An SNP minister was yesterday forced to condemn an anti-Semitic post shared on his father’s Facebook page.
Community Wealth & Public Finance minister Tom Arthur broke cover to criticise fellow SNP member Tom Arthur Snr over the post at the centre of a Swastika hate crime row.
In a humiliating public statement, Mr Arthur admitted the offensive image posted by his father falls ‘far short’ of his own stance against discrimination.
The SNP also slammed the vile meme as it confirmed Arthur Snr had quit the party in disgrace.
It comes after the Mail yesterday revealed the 72-year-old had shared an image of the Israeli flag that merged the Nazi symbol with the Star of David.
SNP Minister Tom Arthur, who supported his party’s controversial hate crime law, poses with his father at Holyrood before Mail exposed vile Facebook posts
The 72-year-old shared an image of the Israeli flag that merged the Nazi symbol with the Star of David
The woman who complained about the post said Police Scotland refused to investigate it under the new hate crime law as she is not Jewish.
But the force last night did a partial U-turn and opened a fresh investigation into the post under the Communications Act.
In an explosive statement on the scandal yesterday, Mr Arthur said: ‘As an SNP MSP, I stand against discrimination of any kind.
‘The online post shared by a family member falls far short of that position and I condemn the views expressed.
‘Six months on from Hamas’s barbaric terrorist attack which claimed the lives of more than 1,000 innocent civilians,
I will continue to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages and for a permanent two-state solution to pave the way towards peace in the region.’
SNP chiefs revealed Arthur Snr was a party member when the offending image was posted last week, only hours after the new Hate Crime Act came into force.
A spokesman said: ‘The SNP stands firmly against anti-Semitism.
‘The social media post is unacceptable and would have been subject to disciplinary investigation had the individual not resigned their party membership with immediate effect.’
Last night, Arthur Snr’s Facebook account had been wiped, but it emerged he had regularly posted abhorrent material, including the claim that the October 7 attacks were a hoax.
Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Russell Findlay said: ‘It’s now apparent this was just one of many such anti-Semitic attacks, including disgusting conspiracy theories about Hamas atrocities on October 7th.
‘The minister cannot be held responsible for his relative’s conduct, but given these vile views were posted publicly alongside mainstream SNP material, it’s reasonable to ask why neither he nor anyone else in the SNP thought to challenge this until now.’
He added: ‘Humza Yousaf was repeatedly warned his hate crime law would put Police Scotland under significant pressure, and that is exactly what’s happening.
‘This might go some way to explaining, although not justifying, why this report was initially wrongly rejected.
If the First Minister refuses to repeal his disastrous legislation, he has a duty to ensure our police service has the funding and training to properly and consistently apply it.’
A social media post shared by Tom C Arthur online comparing Netanyahu and Hitler
Community Wealth & Public Finance Minister Tom Arthur was forced to condemn his father Tom Arthur Snr over swastika post shared on his Facebook page
The row blew up when Arthur Snr shared the offensive image on Facebook on April 1 beneath the slogan ‘Nazism = Zionism’.
A former police officer – who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals – saw the post and reported it to Police Scotland.
After being interviewed last Saturday, she insists she was quizzed about her own racial identity and, when she stated she wasn’t Jewish, was told her complaint could go no further.
She recalled: ‘They were very much for not taking the complaint at all. One said: ‘We’re snowed under with all these complaints. How are we supposed to get through all these?’.’
The Scottish Daily Mail can reveal the Facebook page of the former NHS worker from Barrhead, Renfrewshire, had SNP material and updates on his son’s constituency work sitting alongside a torrent of grotesque anti-Israeli propaganda.
Shortly before the new hate crime law came in, he shared a post suggesting the Hamas attacks of October 7 were a hoax.
It said: ‘Israel, the more you lie about the supposed flashpoint that started your genocide, 7 October, the more that date will grow in infamy where you played the victim to atrocities that didn’t occur.
‘You cry anti-Semitism and that word has become meaningless.’
As recently as Sunday, a cartoon of a bloody Nazi armband being passed from Adolf Hitler to Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was posted. Several others feature the merging of a Swastika with the Star of David.
Drawing comparisons between contemporary Israeli policy and those of the Nazis constitutes anti-Semitism under the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of the word.
The Scottish Government adopted the definition in 2017.
As an SNP minister, Mr Arthur has publicly backed the new hate crime law and spoken out about the dangers of anti-Semitism.
He has also frequently spoken of his father in parliament and his parents were his guests when he was sworn in at Holyrood as MSP for Renfrewshire South in 2016.
Last night, Police Scotland said it was probing the post under the Communications Act, which targets ‘grossly offensive’ material.
Under the hate crime laws, the test of criminality is whether a ‘reasonable person would consider the material to be likely to result in hatred being stirred up against a group’, which can include a nationality or religion.
The force refused to say why it had made the decision not to use the new legislation, or comment on the woman’s claims about being quizzed on her ethnicity.
Police Scotland said: ‘We received a complaint which is being investigated as a communications offence.’ It is believed a second complaint about the post was made yesterday.
Sammy Stein, chair of the Glasgow Friends of Israel, said: ‘I am delighted this person has been outed and shamed into resigning from the SNP.
It’s refreshing to hear an SNP minister go on the record with his condemnation.
‘The last six months has left many afraid of being identified as Jewish in public. This has to stop.’