We hide from making obvious statements about race or religion so here goes. After being thrown out of the Middle East and then Spain etc., Jewish people have, for a thousand years, often had to live in Northern Europe. They are now mainly white. Norwegian and Polish Jews are often blondies. They stick out in the Middle East. They will not stick out in Scotland.
Hence this is the plan. Solve the Scottish depopulation crisis by asking all Jewish people of peace to come here. JUST JEWISH PEOPLE? No, but it's a start. WHY SCOTLAND ? Why not? Compare Scotland and Israel. Same size of country, same size of population. Both hopeless at soccer. One difference being that Israel will never win the World Cup!( A Scottish joke about how optimistic about 'fitba' we are.)
Another difference is that Jewish people are safer in Scotland than in Israel. The number of Jewish people killed in Scotland in 2005 because of their faith? None, nil, zero. No reliable stats exist for the number of Jewish people killed in Scotland because they were poor, living in high risk areas or murdered by their partners... the Scottish speciality.
Despite Scotland having a higher incidence of murder than Northern Ireland has and had, even during the troubles, Jewish folk are safer here than in Israel. Of course, tourists are also safe because they avoid the areas with concentrations of poverty, so necessary for a good murder rate.
THE NUMBER OF JEWISH PEOPLE KILLED IN ISRAEL BECAUSE THEY ARE JEWISH? Again no stats or breakdown as to whether the deaths were anti-Semitic or simply motivated by the old fashioned "you humiliated and brutalised my grandparents, my parents and me and thousands of my people have died." However it seems fair to conclude that many deaths were, indeed, anti-Semitic in nature. This must be recognized and stressed.
Scots will deny it, but a second's thought will make them see. Racism is natural and has probably been a factor in evolution. A child who would easily go off with a stranger would not have lasted a minute. What is the most obvious way of knowing someone is a stranger? If he looks different. A white face amongst blacks or visa versa. Racism is hard wired into us and can only be resisted by education. RUBBISH! I'VE NEVER HAD A RACIST THOUGHT IN MY LIFE... Really?
Funny that a lot of folk who say that, had a brilliant parent, who themselves fought against racism. You can prove that 2 year olds do not notice racial differences. However this means by definition that these children will have grown up with cool parents that will encourage such integration. If you did not grow up with a lot of non-whites, you will stare at them like a low brow. I did.
I remember the first time I ever saw a dark skinned person with absolute clarity as an 8 year old. I was told not to stare and that this person was in a chapel so he must be basically the same as us. We are directed by mother nature to notice differences and by mother to notice similarities.
STILL, YOU ARE BEING A BIT HARD ON THE SCOTS SURELY? Well no. Whilst they have a proud history of fighting fascism hence have been natural allies of Jewish people, the language I encountered, when I first went to school in Scotland was primitively racist and mystifying. I could not understand how such clever people (I had to go back a year) could not see how dim this was. I had been used to prejudice-free Canada. (Only joking.... they hate the "Yanks", Native Canadians and the French.)
I had known what the word "n-word" meant from History and Social Sciences lessons but in Scotland in 1964, it formed part of some people's everyday observations. In fact, trying to fit in, during the first week of school, I laughed loudly at a joke I heard, about a black man. I did not get it, but later worked out that it was funny, if the man had a gigantic endowment. I then heard about Burn's large contribution. Gradually it dawned on me that all the jokes had this theme. This was the country that gave the world penicillin and now I knew why!
Abuse was also directed at the 'Talies, the Italians who came to Scotland after the war and set up their chippies and ice cream parlours. I got used to Italian jokes about how useless they were at fighting. It was only later that I realised that they had the biggest Communist Party in Europe, outside Russia and had been fighting for a fascist. I'm surprised they even managed to take on Abyssinia. I liked Captain Correlli, even though I think I was the only one who liked the film, as opposed to the book. I think all future wars should be singing contests, decided by whoever is the longest lasting.
Many Scots, at the time, would say they didn't mind "real" black people. This was code for anti-Asian prejudice. There was a significant Asian presence here. "Real" black people were a scarce commodity when I first came to Scotland. I think that some racists do not hate everyone different, simply the people they encounter.
Ps The Palestinians are also welcome here.
