Jewish teacher physically abused after pupils “competed” to stick Palestinian Authority flags on their hair and clothing
A Jewish teacher at a non-Jewish school was physically abused after their pupils “competed” to stick Palestinian Authority flags on their hair and clothing, it was reported this week.
The teacher, who chose to remain anonymous, said that they were targeted because they were Jewish, and immediately resigned following the incident.
They said: “The whole school was full of Palestine flags, the pupils all began shouting ‘Free Palestine’.
“At the beginning, I thought they were just making a statement for all the teachers, but then I realised it was targeted to me and other teachers that are Jewish.”
Detailing the incident, they went on to say: “They [the pupils] were trying to stick Free Palestine stickers in my hair, I broke into tears, I couldn’t take my class that morning.”
The teacher claims that the school’s senior leadership offered no support whatsoever.
Recently, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson wrote to schools demand that they act against antisemitism and the politicisation of classrooms.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We applaud the Education Secretary for raising awareness of antisemitism in schools. We have received multiple reports of antisemitic incidents targeting Jewish pupils and teachers, and just last week one Jewish school advised its pupils to conceal garments that might identify them as Jewish. We recently published a short resource for parents and schoolchildren who encounter anti-Jewish hate, and we continue to urge the community to be vigilant and to report any incidents.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism recently published a short resource on “What to do about antisemitism at school” for children and parents, which helps identify antisemitism using the International Definition of Antisemitism and provides pointers on how to act when antisemitic incidents arise.
Do you or your friends/family have stories of schoolteachers or pupils facing antisemitism at schools in the UK? We have received a significant number of reports and the Incident Response colleagues would be keen to hear of further examples if you could share them. Contact us at [email protected] or call +44 (0)330 822 0321.
