Scotland Friends of Standing Together delegation meets former First Minister Humza Yousaf
Humza Yousaf, a Member of the Scottish Parliament and former First Minister of Scotland, hosted a delegation of Scotland Friends of Standing Together supporters at Holyrood. The meeting was also addressed remotely by Palestinian and Israeli activists from Standing Together.
The event was covered by Gabriel McKay in The Herald. His article is reproduced below. Click here for the original.
Former First Minister Humza Yousaf hosted an Israeli-Palestinian solidarity group at Holyrood, in an effort to obtain cross-party support.
Standing Together is a grassroots movement which aims to bring together Arab Israeli and Jewish Israeli communities in opposition to the occupation of Gaza and the West Bank.
As reported by the Glasgow Guardian, Dylan Grossman, co-founder of Friends of Standing Together Scotland, and Mr Yousaf organised a roundtable which was attended by external affairs secretary Angus Robertson and Labour MSPs Pauline McNeill, Paul Sweeney and Katy Clark.
Attendees were joined virtually by Standing Together activists in Haifa and Tel Aviv, who shared what Mr Grossman described as “timely insights on the realities on the ground” of peace activism in Israel.
Mr Yousaf offered condolences on the antisemitic shooting on Bondi beach, with discussion held on peace activism in Israel and the repressive response of both the state and extremist groups to such activism.
The former First Minister had previously raised a standard motion in the Scottish Parliament in October commending the work of Standing Together, and attendees were said to be "keen" to work further with the group.
Mr Yousaf said: “I was honoured to host the Scottish chapter of Standing Together in the Scottish Parliament. A cross-party group of MSPs heard from members of the Jewish, Muslim, Palestinian and Israeli communities, all united in their calls for an end to occupation, end to genocide in Gaza and equal rights for Palestinians and Israelis.
"As we face the forces of darkness, it is even more important we come together, from different faiths and backgrounds, to stand united and do not let those who are driven by hatred to divide us. In that vein, I am delighted to support the efforts of Standing Together.”
Mr Grossman described the event as “a big success and step forward for Friends of Standing Together and it is the culmination of months of hard work that we hope to build on going into the New Year.”
Posted 22 December 2025