Malcolm Offord, leader of the Reform party, addressed the Scottish parliament on October 7, the third anniversary of Hamas's invasion of Israel. He criticized the Greens for a motion at their conference that described Zionism as genocidal and called it "despicable." Offord highlighted the fear and intimidation faced by Jewish communities in Scotland due to anti-Zionist rhetoric. When challenged, First Minister John Swinney avoided directly condemning the Green Party's stance on Zionism, instead focusing on other issues like face coverings in public spaces.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-08,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
With no small pluck and some evident anger, Malcolm Offord charged at the heart of Goliath: the gurning Gaza gabfest that is Holyrood.
asserted
that → charge → Goliath
David was at least armed with a sling, but the Reform leader took to the battlefield with a modest sheaf of papers.
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leader → take → papers
The previous day, October 7, had been the third anniversary of Gaza’s invasion of Israel, which saw Palestinians murder almost 1,200 Jews, rape women and butcher children.
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Palestinians → see → children
Offord, who branded the Hamas operation ‘barbaric and medieval’, had come here to send a message: ‘Zionism is neither racist nor genocidal.
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Zionism → brand → message
Zionism is a legitimate right of the Jewish people to a homeland in Palestine, which is enshrined in international law.
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which → enshrine → law
The words ought to have been unremarkable but they possessed a quality uncommon and even bold for Holyrood: truthfulness.
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they → possess → Holyrood
Offord lambasted the English Greens for the ‘despicable motion’ on Zionism at the party’s conference and excoriated Ross Greer for ‘describing Zionism as being founded on genocide’.
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Offord → lambast → genocide
A salvo of mutters and rebukes came his way but they bounced punily off his silver bouffant, the Iron Dome of Scottish politics.
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they → come → politics
When he challenged John Swinney to disavow Greer’s assertion, in stepped Kenny Gibson, the Presiding Officer: ‘That is not really a devolved matter.’
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That → challenge → assertion
Oh NOW they want to leave reserved matters to Westminster.
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they → want → Westminster
Funny rules this devolution malarkey has.
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malarkey → have → rules
Swinney slithered around the issue, careful neither to endorse nor decry his mate’s outburst.
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Swinney → slither → outburst
He said he ‘did not agree’ with the Green conference motion.
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he → say → motion
This is a motion which accuses Zionists of advocating ‘domination of the non-Jewish population’ in Israel.
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which → accuse → Israel
Offord described the ‘violence and racism’ Scottish Jews now face.
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Jews → describe → violence
Community leaders had shared their fear of wearing Star of David necklaces.
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leaders → share → necklaces
Some were frightened to worship in their synagogue.
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Some → frighten → synagogue
‘How can there be such daily intimidation in Scotland just for being Jewish?’ Offord asked, before pressing Swinney a second time to condemn the Greens.
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Offord → ask → Greens
Instead, Swinney elided the question and pivoted to a Reform debate happening later that day on banning face coverings in public.
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Swinney → elide → public
‘I deplore the content of the debate that we are going to hear tonight,’ the First Minister prophesied.
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Minister → deplore → that
I’m not doubting his psychic abilities; it’s just a shame he never had a vision of Peter Murrell, the party credit card, and an Amazon delivery van.
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he → doubt → Murrell
Malcolm Offord challenged First Minister John Swinney at Holyrood on Thursday
Swinney swerved Offord’s final attempt to get him to ‘condemn the racism being whipped up against Israel in this chamber’ and keep ‘the racist Green Party’ at arm’s length.
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him → challenge → length
He showed courage and moral clarity.
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He → show → courage
If one day he is asked what he did when they came for the Jews again, he will be able to answer without shame.
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he → ask → shame
Also making a mark in the telling-hard-truths stakes was the Tories’ Russell Findlay, who returned to the subject of welfare fraud.
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who → make → fraud
After deftly calling the SNP leader a liar without explicitly doing so – they had a barney last week over pensions – Findlay told Swinney ‘chancers and crooks’ were ‘stealing benefits’.
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chancers → call → benefits
If you’re going to steal money you should at least follow protocol and become chief executive of a political party first.
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you → go → party
Swinney claimed Findlay wished to ‘terrorise vulnerable people’.
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Findlay → claim → people
If he does it in a keffiyeh, the Greens might pass a solidarity motion.
uncertain
Greens → do → motion
Shortly after FMQs concluded, an email pinged its way into my inbox announcing ‘the Presiding Officer’s ambition to engage directly with communities across Scotland’.
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email → conclude → Scotland
The Aporia
