Labour faced a backlash on Wednesday night from Britain’s largest teaching union over its review of anti-Semitism in schools.
The National Education Union (NEU) accused the Government of pursuing the “wrong approach” by asking every school to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism.
Daniel Kebede, the union’s general secretary, said anti-Semitism “is on a steep rise and must be tackled”, but warned that the measure could have a “chilling” effect and “shut down legitimate discussion”.
The proposal was one of 27 recommendations in a Labour-commissioned report on anti-Semitism. The Government pledged today to accept all of them in full.
The IHRA definition states that, alongside “hatred of Jews”, anti-Semitism can include “targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity” unless the criticism is “similar to that levelled against any other country”. It also lists 11 examples of anti-Semitism, several of which relate to Israel.
Mr Kebede, whose union represents half a million members, said: “The IHRA’s contested framing risks blurring the line between anti-Semitism and legitimate criticism of the Israeli government and the genocide in Gaza…
“Schools must enable young people to confront difficult issues openly and develop empathy, not drive teachers into silence or leave pupils afraid to express their views.”
He said the approach could also leave children unable to “critically explore issues” in the classroom, prompting them to seek answers in “online and unsafe groups”.
Labour faced a backlash from Britain’s largest teaching union over its review of anti-Semitism in schools. Pictured: NEU General Secretary Daniel Kebede
Mr Kebede also argued that the review’s recommendations “wrongly call into question the professionalism of teachers”.
The independent review by Sir David Bell, published today, recommended incorporating anti-Semitism into school safeguarding policies, providing teacher training and directing Ofsted to hold schools accountable for their response to it.
Shadow education secretary Laura Trott said: “The NEU’s response is pathetic. To portray the adoption of the IHRA definition as chilling debate on Gaza shows a staggering lack of understanding of the fear Jewish people in this country are living with.”
She added that the review had not gone far enough in holding teaching unions accountable for tackling anti-Semitism.
The report noted that some unions had made Jewish members feel that “their concerns are not taken seriously”, while also stating that the unions were not “inherently anti-Semitic”.
It recommended that unions introduce “robust policies and processes to tackle anti-Semitism”.
Ms Trott cited the case of NEU members who “pressured” Bristol Brunel Academy to cancel a visit last year by Damien Egan, a Jewish MP and vice chair of Labour Friends of Israel.
The school said at the time that the visit had been called off for safety reasons because protests were planned outside the school.
The National Education Union (NEU) accused the Government of pursuing the “wrong approach” by asking all schools to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism. Pictured: Education Secretary Lucy Powell
Ms Trott said one of those identified as having taken part in the pressure campaign remained in her post.
“The Bell Review is welcome, but unions are being left with a free pass to mark their own homework,” she added. “Without real accountability, nothing will change.”
Responding to Ms Trott, Mr Kebede said a separate independent review of the NEU took place this year by Karon Monaghan KC which concluded there was no evidence of systemic anti-Semitism in the union.
‘The NEU has a zero tolerance on anti-Semitism and all forms of racism,’ he said.
Today’s review, which found three in five Jewish pupils have experienced anti-Semitism, was unveiled by Education Secretary Lucy Powell in Parliament.
She said children and teachers should be able to go to school or college ‘free from fear’, and added tackling anti-Semitism is a ‘generational challenge’.
She warned that anti-Semitism is ‘normalised and amplified’ on social media and ‘old tropes’ have found a ‘new life’ online.
She added: ‘Implementation is now my priority. I will make sure schools and colleges are better equipped to spot, challenge and prevent anti-Semitism wherever it happens.’
