Family of Scottish Hamas victim are 'missing a great man'

The sister of a Scottish victim of the Hamas attack on Israel a year ago has spoken of the "thorn in her heart" caused by his death.

Bernard Cowan was one of 1,200 victims of the 7 October assault. He was shot dead outside the home he shared with his family on Kibbutz Sufa.

His sister, Laura Schosloff, has told the BBC their family is "broken" by his death and they are "missing a great man".

And she expressed the hope that Israelis, Palestinians and the Lebanese would be able to live in harmony.

Mr Cowan, who was 57 when he died, grew up in Newton Mearns, attending Netherlee primary school and Mearns Castle high school.

He moved to Israel when he was 17 and served with the military on Kibbitz Sufa, where he met his wife, Margaret.

He had a life of "freedom" on the kibbutz, Ms Schosloff said, regularly gardening, scuba diving and travelling.

On the day of the attack, he was at his home with his wife when Hamas gunmen arrived, armed with machine guns and missile launchers.

Ms Schosloff told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme: "Bernard loved his life.

"There's a big thorn in my heart today about what's happened.

"He had such a passion for life but he was so content with his life. He just had a wonderful life."

Bernard Cowan had settled in Israel with his wife and children

Ms Schosloff said she was wary in the period after the attack but has spent the past year speaking to people she has met in her work and private life.

"The people I've met, I've told everybody what happened to Bernard because it's so important that everybody knows the human face from it. It's one of our own.

"I love being Scottish. I mean I'm Scottish, British and Jewish and I'm proud of everything. And I love the Scottish people. I haven't had any bad feelings towards me."

She said she prays for peace in the region, which has been engulfed in fighting since the 7 October attack.

"I would love there to be peace but not just the Israelis. The Palestinians, the Lebanese, I would love there to be peace.

"I want people to be able to go into their own homes; 80,000 Israelis are displaced at the moment. My friends and family are displaced as well as the Palestinians and Lebanese.

"I want them to be able to go to their own homes, be able to bring their children up, be able to get jobs and to be able to live in harmony with their neighbours."

'They'll never be forgotten'

Following Bernard's death, Ms Schosloff said the close Jewish community in Glasgow mourned his loss together.

"The Jewish community in Glasgow is like a village within a city. Everybody knows everybody else. Our community had lost one of their own and everybody was grieving as well for Bernard.

"It’s one of your own. It’s a boy from Glasgow and a boy who was proud to be Glaswegian."

One year on, Ms Schosloff said she keeps Bernard's memory alive by sharing stories about him and remembering the good times.

The family recently planted a tree in the Jewish cemetery in his memory, paying tribute to his love of gardening.

She said: "It’s important we talk and remember their memories and they’ll never be forgotten.

"Bernard will never be forgotten, he will always be a part of my heart."