Brother of Hamas victim fears antisemitism in UK

Bernard (left) and Colin Cowan on Buchanan Street in Glasgow

The brother of a British-Israeli man murdered by Hamas has told the BBC he has never been more fearful of antisemitism in the UK.

Bernard Cowan, from Scotland, was killed by Hamas gunmen in his home on a kibbutz in Southern Israel during the 7 October attack.

The 57-year-old left his family in Glasgow when he was just 19 to move to Israel.

His brother Colin says he "is filled with dread" as a Jew living in Britain.

He told BBC News how his brother loved the kibbutz way of life, working and living communally among the mango and banana trees.

• Tribute to Scottish victim of attack on Israel

• The UK nationals killed in Hamas attacks on Israel

Bernard helped tend the gardens and lived happily with his wife, three children and two grandchildren, with one born just a few months ago.

But Hamas gunmen ended the life he had built when they killed him on Kibbutz Sufa on 7 October, along with more than 1,200 other people.

In his home in Glasgow, his brother Colin Cowan remembers a man who loved diving, travelling, whisky and his family.

"Bernard loved to live," he said. "He was a free spirit and all he wanted to do was see the world. He was loved throughout the world.

"I think if you were to look at Bernard as a soul who wanted to do nothing but good for the world, and for his country, and to love his family, that would be the perfect epitaph."

Bernard was at his home with his wife on Kibbutz Sufa when Hamas gunmen arrived, armed with machine guns and missile launchers.

They shot the tyres of an ambulance, killed a dog, then moved onto those living on the kibbutz who were hiding in their safe rooms.

"Bernard was claustrophobic," said Mr Cowan. "There are no windows in the safe room for obvious reasons. He went out into his kitchen and two terrorists walked by and saw him there and shot him dead. Our world just fell apart."

Bernard's wife had to stay in the safe room for many more hours knowing her husband was lying dead just outside the room.

'It does fill me with dread'

Despite living so far away, Bernard remained close with his family in Scotland and visited regularly.

Mr Cowan said: "We break down thinking: 'Why is he not here?' It was recently my birthday and I always got a message from him saying 'happy 21st.'

"That was Bernard, he was always joking. And it never came this year. So yes, it's been a tough time."

But Colin doesn't just mourn his brother - the grief is mixed with deep anxiety for the safety of his own community in the UK.

"Hamas want us off the face of the earth," said Mr Cowan. "How can we live in this society today knowing that there are terrorist organisations out there who only want to murder and eradicate Jews from the world?"

Bernard Cowan was attacked in his home in Israel

While many British Jews feel enormous concern and pain about the situation their relatives and friends in Israel are facing, Mr Cowan says that in Israel they worry about their relatives in the UK.

"My nephew, my brother's son, asked me if I would come and live in Israel because of the antisemitism in the UK," he said.

"As Jews we are worried. I'm not a fearful person but it does fill me with dread where we are at the moment and where we could end up. Britain was meant to be safe but maybe it's not."

He added: "When I walk down the street I'm thinking: 'What would they do if they knew I was Jewish?' And that's a horrendous thought. I ask, are we any different to where Jews were in Germany in 1938?"

• Seven arrested at Scottish pro-Palestinian demos

• British Jews are 'full of fear, like I've never seen before'

Some pro-Palestinian protests, where a minority have carried antisemitic banners and chanted slogans perceived as antisemitic, have left many Jews scared.

"People have a right to protest as we have freedom of speech in the UK," he said. "The problem with the protest is there's that element which isn't just about the humanitarian side.

"There's an element within these protests, which is about Hamas and supporting that organisation and that's where the fear comes."

It is why Mr Cowan says he feels unnerved by the demonstrations and particularly by the use of slogans like "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," referring to the River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea.

The chant has drawn criticism from some, including ex- Home Secretary Suella Braverman who said it was an "expression of a violent desire to see Israel erased from the world". Israel and most Jewish groups agree.

More on Israel-Gaza war

• Follow live: Latest updates

• From Gaza: ‘So crowded we can’t even sleep on our backs’: Gaza shelters at breaking point

• From Israel: How much closer is Israel to its goal in Gaza?

• Explained: The faces of hostages taken from Israel

• History behind the story: The Israel-Palestinian conflict

The interpretation is disputed by some pro-Palestinian activists who say that most people chanting it are calling for an end to Israel's occupation of the West Bank and blockade of Gaza, not the destruction of Israel itself.

Mr Cowan said: "There is only one meaning to that and that means to eradicate all Jews from the earth."

He also highlighted the ripping down of posters showing the faces of the 239 hostages, including dozens of children, held by Hamas.

"If we're putting up pictures of hostages and then they're getting ripped down, then no wonder we are in fear for our lives," he said.

"Because if they're willing to do that then they're willing to support Hamas, because they're not willing to accept that the hostages have to be released."

Humza Yousaf hugged Bernard Cowan's mother as she mourned her son

The Cowan family has received support from Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf, whose in-laws were recently trapped in Gaza.

Last month, after the attack in Israel, the first minister attended a solidarity event at a synagogue in Glasgow and hugged Bernard Cowan's mother as she mourned outliving her son.

"You could feel his empathy... but a lot of people don't believe what he believes," added Mr Cowan.

Asked if he remembers feeling this fearful in the UK as a Jew, he said: "Never, never in my whole life. There's not a Jewish person who I've spoken to who's not fearful of the situation we're in at the moment."