In the aftermath of a horrific antisemitic assault in Australia, Scotland’s Jewish community is gripped by fear. The tragedy, which resulted in at least 15 fatalities and many injuries, has left the community on edge.

This brutal shooting at Bondi Beach on Sunday marks the most lethal incident in the nation in 30 years.

Naveed Akram, 24, alongside his father Sajid, 50, unleashed gunfire on hundreds of families gathered to mark the beginning of Hanukkah at the annual Chanukah By The Sea celebration.

The victims include a 10-year-old girl named Matilda and British-born Rabbi Eli Schlanger. Additionally, two police officers are among the wounded, with at least 27 individuals still receiving medical care in hospitals.

This recent attack on the Jewish community follows another tragic event where two people lost their lives during October’s Yom Kippur in Manchester.

In response to the latest violence, Timothy Lovat, chairman of the Jewish Council of Scotland, expressed the community’s anxiety, stating, “People are really scared.”

‘We know it can happen anywhere and it is happening all around already. We had the attack in Manchester, now in Sydney. But Jews have been attacked in Amsterdam, in Germany, in America.

‘People are moving away form their homes because they do not feel safe. One Jewish community in Europe has been told to leave the country because it is no longer safe.

Many of Scotland’s Jewish community worship at Newton Mearns Synagogue near Glasgow

People arrive for a service at the synagogue following the attack in Australia

‘The Scottish Jewish community is living in fear. While police has told us there is no specific threat, officers are present at every Chanukah celebration.

‘I know of families who are leaving Scotland for Israel because they are so worried. I know families who ware leaving Israel for Scotland for the same reason.

‘Jews are not feeling safe and that should not be the case and this hatred is being fuelled by pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel sentiment.

‘It is like cancer – at times it is at remission and then if flares up again and right now it is spreading.’

He added: ‘The news from Sydney [on Sunday] is also a dreadful reminder of the risks facing our Jewish community here in Scotland. There must be no place for anti-Jewish hate – in any guise – anywhere in Scotland.

‘We will not be deterred by antisemitism or acts of terror, and we will celebrate Chanukah throughout Scotland.

‘We are liaising closely with Police Scotland and with the Community Security Trust (CST) to ensure that appropriate police and security arrangements are in place, and we thank them for their continuing support.

‘We will also continue to engage with the Scottish Government and local authorities to put in place longer-term measures to ensure the safety of the Jewish community in Scotland.’

He added: ‘Our hearts go out to the victims of yesterday’s attack in Sydney and their families.’

Police Scotland said it had already increased patrols around synagogues north of the Border but said there was no intelligence to suggest a specific threat.

However, the Australian shooting has left the country’s Jews fearing for the worst.

Sammy Stein, chairman of Glasgow Friends of Israel, said there’d been a rise in ‘hate’ towards the community since the Israel-Gaza war reignited two years ago.

He told the BBC: ‘This kind of event does not just happen in a vacuum.

‘We need to have guards outside our synagogues. We need to have guards outside our primary schools. Of course people are afraid, they are terrified, because the calls for hate and intimidation have been allowed to grow without being checked.

‘People have to be stopped when they are standing in the street calling for hate to fester against Jewish people.’

Mark Gardner, the chief executive of the charity Community Security Trust, which provides security for Jewish people in Britain, also called for police officers to be stationed outside synagogues in Scotland in the wake of the attack.

He told BBC Radio Scotland said ‘Hannukah is a time of family celebration’ and added: ‘I think they should have a stationary, visible police presence outside synagogues – there are not that many of them, it is easy enough for Police Scotland to do that.’

Mr Gardner said Jewish communities cannot keep ‘building higher and higher walls’ and suggested some Scottish Jews were considering leaving the country over safety concerns.

The attack has caused concern in Jewish communities across the world, but First Minister John Swinney has said the Government is engaging with police to ensure the safety of Jews in Scotland.

He added he’d been ‘deeply shocked and saddened’ to learn of the terror attack and added: ‘I know that the Jewish community here in Scotland will be facing unimaginable grief and anxiety in the wake of this senseless attack.

‘In this moment of darkness and pain, the Scottish Government stands firmly against any and all forms of antisemitism – an evil which has absolutely no place in our society and which we must confront.

‘I also want to assure our Jewish communities that the Scottish Government is in very close contact with Police Scotland, and other relevant partners, to put in place the appropriate measures to ensure safety around places of worship at this time.

‘I am dedicated to ensuring that our Jewish communities here in Scotland feel safe and supported and able to live free from fear.’

The International Council of Police Representative Associations (ICPRA) – a body of organisations which represent rank-and-file police officers in different countries – said its thoughts was with all those affected and added: ‘ICPRA is also deeply concerned by reports that this attack deliberately targeted a Jewish community gathering, and collectively condemns, in the very strongest terms, acts of violence motivated by antisemitism or hatred toward any community.’