Scottish Jewish leader says it’s business as usual after no vote on independence

A leader of Scotland’s Jewish community has said the result of the independence referendum will not have a huge impact on life for Jews in the country.

Scotland voted 55 per cent to 45 per cent against becoming an independent country in yesterday’s vote.

Many of Scotland’s 6,000 Jews had expressed fears that a split from the Union could lead to a rise in anti-Zionist tendencies in the country. There were further concerns over the possible effect on issues such as circumcision and kosher slaughter.

Ephraim Borowski, director of the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities, said Scottish Jews were “unlikely to be significantly affected by the outcome”.

“This is a decisive result, reached after an unprecedented level of participation, but while we wait with interest to learn details of the further powers that have been promised, it is important to note that more than 90 per cent of day-to-day life in Scotland is already governed from Edinburgh and has been since devolution," he said.

“SCoJeC will continue to work with the elected Scottish government to achieve the best possible outcomes for the Scottish Jewish community.

“We have been engaged in constructive discussions with them about reassurance measures following the recent unprecedented spike in antisemitic incidents, and are hopeful that these will shortly reach a successful conclusion."

Paul Morron, president of Glasgow Jewish Representative Council, had earlier said he was sure Alex Salmond, Scotland's First Minister, who led the “yes” campaign, had the best interests of the Jewish community at heart.