A ban on books by Israeli authors could be enforced in Scottish libraries as part of a boycott policy by West Dunbartonshire Council which covers villages near Glasgow, The Jewish Chronicle reported last week.The move may be illegal under local government legislation, the report said. RELATED:'Holland financing groups calling for Israel boycott'Australian Jews: Councils likely done with Israel-boycottsIsrael supporters quoted by the Chronicle said the policy puts the council in line with Iran and Saudi Arabia and that it was an "outrage." To date, no books have been removed from any of the libraries as the council members say censorship is "not in the spirit" of their boycott. However, the report added that "it is understood that officials are prepared to rule on a book-by-book basis."West Dunbartonshire approved a boycott of Israeli products in 2009, following the Gaza flotilla incident.var zflag_nid='794'; var zflag_cid='1091/988'; var zflag_sid='122'; var zflag_width='300'; var zflag_height='250'; var zflag_sz='9'; Arieh Kovler, the director of the Fair Play Campaign Group which opposes boycotts against Israel, was quoted by the Chronicle as saying: "Banning access to knowledge for political reasons is nothing short of censorship. West Dunbartonshire must reverse this policy or their libraries will become an international laughing stock." A West Dunbartonshire Council spokesman said in response: "It would only be in a very limited number of circumstances that this boycott would apply."
