The lunch bell at an east London school signalled an unusual exodus. Instead of heading for the canteen, students and teachers grabbed Palestinian flags and keffiyehs before streaming out of the building. One Jewish teacher described the scene as reminiscent of a 'zombue movie'. This incident, occurring weeks after the October 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel, marked the first of numerous 'days of solidarity' orchestrated by Britain's largest teaching union.
From Protests to Political Pressure
The National Education Union (NEU), with a membership of half a million, has long focused on Palestine, but this focus intensified into an obsession in 2023. The anonymous teacher recounted how students, though not permitted to leave at lunch, followed staff through exits and pushed open fire doors to join a rally at Tower Hamlets Town Hall. There, young children joined in chants of 'From The River To The Sea' and 'globalise the intifada', with teachers cheering them on.
This pattern repeated across the country, with educators leading pupils to protests. The activism has persisted for over two years, exemplified by the union's London HQ hosting the 'Sumud Festival For Palestine' just yesterday. However, the NEU faced significant backlash last week after its role in cancelling a visit by Jewish Labour MP Damien Egan to Bristol Brunel Academy in September was revealed.
School pastoral worker and NEU branch secretary, Micaela Wilde, detailed how staff mobilised against the MP's visit, discussing actions like wearing keffiyehs to work. The school postponed the visit upon learning of plans for a public protest at the school gates. The Bristol NEU celebrated the cancellation on Facebook as 'a win for safeguarding, solidarity and the power of the NEU'.
Institutional Bias and Radicalisation
The union's deep ties to the Palestinian cause are evident. In 2024, 'Palestinian envoy' Husam Zomlot told an NEU conference they were Palestine's 'strongest supporters'. Notably, four of the 14 directors of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) hold senior NEU roles. In 2021, the union's current General Secretary, Daniel Kebede, was filmed calling to 'globalise the intifada'—a chant considered incitement to violence against Jews. While he apologised recently, he only stated he would not repeat it in his new role.
Data shows the NEU provided 23 official speakers at 41 PSC protests between 2023 and 2024. Furthermore, in 2024, the NEU's symbol appeared alongside extremist Islamist groups on a Leicester march graphic, which a spokesman claimed was not done 'consciously'.
This institutional stance has silenced dissent within the union. Retired teacher Peter Block was heckled at the 2024 conference for saying 'shalom' and advocating nuanced debate. He has since left, stating, 'I've realised they are never going to allow another voice to be heard'. He is among Jewish members interviewed by Karon Monaghan KC, who is investigating anti-Semitism in the NEU, though concerns exist about the probe's impartiality.
Classroom Consequences and Parental Alarm
The radicalisation has permeated classrooms. An 'Educators for a Free Palestine' event in 2024 discussed using resources to teach about Palestine, with one speaker remarking, 'We need to target even the youngest'. Activists reported talks of bringing keffiyehs into schools and displaying maps of Palestine.
Parents report a subtle demonisation of Israel. One non-Jewish father sought help from UK Lawyers For Israel (UKLFI) after his son was upset by a one-sided class debate portraying Israel as 'criminal and genocidal'. When his son challenged Muslim classmates calling Jews racist, he was targeted. Another parent, Georgia, was shocked when her daughter's teacher in a Catholic school claimed the biblical David was from Palestine, rewriting historical and religious narrative.
Jewish teachers also face bullying, with one supply teacher finding swastikas near his desk and maps of Israel defaced. Andy Porter, a retired Scottish teacher and member of the NEU-affiliated EIS, left his union, stating, 'We are anti-Semitic, either by design or ignorance'. The EIS refutes such claims.
Alex Hearn of Labour Against Antisemitism demands government action: 'This state of affairs must be urgently addressed... to stop infecting schools and young impressionable minds with hateful bias'. The scandal raises critical questions about union influence, safeguarding, and the politicisation of Britain's education system.
