As elsewhere in Europe, the Israel-Hamas war is having repercussions across society, particularly in schools. In the United Kingdom, schools ban pro-Palestinian speech, while Jewish students suffer from depression.
Amy* is a school teacher in London. As in many other schools in Britain, the majority of pupils are of Muslim or Arab origin. There are many sympathies for Palestine in his class, in the context of the devastating war between Israel and Hamas.
Since the violence erupted on October 7, young students have regularly drawn the Palestinian flag on their hands, scribbled it on their books or worn pins representing the Palestinian flag on their uniforms in what she describes as“expressions of solidarity like children”.
"They are really upset and worried about Palestine," she told Euronews.
At first, Amy said the school let students express their support for people in Gaza and the West Bank. But since then, its management has begun to prohibit these acts under the pretext of violating uniform regulations, threatening to punish children if they refuse to comply. Staff were also ordered not to wear Palestinian flag pins.
“There are double standards,” she claimed, pointing out that students were encouraged to support Ukraine when Russia invaded it in February 2022 and that staff are still allowed to display symbols and signs of other political causes, such as LGBT+ rights or the Black Lives Matter movement.
“Schools are presented as impartial, but in reality they are deeply ideological,” she assured Euronews.
Under national rules, British schools are legally required to ban the promotion of partisan political views and must take steps to ensure the balanced presentation of opposing views on political issues when they are brought to pupils’ attention.
In a notice Addressed to schools in October, Secretary of State for Education Gillian Keegan wrote: “We know that young people may have a strong personal interest in these issues, which could lead them to political activity.”
“Schools, colleges and high schools must ensure that any political expression is carried out tactfully, that is to say that it is not disruptive and does not create an atmosphere of intimidation or fear for their classmates and the staff,” she indicated.
In addition to“remove” students of teachers, who often feel “insulted” when asked to wash their hands to erase the flag they drew, Amy claimed that the rules of impartiality were “used to silence the Palestinian crisis and prevent students from having an opinion on the genocide taking place in Gaza.”
Hamas’ deadly assault on southern Israel sparked the current conflict, killing more than 1,400 people and taking several hundred hostage. While 2022 was the deadliest year on record for Palestinians, according toUnited Nations2023 was already poised to surpass this record even before Israel began relentlessly bombing Gaza.
Israeli retaliation has killed at least 11,500 people so far, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.
Teacher Amy placed her school’s policy toward the war between Israel and Hamas in the context of a “depoliticization” broader teachers and a tendency to focus on behavior rather than eliciting critical thinking.
“We should have different discussions on topics related to the conflict, such as that criticism of Israel is not anti-Semitic, the existence of Jewish peace activists in Israel and understanding war crimes: children n ‘don’t have much space to think and be curious,’ she pointed out to Euronews.
Amy added that she felt “nervous about the repression the school community may face as the situation develops (in Israel and Gaza) evolved”.
Towards a “rebellion” of students?
Nonetheless, the teacher said many students opposed the school’s policy, which was becoming a “center of rebellion”.
“Children are being reprimanded for things they weren’t reprimanded for before, they feel it’s an injustice,” she pointed out.
The bloodshed in the Middle East has also raised a number of questions for Jewish schools and students in Britain.
ADVERTISEMENTDavid Meyer, executive director of the Partnership for Jewish Schools, told Euronews that the “nervousness and uneasiness” Jewish students, particularly those from non-Jewish schools, constituted a “significant challenge”.
“The enormity of the attack that took place in Israel, the shock of what happened there, immediately placed all Jewish people in the world in insecurity,” he declared, adding that to this was added a “tsunami of anti-Semitism”.
Acts of hatred against Jews in London increased by 1,350%, the Metropolitan Police said in October. Islamophobic acts in the British capital have increased by 140%.
Jewish and Muslim communities have already complained of not feeling protected by the authorities.
“A dark zone of depression”
Students’ mental health is also an issue, David Meyer said, with children exposed to images “absolutely horrible” of the’“terrorist attack” of Hamas.
ADVERTISEMENT“We are very concerned about the impact on children’s mental health,” he pointed out. “Some are constantly thinking about the hostages, worrying about them, we’re trying to help them figure out how to compartmentalize things in their lives so they’re not constantly in this dark zone of depression,” he describes.
According to Israeli authorities, some 240 people were taken hostage by Hamas and taken to Gaza during the attack on southern Israel in early October. A few were released, while the Palestinian militant group says several others were killed in Israeli airstrikes. The fate of the others is unknown.
Faced with the rise of what he calls “ignorance” and the “disinformation” Around the conflict, David Meyer said it was essential to inform students, particularly about the “dangers of social media.” For him, it was “vital to ensure they receive informed teaching.” and balanced so that they really understand what is going on.”_He said that “the history of Israel” and the “different stories” And “prospects” which compose it were “very, very complex”.
“It’s healthy to be able to educate children in this area and have them understand the difference between open and honest conversations, disagreements and a disparity of points of view, and recognizing that difference,” he added.
One of the obstacles he cited is that institutions in England do not teach courses on the Middle East, particularly on the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
ADVERTISEMENTIn November, the newspaper “The Observer” reported that less than 2% of GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) history students in England had a module on the Middle East in 2020. Furthermore, experts estimate that only 27 schools in England teach it Currently.
The newspaper claimed that establishments feared a “bad publicity” or that they were afraid of being accused of bias.
“It is absolutely true that students need to be informed of the different narratives in order to try to question them and find reasonable solutions,” added David Meyer.
*The teacher’s name has been changed because she was not authorized to speak directly to the media and feared repercussions from her employer.
