Humza Yousaf’s parents remove pro-Palestine posters after anti-Semitism accusations

Scottish First Minister’s family’s accountancy firm displayed images of Palestinian flags covering an Israeli map in Glasgow office window

Humza Yousaf’s parents have taken down pro-Palestine posters from the window of their family business after they were accused of advocating for the “annihilation of Israel and Jews”.
The Yousaf & Co accountancy firm, which the First Minister’s father Muzaffar set up after he emigrated from Pakistan in the 1960s, had a large pro-Palestinian window display at its prominent Glasgow headquarters.
It included multiple copies of a poster in which the Palestinian flag is imposed over the entirety of a map of the Israeli state, surrounded by two hands snapping a chain encircling the country, alongside the slogan Free Palestine.
The Scottish Council of Jewish Communities (SCoJeC) said images depicting a single Palestinian state within Israel’s territory amounted to a call for “the annihilation of Israel and the Jewish people” and were therefore anti-Semitic.
Locals said the window display at the Yousaf family firm had been on show prominently for months and interpreted the posters as a visual depiction of the controversial “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” chant.
The phrase has been condemned as anti-Semitic and interpreted as a call for the destruction of the Jewish state, as it refers to Palestine existing across the boundaries of Israel, between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean.
The claims about the slogan have been denied by the Muslim Council of Britain which has said there are alternative interpretations for the phrase.
The Telegraph understands that the posters labelled anti-Semitic, which feature the Palestinian flag over an outline of Israel, were removed from the window on Monday after Mr Yousaf’s officials were approached for comment.
Palestinian flags and Free Palestine posters which do not include the offensive imagery have remained in place.
Asked about the window display, SCoJeC said images of the type displayed at the Yousaf firm “cause a great deal of distress” to Scottish Jews, with many still mourning those murdered by Hamas.
“It is, of course, entirely in order to express support and sympathy for all civilians caught up in the war, which followed the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas and associated terrorists in southern Israel on Oct 7,” the SCoJeC spokesman said. 
“However, chants of ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ along with posters, flags and social media posts which depict a single Palestinian state in all of the area ‘from the River [Jordan] to the [Mediterranean] Sea’ are a call for the annihilation of Israel and of the Jewish people, since Israel does not exist outwith that area, and are therefore anti-Semitic.
“As such, they cause a great deal of distress to the vast majority of Jewish people in Scotland, most of whom have close relatives and friends living in Israel, and maybe mourning those who were murdered, and desperate for the return of others kidnapped and taken to Gaza during the carnage of Oct 7.”
The Yousaf & Co accountancy firm has a prominent headquarters in the Pollokshields area of Glasgow and has net assets worth £1.3 million, according to its most recent accounts.
Muzaffar Yousaf, 69, still has “active involvement” in the business, according to its website, while the First Minister’s mother, Shaaista, 67, is listed as the company secretary.
Just a week after the Hamas attacks, both were pictured attending a pro-Palestinian rally in Glasgow, condemning the Israeli response.
Five separate copies of the “anti-Semitic” poster were on show in the windows of the Yousaf & Co business, which the First Minister is not involved in running, alongside two large Palestinian flags and other images.
Mr Yousaf has publicly backed a two-state solution, a position shared by the UK Government, though the posters in his parents’ firm allegedly imply that a Free Palestine would mean what is currently Israel would become an entirely non-Jewish country.
A local resident said that the display had been up since at least November, the month after the Hamas invasion of Israel when around 1,200 people were murdered and more than 250 were taken to Gaza as hostages.
The Gaza health ministry, which is run by Hamas, has said more than 31,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its military operation in response to the atrocities. 
Mr Yousaf has previously spoken of his pride at his father’s business achievements, saying he came to Scotland with “little but grafted night and day for a better life”, setting up the Yousaf & Co company in 1983.
Annie Wells, the Scottish Tory Glasgow MSP, said: “Given the knock-on effects for communities across Glasgow as a result of events in the Middle East, high-profile businesses like this one must be mindful to act responsibly.
“The displaying of this poster in their front window could potentially alienate certain communities and the owners should reflect carefully on that.”
In the wake of the Hamas invasion of Israel, Mr Yousaf’s parents-in-law, Elizabeth and Maged El-Nakla, became trapped in Gaza after a family visit coincided with the outbreak of war.
They were eventually allowed to leave after spending almost a month trapped in the enclave. Mr Yousaf’s wife, Nadia, has accused Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza.
While condemning the scale of the Israeli response to the Hamas invasion, Mr Yousaf has also made a point of expressing sympathy for victims of the Hamas atrocities and condemning anti-Semitism.
He has met with representatives of Scottish Jews at Bute House and days after the Hamas invasion, gave a speech at a synagogue in Giffnock for which he was widely praised.
The First Minister fiercely denied this month that he had a conflict of interest when he personally directed that £250,000 of public cash should be sent to the UNRWA agency while his parents-in-law were still trapped in Gaza.
At the weekend, the Scottish Government denied that Mr Yousaf should have declared property owned by the Yousaf & Co firm on his register of interests.
He has declared a single rental property in Dundee, owned by his wife, but did not include eight properties owned by his parents and the Yousaf & Co business.
Ministers are told that their declarations should include “interests of the minister’s spouse or partner, and close family which might be thought to give rise to a conflict”.
The Scottish Government denied that Mr Yousaf should have declared his family’s property empire as the obligation only applied in cases where he could be perceived as being a “direct beneficiary” from assets.
Asked about the window display, an SNP spokesman said: “The First Minister has been unequivocal in his calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire by all sides in the conflict in Gaza and a long-term peace based on the two-state solution of an independent Palestine alongside a safe and secure state of Israel.”
Yousaf & Co did not respond to requests for comment.