Outrage as Green MSP says Hamas killings is 'consequence of apartheid'

Outrage as Green MSP Maggie Chapman claims Hamas’s brutal killing spree in Israel is a ‘consequence of apartheid and illegal occupation’ as critics call her comments ‘disgusting and shameful’

•  Humza Yousaf has been urged to tear up the SNP’s deal with the Greens

Humza Yousaf has been urged to tear up the SNP’s deal with the Greens after one of its MSPs posted ‘disgusting and shameful’ online comments justifying murderous attacks in Israel.

Maggie Chapman sparked outrage after claiming the brutal killing spree by terrorist group Hamas at the weekend was a ‘consequence of apartheid, of illegal occupation, of imperial aggression by the Israel state’.

The remarks by the Scottish Greens MSP for North East Scotland were condemned as ‘callous’ amid mounting calls for the ‘extremist’ party to be ousted from government.

In a letter to the First Minister yesterday, Tory MSP Jackson Carlaw urged Mr Yousaf to cut ties with his coalition partners in the wake of the ‘abhorrent’ social media post.

The Greens are the only Scottish party to refuse to sign up to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism.

Maggie Chapman sparked outrage after claiming the brutal killing spree by terrorist group Hamas at the weekend was a ‘consequence of apartheid’

Posting on Twitter, now X, on Saturday following the attacks, Ms Chapman said: ‘What’s happening in #Palestine is a consequence of #Apartheid, of illegal occupation, & of imperial aggression by the Israel state. 

‘Palestinian civilians have seen their homes destroyed, their water stolen & their land appropriated illegally. #GazaUnderAttack #VivaPalestine.’

The following day, she doubled down on her comments on X, adding: ‘We’ll never have peace in Israel or Palestine if we don’t recognise why those who’ve been subjected to blockade, occupation & worse retaliate.

‘Peace-making requires honesty. Including acknowledging awful violent acts by different actors. But we cannot erase context of occupation.’

Mr Carlaw, whose Eastwood constituency is home to Scotland’s largest Jewish community, said: ‘Maggie Chapman’s vile comments in the wake of Hamas’s appalling attack, which has killed hundreds of Israeli civilians, has rightly provoked outrage on social media. 

‘It lays bare the disgusting bigotry that pollutes the Scottish Greens and makes them totally unfit to be a party of government.

‘This post doesn’t come in isolation – her colleagues regularly post or like messages that are grossly offensive to Jews, while the Greens’ refusal to sign up to the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism tells you all you need to know about their extremism.

‘Maggie Chapman’s comments are so unacceptable that Humza Yousaf must end the toxic Bute House Agreement and kick the Greens out of his government.

Humza Yousaf has been urged to tear up the SNP’s deal with the Greens after one of its MSPs posted ‘disgusting and shameful’ online comments justifying murderous attacks in Israel

‘[External affairs minister] Angus Robertson, like every right-minded person, has condemned Hamas’s actions, so we can only assume he is uncomfortable being in government with a party which refuses to view Hamas as a terrorist organisation.’

Mr Carlaw said Ms Chapman should be removed from her position as deputy convener of Holyrood’s equalities, human rights and civil justice committee.

He added: ‘It defies belief that Maggie Chapman can hold views as callous and abhorrent as these while serving on the equalities committee. Her position on that committee is now untenable.’

Ms Chapman has not responded to the criticism and Scottish Greens co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater have not commented on the tweet, despite requests.

Ross Greer, the party’s external affairs spokesman, who had earlier also been criticised for not calling out terrorism, said his party ‘condemn Hamas without hesitation’. 

Ross Greer, the party’s external affairs spokesman, who had earlier also been criticised for not calling out terrorism, said his party ‘condemn Hamas without hesitation’

He added: ‘Deliberately massacring innocent civilians is a war crime and an act of pure evil. Palestinians have the right under international law to resist the Israeli occupation by force, but Hamas fighters murdering young people at a music festival and kidnapping wheelchair-bound pensioners is no act of resistance.’

He went on to blame Israel’s occupation of Palestine as a ‘root cause’ of the violence, saying: ‘Both Hamas and the Israeli government must be held to account for the war crimes they have committed.

‘There is no military solution that does not consign thousands more innocent people, Palestinian and Israeli, to their deaths. The only path to peace starts with Israel ending its siege of Gaza and the occupation of all Palestinian territory. Half of the population of the Gaza Strip are children, so it is critical that a ceasefire is reached before Israel follows through on the threats issued by its leaders.’

A spokesman for the First Minister said he would respond to Mr Carlaw’s letter of complaint.

He added: ‘It’s crass to reduce the horrendous situation unfolding in the Middle East to our domestic politics in Scotland. Maggie Chapman speaks only for herself.

‘The First Minister speaks for the Scottish Government and we are clear the terrorist acts of Hamas are unjustifiable, inexcusable, and we condemn them.’

Posting on X, Mr Robertson said: ‘The scale and horror of Hamas terrorism against Israel and Israelis sadly keeps growing. There is no justification for their actions.’

The wine bar revolutionary who revels in courting controversy 

Maggie Chapman, the MSP at the centre of a social media storm over the attack on Israel by Hamas terrorists is no stranger to controversy.

Dubbed a ‘wine bar revolutionary’ by political rivals, Ms Chapman has attracted criticism for her extreme views on trans rights and the oil and gas industry.

She has even advocated for eight-year-olds to be given the right to legally change their gender.

Born in Zimbabwe in 1979 she was educated at a mixed-race school after the country achieved independence from the UK when she was a baby. Her father was a classical musician and her mother a nurse.

She moved to Scotland in 1998 to study zoology at Edinburgh University, graduating in 2001.

Ms Chapman completed a master’s degree in environmental management at Stirling University in 2003, before returning to Edinburgh to study for a PhD in environmental ethics. But in 2015 she faced calls to step down as co-leader of the Scottish Greens after it emerged she did not hold a doctorate from Edinburgh University mentioned in her bio on the party’s website.

Ms Chapman’s political career began in 2007 when she was first elected councillor for Leith Walk in Edinburgh, before becoming an MSP at her third attempt in 2021.

Since becoming an MSP she has faced criticism on several fronts.

Only last month she provoked anger when she suggested parents of trans children should be kept in the dark about their gender worries.

She claimed they must be able to talk to responsible professionals with the assurance that information ‘will not be shared with possibly abusive family members’.

The 44-year-old also caused furore earlier this year when she suggested schoolchildren as young as eight should be allowed to change sex.

In an interview on LBC Radio in March she staunchly defended Holyrood’s gender identity reforms and when pressed on whether an eight-year-old should have the opportunity to change their gender, she replied: ‘I think in principle we should be exploring that.’

The deputy convener of the equalities, human rights and civil justice committee even suggested people do not know what biological sex they are without having their ‘chromosomal make-up’ tested.

And when asked during the same interview about rapist Jonathon Mallon wanting to be known as Charlene to move to a women’s prison, her response was: ‘I think if people are trans then they should be recognised legally as who they are.’

Ms Chapman, whose gender ideology was described as ‘bonkers’, last year suggested that the three-month limit where a trans person must live as a different gender be scrapped completely, allowing them to legally change genders almost straight away, despite many thinking three months was not long enough. And it is not just her views on gender issues that have caused uproar.

In April this year she was accused of ‘sticking two fingers’ up at Scots after she posted an image of herself with a glass of wine at the Scottish parliament with the caption ‘Je ne regrette rien!’ as a jibe at being called a ‘wine bar revolutionary’.

Scottish Conservative MSP Rachael Hamilton accused her of trolling those her party’s opposition to oil and gas would make unemployed.

She was also sanctioned by the Holyrood standards committee for failing to disclose a financial interest during an evidence session on the Gender Recognition Reform Bill.

It was found that she had been the chief operating officer of Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre when her committee took evidence on the legislation from Rape Crisis Scotland.

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