"Has Humza Yousaf forgotten who were the victims of the Holocaust?": Scotland's first minister slammed for not mentioning "Jews" in memorial speech

Scotland's first minister, Humza Yousaf, faced backlash after failing to mention Jews in his Holocaust Memorial speech on January 27, 2024. In the speech, he urged people to "unite against hate" and said:

“It has never been more important to remember the victims of the Holocaust and the genocides which followed. Together, we remember the millions of lives cut short with the utmost cruelty and brutality.”

The speech left a sour taste in people's mouths as he failed to mention the six million Jews who were massacred in the Holocaust. Social media was in an uproar following the speech, with many asking if the first minister had forgotten who the victims of the Holocaust were.

The Holocaust Memorial Day is commemorated every year on January 27 to pay respects to those persecuted and murdered by the Nazis during World War II.

While the Nazi Party targeted many minorities, the Jews occupied a huge percentage of people to be imprisoned in concentration camps and systemically murdered across German-occupied Europe.

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Humza Yousaf's Holocaust Memorial speech met with backlash for his omission of Jews

The Holocaust is one of the most horrifying examples of genocide in recent history. Over six million Jews died during the Holocaust, accounting for almost two-thirds of Europe's Jewish population; therefore, it was surprising that Humza Yousaf's Holocaust Memorial Address made no mention of Jews.

The two-minute speech sparked outrage within the Jewish community, with many accusing the First Minister of being anti-semitic. Here are some of their reactions to X:

Historian and BBC presenter Sir Simon Schama called Humza Yousaf's omission of Jews in his speech "staggeringly offensive" and said that the First Minister was “pathetically terrified of using the J-word.”

According to the Express, Yousaf's speech was slammed around the world, with Australian political activist Drew Pavlou calling it "complete and total bulls**t to refuse to mention Jews once in your Holocaust memorial statement."

He also accused Yousaf of stripping the Holocaust of all its “context and historical background.”

“Six million Jews were murdered simply because they were Jews but if you listened to Humza’s statement you wouldn’t even know it,” Pavlou added.

Another historian and television presenter, Simon Montefiore, criticized Yousaf's speech as "laughable humbug" and said that it was an example of “how to parade your solemn righteousness by remembering Holocaust Day without mentioning the Jewish people”.

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Humza Yousaf's string of controversies continue

Humza Yousaf is also embroiled in another controversy for refusing to cancel Scottish funding for the UN refugee agency UNRWA, accused of having ties to Hamas and being involved in the October 7 attacks in Israel.

On January 28, 2024, he posted a tweet stating that the Scottish government has not paused or withdrawn aid from UNRWA.

Humza Yousaf's decision to continue funding the agency comes as a shock, even as several Scottish MPs and party leaders urge the First Minister to cease the funding. Several major democracies have suspended their funding, including Britain, Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the United States.

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Humza Yousaf, aged 38, was elected the First Minster of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party in March 2023, following his stint as the justice secretary from 2018 to 2021 and the health secretary from 2021 to 2023.