I was not visiting on my own. I had brought 35 charedi Jews from America with me to experience my homeland.

We arrived at a historic moment. Twenty-nine days later, Scots would vote whether to stay as part of the United Kingdom alongside, England, Wales and Northern Ireland or break away, independent, to stand alone.

My visitors were all highly intelligent people, but found the whole thing baffling. They were, after all, from New York, where I discovered, most people's knowledge of foreign affairs extends no further than New Jersey.

As someone asked me: "Oh! You're from Scotland . . . cool! Which part of Ireland is that in?"

I smiled and asked him: "Oh! You're from Queens . . . Exactly which part of Mexico is that in?"

If Jews from the US aren't too sure about whether people should vote yes or no, their cousins in Scotland are quite clear.

I read the exchanges on my Facebook page from family and old friends with huge interest. I recently posted, what I considered to be a neutral comment on the topic and the passion of the reaction from both sides was amazing.

I lived in Glasgow until I was 21. Then the Jewish population was large, around 14,000. Edinburgh had 2,000. In a country with a small population, then five million, you could consider a 'Jewish vote', certainly in a few of Glasgow's wards at any rate.

I often say in my lectures, "If you really hate Jews and you want to get rid of them . . . be nice to them".

It is the countries that have treated Jews best, Holland and the USA for example, that witnessed the greatest assimilation rates.

That has been true in Scotland for generations. With an intermarriage rate of around 75 per cent or higher, Glasgow's Jews probably number now around 2,000.

Edinburgh's Jews now number a meagre 150 or so. Scotland has been very nice to its Jews. With such small numbers, it would be hard to see Scottish Jews playing a significant role in tipping the vote one way or the other.

There is another reason why Jews or a Jewish vote is not significant. Calderwood Lodge Primary School was Scotland's one and only Jewish school.

For years its constitution stated that no rabbi was allowed to set foot in the place (I was once smuggled in and taught a lesson).

To be blunt, in general, Scottish Jews don't have Judaism and Jewishness at the front of their agendas, worldview or voting preferences.

In almost every case, Scottish Jews will vote not as Jews, but as Scots. They will have assessed and weighed the arguments of the yes and no camps using the same criteria as every other Scot.

I do not believe that any scientific polling has been done among Jews to see where they will place their 'X' on the big day. My own feeling is that perhaps a majority are, 'no-ers' rather than 'yes-ers'.

Still though, while leading that recent trip, everyone I met, bus drivers, tour guides, shop keepers and bar tenders were definitely no-ers with only one exception! Then everything changed.

As we stand on the eve of the referendum, panic has set in among the UK's political establishment (it is strongly leaked, in Buckingham Palace too). The yes vote seems to be ahead.

That midget among political dwarves, Ed Miliband, spoke out in the Daily Mail and threatened guard posts at the border. It was an act of startling misjudgedment.

I was asked months ago what I thought about independence, before I had actually formed an opinion.

I told someone, "I don't know. But one thing is certain, if you want to guarantee that Scots vote for independence, tell them they can't".

Miliband's foot-in-mouth showed he was as much in touch with the Scottish people as Margaret Thatcher was. The yes camp rejoiced at his assistance to their cause and nudged forward in the polls.

So let me come out and share with you, the view that I expressed on Facebook that stirred so much controversy.

I honestly don't know how I would vote if I was still living in Scotland. I still have a flat there, but even if I could have engineered a vote for myself, I don't think it would be fair to use it. I don't live there too much.

Having looked at the figures, I certainly believe that Scotland would be a very successful independent country. UK media scaremongering about the economy, currency etc looks to my eyes pretty obvious bias and propaganda. Yet there is a paradox. A very proud people has, nevertheless, for a very long time, deep down, seemed to doubt themselves.

I would certainly like to see Scots believe enough in themselves to vote yes. Whether they should though, I am not wise enough to know and will leave it to my fellow Scots to decide.

As a Jew, I have been proud that Scotland has indeed been very nice to its Jews for decades.

The Scottish Declaration of Independence, signed in the town of Arbroath on April 6, 1320, stated:

"Cum non sit pondus nec distinccio Judei et Greci, Scoti aut Anglici (There is neither bias nor difference between Jew or Greek, Scot or English)."

That astonishing tolerance of the Jewish people, unique for its time, has changed in ours.

Scotland has been no more immune to the outbreak of antisemitism that recently swept across Europe than anywhere else.

That same declaration appealed to Pope John XXII for recognition of Scotland's status as an independent, sovereign state, and asserted its right, "to use military action when unjustly attacked".

The Scottish Parliament, however, does not believe that this right we claim for our people and country should be extended to the State of Israel and its people when they are unjustly attacked by thousands of rockets.

The Scottish government has called on the UK government in London to review and reconsider the arms export licenses it issues to Israel. Scottish town halls have displayed Palestinian flags as a token of solidarity with the people of Gaza.

I wrote an open letter to the Lord Provost of Glasgow Sadie Docherty asking why there was "no sympathy for the people of Israel who have had to endure thousands of rockets fired at them.

"Hamas shares precisely the same ideology as the London underground bombers, ISIS, the murderers of Fusilier Lee Rigby . . . and the two Islamist terrorists who tried to kill so many Glaswegians at Glasgow airport.

"Hamas calls for the killing of all Jews anywhere in the world, whether they are Israeli, Zionist or, like me, non-Zionist. In short Lord Provost, Hamas calls for the deaths of Glasgow's Jews."

I did not receive the courtesy of an acknowledgment or a reply.

It is distressing that Scotland has not been immune to the outbreak of antisemitism, but it has not been worse than anywhere else.

The same willful blindness to the parallels between Hamas and ISIS has been the norm across the UK. The same anti-Israel sentiments have been expressed in English town halls and by English politicians, including Ed Miliband.

So is independence a good idea for Scotland? The Scots will decide on Thursday. Is Scottish independence a good idea for Scottish Jews? They too will decide on that fateful date.

I suspect they will vote yes or no exactly the same way, in exactly the same proportions and for the same reasons as every other Scot.

And if on referendum day, the Scots do decide to go it alone they will probably decide they need a Scottish Chief Rabbi. Please consider this my official application.