An arts venue funded by an SNP quango has been accused of 'anti-Semitism' after planning to host a pro-Palestine event that has the slogan: 'From the rivers to the seas.'
Adverts with the pluralised version of the phrase, which critics say advocates the destruction of Israel, have appeared in Glasgow ahead of a five-day programme discussing claims of Israeli 'genocide' in Gaza.
Glasgow-based arts group Arika will host the event at Tramway, which is funded by Creative Scotland, a quango previously criticised for funding a pornographic art installation.
Tramway is run by taxpayer-funded arts charity Glasgow Life, the body which ordered the removal of Egyptian mummies from Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum as a 'mark of respect'.
Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay said: 'This SNP council-run theatre peddles the poisonous slogan of Hamas terrorists by calling for the eradication of the state of Israel.
'All right-thinking people will reject this vile anti-Semitism which has become normalised in Scotland by ignorant SNP and Green politicians.'
A poster for the event at the Tramway arts venue in Glasgow later this month
The theatre describes itself as 'a home for contemporary art and performance in Glasgow's southside'
He said the 'inflammatory production… will put our Jewish community at even greater risk of abuse and violence'.
The event will be called Episode 12: From the Rivers to the Seas and will take place from November 11-15. Described by organisers as exploring Palestine 'on a planetary scale', the event seeks to 'pluralise Palestine to unsettle colonialism everywhere' and includes artists, academics, activists and writers discussing Palestine, colonialism, abolitionism and social justice movements.
It repeatedly references the 'ongoing Nakba' and 'genocide'. Nakba, 'catastrophe' in Arabic, refers to the displacement of Palestinians during the 1948 war surrounding the creation of Israel.
Activists often use the term 'ongoing Nakba' to argue that the process of Palestinian dispossession continues today.
The slogan for the event is a slight variation of the phrase 'from the river to the sea', regarded by supporters as a call for Palestinian liberation, while critics argue it implies the elimination of Israel as a Jewish state.
Jewish campaigner Elliot Davis, former chairman and founder of the Judeo-Christian Alliance, said the slogan is 'a phrase used by far-Right Islamist jihadists in lockstep with far-Left Marxists, who would normally be expected to be totally opposed to each other's ideologies'.
A spokesman for Glasgow Life said it 'is committed to maintaining its political neutrality and while we saw the five-day programme in advance, we noted that the themes are already being discussed daily around the world and did not ask for it to be changed.
'We have also in the recent past provided a venue for Glasgow Friends of Israel, demonstrating we are here for all Glasgow's communities.'
A spokesman for Arika said the organisation was 'grateful for the support of all our partners and funders' and that Creative Scotland and Tramway had all been consulted about the Episode 12 project before its public release.
The spokesman said the festival reflected Arika's solidarity with Palestinians, whom it said were experiencing 'an ongoing genocide' and that the programme linked the Palestinian cause to 'broader international anti-colonial struggles'.
He added that Episode 12 would feature artists and contributors from a range of countries including Lebanon, Algeria, Brazil, Scotland, the United States, Korea, France and Palestine.
Creative Scotland was approached for comment.
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