 100 Israeli and international civil society organisations asked the United Nations to reject the definition, arguing it is being “misused” to protect Israel from legitimate criticism.
The Ferret revealed in 2022 that Aberdeen University had rejected the definition after the university senate heard concerns it ‘impinged too heavily on academic freedom and the work of academics’. After a two-year consultation, the university instead adopted the Jerusalem Declaration of Antisemitism (JDA) which claims to offer a clearer definition.
More than 350 scholars of antisemitism, Holocaust studies and Jewish studies – who drew up the JDA – said the lack of clarity in the IHRA definition “has caused confusion and generated controversy, hence weakening the fight against antisemitism”.
Palestine Solidarity Campaign director Ben Jamal said: “The IHRA definition of antisemitism, and its attendant examples, conflates criticism of the policies, practices, and constitution of the State of Israel, with antisemitism.
He added: “Its adoption, by the Scottish Government and other public bodies, undermines our ability to hold Israel accountable for harming Palestinians, and violating international law. This case illustrates the absurd injustice that can result, when the Scottish Government is seeking to avoid legitimate journalistic scrutiny over meetings with Israeli officials by falsely asserting it could be a breach of the IHRA definition and antisemitic.
“The Information Commissioner has rightly dismissed this flimsy assertion and the Scottish Government should reassess the validity of its position on the IHRA definition.”
Nick McGowan-Lowe, Scotland organiser at the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), claimed that the Scottish Government is “lightning-quick to claim a commitment to the principles of openness, transparency and accountability, but is glacially slow when it comes to putting those same principles into action”.
He added: “The NUJ has long argued that Scotland’s FOI legislation is in dire need of reform, and will be lobbying for support of Katy Clark MSP’s bill at Holyrood to bring freedom of information laws into line for a modern democracy.”
Carole Ewart, director of the Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland, said: “Scotland’s 20 years old FOI Act is only powerful because people can enforce their right to access information for free. However, it is outdated and needs reformed to introduce a presumption in favour of disclosure, increase pro-active publication and tighten enforcement provisions.
She added: “As the commissioner’s office received its highest number of FOI appeals ever in April, with 81 appeals from people who were unhappy with a public authority’s FOI response, there is a danger that failure to update FOI law and fund the commissioner’s office adequately will weaken the architecture of transparency so carefully constructed over the last twenty years.”
Asked whether it stood by the claim that disclosure could be an antisemitic act, the Scottish Government declined to comment. “We have received the Information Commissioner’s decision and are considering its terms,” a spokesperson said. “Freedom of Information legislation permits us to consider whether disclosure of information would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially relations between the UK and any other state. This applies to all countries.”
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Main image: Angus Robertson delivers a speech at the NY Times Climate Hub Closing Celebration in Glasgow. Credit: Scottish Government
