Two planned visits by the Israeli ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, to Scottish synagogues have been cancelled as a group of Scots Jews call on her visit north of the border to be scrapped.

The ambassador was due to visit the Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation on Tuesday, June 4, and Garnethill Synagogue, Glasgow the following day, reports our sister title The Herald.

Protests were planned in both locations due to the ongoing war in the Gaza strip, as well as comments by ambassador Hotovely, who has been described as "ultra-right-wing". 

However, it's understood both visits have now been cancelled with the Israeli embassy blaming a "scheduling conflict".

A former deputy foreign minister, she supports the construction of settlements on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, declaring "this land is ours, all of it is ours".

After being appointed ambassador to the UK she declared the Nakba, the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from land in what would become the state of Israel, as "an Arab lie".

In 2015 ambassador Hotovely declared "my dream is to see the Israeli flag flying over the Temple Mount", a site considered holy in Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

In 2011, she invited the group Lehava to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. Lehava is an anti-miscegenation group which opposes relations between Jews and non-Jews, as well as the presence of Muslims and Christians in what it deems the Holy Land. In 2015 its leader called for Christians to be expelled, writing "let's throw the vampires out of our land before they drink our blood again".

Ambassador Hotovely said she had invited the group as it is "important to examine procedures for preventing mixed marriages" between Jews and Arabs.

Glasgow Times: Tzipi Hotovely was interviewed on LBC

She has also described Israeli human rights NGOs as an "enemy" within the state.

Her visit was opposed by a group of Scottish Jews who signed an open letter, and are now calling on the Scottish Government to any future visit to the country, and put "maximum pressure" on Westminster to expel her from the UK.

In the letter they said: "As Scottish Jews we are appalled that the Israeli Ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, is making a visit to Scotland while the killing continues in Gaza, and we call on the Scottish Government and our community leaders to send a strong message against her visit.

"As Scottish Jews we believe that Hotovely's values and politics have no place in our community and faith organisations. We are particularly appalled that the Israeli embassy has approached synagogues to offer meetings with hostages’ families, while Netanyahu and Likud, the party the Ambassador represented in Israel, have declared that the recovery and safety of the hostages are not a priority in their war on Gaza. Among our number are Orthodox, Liberal and Reform Jews as well as those from other denominations, including religious and secular Jews. We unite against the association of Judaism with Israeli state policy, and with the weaponisation of Jewish identity to justify war crimes and crimes against humanity.

"We therefore call on the Scottish Government and our community leaders to send a strong message against her visit. We thank the Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation and Garnethill Synagogue for listening to the concerns of the Jewish community and cancelling the Ambassador’s visit to both synagogues."

Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation said: "The event was arranged as an opportunity for Jewish people in Scotland to meet and show support for the families of the hostages who are still sadly being held captive in Gaza, and it was unfortunate that it was not possible for it to go ahead for logistical reasons.

"Meanwhile, we all pray for the speedy release of all the hostages.”

A spokesperson for the Israeli embassy said: "Unfortunately, due to a conflict in scheduling, a planned delegation visit to Scotland has had to be postponed.

"The delegation will be rescheduled for another date in the near future."

Garnethill Synagogue have been contacted for comment.