EDINBURGH has become the first city in Scotland to boycott Israel.
On Thursday, councillors voted in favour of a motion which moves the capital closer to implementing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel in opposition to the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
The motion, put forward by Scottish Greens councillor Ben Parker, expressed solidarity with Palestinians and called on the Scottish Government to confirm what steps it will take to ensure local authorities are able to legally adopt BDS policies.
It comes after the Scottish Parliament voted for an immediate boycott of Israel and companies complicit in Israel's military operations and its occupation of Palestine.
Commenting after the motion passed, with the support of the SNP and Scottish Labour, councillor Parker said: “Today the council took a step towards ensuring that no public money is being used to support the Israeli government's genocidal regime in Palestine.
“Today's motion was simply a request for information about how the bold decision of the Scottish Government to adopt Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel will impact on local authority finances, and about how the Government needs to change the law to empower local authorities to be able to pursue such policies locally.
“But to have the capital city take this step will strengthen the solidarity shown to Palestinian people at all levels of government, and will see us able to adopt BDS in Edinburgh soon.”
Parker added: “As we continue to witness the complete failure of the UK Government to take practical action to end the bombardment and starvation of Palestine, I'm pleased that today Edinburgh Council took this positive step towards economic sanctions and following in the footsteps of the Scottish Government.”
Meanwhile, Scottish Greens MSP Patrick Harvie (above), the party's external affairs spokesperson, said he hoped the move will be replicated in local authorities across Scotland.
He said: “Israeli forces have inflicted a brutal humanitarian catastrophe on the people of Gaza, collectively punishing, starving and ethnically cleansing Palestinians. There is a responsibility on all levels of government to take action to stop it.
“The Scottish Government voted to support the principles of Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions. Now it has to turn words into actions and support our councils to implement it.”
