Britain’s largest teaching union has sparked fears for Jewish pupils after vowing to produce school resources to ‘raise awareness’ of the situation in Palestine.
The National Education Union (NEU) voted to develop materials for its half a million members to use in classrooms about the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
However, one of its own members accused the union of presenting a ‘one-sided’ and ‘anti-Israel’ view, saying the plans could fuel anti-Semitism in schools.
The action was voted in at the NEU’s annual conference in Harrogate, with a motion which also accused Israel of ‘genocide’ and ‘apartheid’.
The motion said members should attend Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) demonstrations and ‘campaign against the ethnic cleansing of Gaza’.
And it said the NEU should ‘continue to develop resources and advice for members in schools to raise awareness about the situation in Palestine.’
Peter Block, 76, a Jewish NEU member and retired teacher, said: ‘They are trying to filter into the curriculum this one-sided view.
‘It’s anti-Israel. But how is vilification of Israel helping with anti-Semitism?
The National Education Union has sparked fears for Jewish pupils after vowing to produce school resources to ‘raise awareness’ of the situation in Palestine (pictured: General Secretary Daniel Kebede)
The NEU voted to develop materials for its half a million members to use in classrooms about the ongoing conflict in Gaza (pictured: a Palestine solidarity protest in 2021 which was attended by NEU members)
One of the NEU’s own members accused the union of presenting a ‘one-sided’ and ‘anti-Israel’ view, saying the plans could fuel anti-Semitism in schools (pictured: Jewish member Peter Block)
‘I worry that these materials will be one-sided, and that they will fuel anti-Semitism in schools.
‘I’m not saying Israel is a paragon but there needs to be some balance.
‘The people advocating this are jumping on the anti-Zionism bandwagon and there’s a fair bit of virtue-signalling going on.
‘I think the NEU is a hostile environment for Jewish members.’
During the motion debate, speakers wearing Keffiyehs led audience chants of ‘free, free Palestine’ and ‘we are all Palestinians’.
Louise Regan, an NEU activist from Nottingham, urged members to keep protesting saying: ‘We must not be silenced by those in power. We are not going anywhere.’
During the debate, Mr Block, who attended as an observer, shouted from the audience: ‘Why don’t you tell the other side!
‘Do you remember October 7th? Israel is not a genocidal state, it is not an apartheid state.’
The action was voted in at the NEU’s annual conference in Harrogate, with a motion which also accused Israel of ‘genocide’ and ‘apartheid’ (pictured: General Secretary Daniel Kebede addresses a Palestine solidarity protest in 2024)
The motion said members should attend Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) demonstrations and ‘campaign against the ethnic cleansing of Gaza’ (pictured: NEU branches attending protests about pay)
NEU General Secretary Daniel Kebede addressing members at a previous union event
He was then asked to leave by an usher due to heckling being against union rules, with the president, Sarah Kilpatrick, urging him to listen ‘respectfully’.
Before leaving, Mr Block, who was heckled during his speech on Palestine at last year’s conference, hit back: ‘It’s a shame I didn’t have that courtesy last time.’
Only one delegate spoke officially against the motion – Duncan Morris, a teacher from the Isle of Wight – who said he was ‘in solidarity with the Palestinians’ but accused the NEU of ‘omitting’ facts.
He told the conference: ‘It omits a lot. It omits enough to make it unbalanced… It omits condemnation of Hamas’ 7th October attacks. It omits Hamas’ oppression of trade unions in Gaza. It omits Hamas’ oppression of women and LGBT+ [people].’
Afterwards, General Secretary Daniel Kebede denied that the NEU was hostile to Jewish members and added that the materials produced would not be biased.
He said: ‘Teachers have professional standards. They must teach from an impartial standpoint. Everybody recognises that and this union will only ever advise members on that.
‘Whatever we produce will be obviously within the line of the law.
‘Schools should be places where discussion around really difficult subjects can be had fairly, properly and impartially.’
Also at the conference, the union voted to launch a formal ballot on autumn strikes if the Government does not improve its 2.8 per cent pay rise offer, which is unfunded.
