LOW STANDARD?

With regard to Glasgow City Council deciding to fly the flag of Palestine from City Chambers as a gesture of solidarity towards the Gazan people, I should like to point out that as a Glaswegian, this does not reflect my view of neutrality on the current conflict, nor reflect my broader view that Israel has the right to exist and the right to self-defence, like any other nation state.

While Provost Sadie Docherty may claim raising the flag is “a gesture of solidarity”, I suggest it is actually a political statement.

Glasgow City Council did not raise any flag in solidarity with the people of Syria, where thousands of civilians have been killed in atrocities there, nor with the people of the Philippines following the major typhoon which struck in late 2013.

I state that Mrs Docherty does not speak for me — in fact, according to a YouGov poll carried out on July 31 and August 1, she speaks for only 36 per cent of Scots, which is the proportion who stated that their sympathies lie more with the Palestinians in that particular poll.

What about the rest of us and our views?

Our public buildings should not be used to promote points of view except for those which are universally held i.e. flying the Saltire is acceptable, because it is universally accepted Glasgow is part of Scotland.

But nowhere in Glasgow is it universally accepted that the city should “endorse” the Gazan people, nor the government they elect to represent them.

The very organisation which has just ran a very successful, unifying, Commonwealth Games, has no business taking stances in the Palestinian conflict, which could further inflame division in my city and could lead to antisemitic hate crimes as it has done elsewhere, including on the Continent. Andrew Morrison Stanmore Road Glasgow G42