Sadly there are reports of a surge of antisemitic abuse aimed at Jewish teachers and pupils which appears to have been triggered by the recent escalation of violence in the Middle East. This has been of great concern to the Jewish community.
If any members of the Jewish community at one of your local schools has experienced this, the headteacher or principal may not be sure what to do next. We suggest the following things to look out for and to act upon:
- Antisemitism can be context specific. ‘Free Palestine’ is not an antisemitic slogan. However, chanting it at a Jewish teacher or pupil may well be, as it is identifying the teacher or pupil as Jewish and as an object of protest because of their Jewishness.
- Given that antisemitism can be context-specific, any communications regarding incidents must be treated with care. On one occasion when a pupil was disciplined for saying ‘Free Palestine’ at a school, the news was shared on social media without the context that this was directed at a Jewish member of the school community in the middle of a lesson. The result was multiple accusations on social media that free speech was being hindered, which was false and unhelpful.
- The Community Security Trust, the Jewish community’s third-party reporting and security organisation has published a blog to give a wider context to the situation which can be read here. Local Education Authorities, Trusts, Schools, Teachers and Pupils should know that antisemitic incident should be reported to the CST, the police, their institution or a combination of the three. CST’s website is here.
Other resources which may be of use include:
- The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism, now adopted by most local authorities, which can be found here.
- The TUC guide on antisemitism with its specific section on Israel Palestine, which can be found here.
- Solutions not Sides visit schools to explore how the conflict can be discussed in a constructive way. They can be found here.
- Stand Up! Offers anti-discrimination education focusing on anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim hate and can be found here.
You can also view this video by UJIA “When and How to Respond to Social Media about Israel and Gaza”
https://fb.watch/5K5LkZBcQo/