A veteran Scottish Conservative politician has sparked controversy after comparing the Scottish Greens to Oswald Mosley’s fascist blackshirts, following comments made by co-leader Ross Greer describing Zionism as racist.
Greer had claimed that Zionism is a racist ideology and described the founding of the state of Israel as an act of ethnic cleansing, remarks that quickly drew fierce criticism from across the political spectrum in Scotland.
The senior Tory, responding to Greer’s comments, went further than most critics by invoking the memory of Mosley’s British Union of Fascists, whose members were notorious for wearing black uniforms and were commonly known as the blackshirts during the 1930s. The comparison was immediately seized upon as inflammatory, with the row threatening to overshadow the wider debate about Greer’s original remarks.
Ross Greer has never been shy about taking strong stances on international issues, and his views on Israel and Palestine have long been a matter of public record. But putting the words “Zionism is racist” into a public statement has a way of igniting political firestorms, and this was no different. The comments landed like a grenade in an already tense political climate.
For many in Scotland’s Jewish community and beyond, the framing of Zionism as inherently racist is deeply offensive, conflating a broad political movement with discrimination in a way they argue is both historically inaccurate and harmful. Critics pointed out that Zionism encompasses a wide range of views, and that reducing it to racism risks delegitimising Jewish identity and connection to Israel entirely.
Greer and his supporters, however, argue that criticising the political ideology behind Israeli state policy is not the same as antisemitism, and that describing the displacement of Palestinians during Israel’s founding as ethnic cleansing is a position backed by historians.
The Tory blackshirts comparison did little to help what might otherwise have been a legitimate political challenge to Greer’s remarks. Rather than keeping the focus on whether the Green co-leader had crossed a line, the inflammatory historical reference handed Greer’s allies an easy deflection, allowing them to paint the criticism as hysterical and over the top.
The Scottish Greens have faced growing scrutiny over their positions on the Middle East conflict since the Gaza war intensified. The party has been among the most vocal in the Scottish Parliament in calling for a ceasefire and in criticising the Israeli government, and Greer has been one of the loudest voices making that case.
Scottish Labour and the SNP have both been more cautious in their language, wary of the deep divisions the issue can cause within their own voter bases. The Greens, freed from the pressures of government since their cooperation deal with the SNP collapsed, have leaned into more outspoken positions.
The blackshirts row is unlikely to die down quickly. With Holyrood politics already fractious heading into the next election cycle, any flashpoint that puts questions of racism, fascism and the Middle East into the same news cycle is going to generate heat for days.
Greer has so far shown no sign of walking back his comments, and the Scottish Greens appear to be standing behind their co-leader. Whether that stance plays well with Scottish voters more broadly remains to be seen, but within the party’s activist base it is unlikely to cause much discomfort.
For the Scottish Conservatives, the challenge now is whether the blackshirts comparison overshadows their core argument that Greer’s remarks were inappropriate and potentially harmful. It is the kind of own goal that can turn a winning position into a messy draw.