Silencing pro Palestinian voices in our schools!
JVL Introduction
Plans for antisemitism education in our schools, echoing what is being rolled out in the NHS are divisive and dangerous. As the writer here says: “The most troubling thing about the Bell review is that it masquerades as concern for Jewish pupils and teachers whilst actually functioning as a continuation of the government’s ongoing clampdown on pro-Palestine expression in all areas of public life. The report seems more concerned with banning Palestine badges and ensuring teachers are ‘politically impartial’ when it comes to the state of Israel than it does about what sort of support should be extended to victims of anti-Jewish discrimination.”
The idea that the focus is only on antisemitism implies a hierarchy of racism – and also that antisemitism is somehow worse than anti Black racism or Islamophobia. When it comes to schools, of course, the disproportionate impact of the Prevent programme on Muslim children has been well documented and, as we have shown, headlines implying that you are more likely to bne a victim of antisemitism as a Jew than Islamophobia if you are Muslim are simply wrong.
Furthermore, the Bell report itself included the fact that there has been very little change in attitudes towards Jewish people but that anti-Israel attitudes have increased. This is the very epitome of conflating Jews with Zionism and anti Zionism with antisemitism. Resources then follow, potentially feeding the antisemitic trope that Jews control government.
More importantly, more worryingly, is the impact this will have on Palestinian and pro Palestinian children in our schools.
This article was originally published by Novara Media on Thu 29 Oct 2026. Read the original here.
I’m a Teacher. The Bell Antisemitism Report Will Silence My Pro-Palestine Pupils
The recommendations aren’t about protecting Jewish children.
Loading article text…
Well said,Nadine. It is only 23 years or so since a secondary school invited me and a friend with whom I’d been several times to Palestine (the West Bank), after the horror of the Israeli responses to the second intifada and their ongoing effects. We did a role play with senior pupils on the check points, followed by open discussion. A range of views emerged, but the whole point was to encourage pupils to start thinking. Secondly, they were able to look at a range of views – a process which can lead to further exploration and even change. Of course we don’t know how the teacher who requested our presence followed up the session. What has happened to imprison the core element of education in the unhappy alliance with a genocidal state? ‘Oh mighty Caesar, dost thou lie so low?’
The historically pro Palestine people of all ages absolutely adore Jews that stand by Palestinians. They appreciate the solidarity and can see the courage required. I’m not so sure about all the people in the so called “great noticing” though. Quite a few – horrified by what they are seeing – may be going through quite a “process” and this is prone to the wrong sort of input. Of course anything abhorrent by Israel can become a vehicle for anti Semitism. This is absolutely universal. Zionists only increase their unpopularity by treating the rest if us like three year olds.