Plaid Cymru's Israel boycott call criticised by Jewish group
Jewish group attacks Plaid's Israel boycott call
Reuters 251 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage by Hamas on 7 October
Plaid Cymru's call to boycott Israel at its party conference has been criticised by a Welsh Jewish group. The South Wales Jewish Representative Council (SWJRC) said it was "deeply disappointed" by the decision and pointed out the date coincided with Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. Laurence Kahn, chair of the SWJRC, accused Plaid Cymru of lending justification to the 7 October attacks which were carried out by Hamas, the armed Palestinian group based in Gaza. Plaid Cymru said it had been "resolute and unequivocal in condemning the horrific attacks carried out by Hamas on 7 October".
A motion backed at Plaid's conference by the party's four MPs and passed by party members described Israel as an "apartheid state" and accused it of "ethnic cleansing and war crimes". The conference heard from the Palestinians' top envoy to the UK, Husam Zomlot, who called for Wales to pressure the UK government over Gaza. About 1,200 people - mostly Israeli civilians - were killed in the Hamas 7 October attacks just over one year ago. Hamas, which is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by many Western governments, including the UK, also took 251 hostages, of which 97 remain unaccounted for. Some 42,000 people have been killed as part of Israel's retaliatory offensive in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Yom Kippur took place from the evening of Friday, 11 October to Saturday. The vote on the motion was held on Saturday, the second day of the conference.
Plaid Cymru Husam Zomlot spoke at Plaid Cymru's conference in Cardiff last weekend.
