Scottish council bans books made in Israel from its libraries

West Dunbartonshire council in Scotland has banned all books produced and printed in Israel from its libraries, according to Petronella Wyatt in the Daily Mail.

This follows a Freedom Of Information inquiry last summer, seeking to know in what ways the council’s boycott of Israeli goods, introduced in early 2009, would be applied to books in its public libraries.

The council claims its ban is a protest against the killing of Palestinian civilians by Israel.

Wyatt comments: "I am not accusing West Dunbartonshire council of anti-Semitism. But its boycott is a gift to the growing pro-Arab, anti-Israel element in this country."

In response, the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs (FJMC), a partnership of 250 Jewish men’s clubs with over 25,000 members throughout North America, has joined with synagogues both in Israel and elsewhere in "suggesting a boycott of scotch from distillers located in West Dunbartonshire Council in Scotland at Kiddush and [in] public and private" celebrations, according to the Jerusalem Post.

"A boycott is like a snowball heading downhill," commented FJMC Executive Director Rabbi Charles Simon.

"It begins at the top of a large mountain, and gathers momentum until it is transformed into an avalanche.

If we wish to stop it, we need to act as soon as possible."

Among the distilleries named in the boycott are Morrison Bowmore, Loch Lamond and Chivas Brothers.

Via Harry's Place.

It should be noted that books by Israeli authors are not banned, just books produced and printed in Israel.

The Herald Scotland highlights that some false rumours have been spread alleging the former.