John Mason, a Christian Member of Scottish Parliament, has lost the SNP whip over comments about Gaza deemed “unacceptable”. In effect, he has been expelled from the SNP and will now sit as an independent.
In a post on X, Mason said he did not believe Israel’s action in Gaza amounted to a “genocide”.
The MSP for Glasgow Shettleston wrote: “There is no genocide. If Israel wanted to commit genocide, they would have killed many more.”
If Israel wanted to commit genocide, they would have killed ten times as many.
— John Mason (@JohnMasonMSP) August 16, 2024
A representative for the SNP Chief Whip said: "To flippantly dismiss the death of more than 40,000 Palestinians is completely unacceptable.
"There can be no room in the SNP for this kind of intolerance."
Mason’s comments came after a controversial meeting this week between Israel's deputy ambassador to the UK Daniela Grudsky, and Scottish External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson.
Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer criticised the meeting, accusing the SNP of taking a "two-faced approach" of condemning Israel for its offensive on Gaza, whilst simultaneously hosting "secret meetings" with its government.
First Minister John Swinney said meeting was "necessary", and gave his government an opportunity to make the case for an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza.
On Thursday, John Mason revealed that he had also met with Grudsky, sharing a picture from their meeting.
He posted: "Very pleased to see Angus Robertson met Israeli deputy ambassador Daniela Grudsky. I also met her last week. Useful discussion on what Israel hopes to achieve in Gaza.
Very pleased to see @AngusRobertson met Israeli deputy ambassador @DanielaGrudsky. I also met her last week. Useful discussion on what Israel hopes to achieve in Gaza. As UK learned in Ireland, to achieve peace we must talk to each other... including to people we disagree with. pic.twitter.com/81b8KdrTOc
— John Mason (@JohnMasonMSP) August 15, 2024
"As UK learned in Ireland, to achieve peace we must talk to each other… including to people we disagree with.”
Following his expulsion from the party, Mason posted on Facebook, saying:
“My primary desire in relation to Israel and Gaza is that there should be peace talks, negotiations, and eventually peace. I would like to see Scotland (and the UK) playing its part as a peace-maker (as Norway has done previously), encouraging all sides to talk and negotiate. Too many lives have already been lost in Israel, Gaza, and beyond and, as I said when I spoke in Parliament, many people feel that Israel has moved from a position of self-defence to seeking revenge.
“However, I personally do not believe that Israel has tried to commit, has committed, or is committing genocide. They certainly have the ability to kill many more Palestinians than they have done. That is not to say that the loss of life already is not too many. And we should remember that it is Iran and Hamas who have stated that they want Israel wiped off the map… that sounds more like an intention of genocide than anything Israel has said or done.
“As far as my suspension by the SNP is concerned, I am obviously disappointed about that. However, that will work its way through the Party process in the usual way.”
John Mason has been MSP for Glasgow Shettleston since 2011.