Imagine being stopped from visiting a school because of your religious identity. Jewish Labour MP Damian Egan was recently subjected to this ignominious treatment by Bristol Brunel Academy.
The National Education Union (NEU) and Bristol Palestine Solidarity Campaign unironically protested his planned talk to children - his own constituents - about democracy in the UK. Under duress, the school caved on so-called safeguarding grounds to the joy of the mob.
Claims that this had nothing to do with the MP’s faith are disingenuous. What sort of chilling messages do the teachers and campaigners behind this cancellation think they are sending to children? Intimidation can get you what you want. Jews aren’t welcome at schools. That they are somehow dangerous. Or that they don’t count.
While this isn’t the first time that Damian Egan MP has been subjected to intimidating behaviour since being elected in 2024, this incident is another clear warning that the education of our children is being hijacked by hardline political campaigners.
Children are not pawns in an ideological battle. Schools are legally obligated to provide children with a balance of different views and political impartiality.
Conversely, classrooms are becoming a battleground for sensitive, complex foreign policy issues thousands of miles away. And now we have the revelation that the inclusion and diversity coordinator of the trust running Bristol Brunel Academy had praised Hamas’ October 7 massacre as “heroes fighting for justice” – this speaks to the depth of the problem.
This individual, who naturally professes to be “unapologetically anti-racist”, sits on the academic council of the school and has responsibility for student safeguarding.
This is the sort of extreme rhetoric children need to be safeguarded from, not MPs like Damian Egan, who have publicly campaigned for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
We now know our children's education is being hijacked by hardline Hamas supporters - Karen Pollock | Getty Images
Anti-Jewish racism is at record levels in the UK. It has infiltrated all walks of life, and schools are demonstrably not immune. The Community Security Trust recorded a 232 per cent rise in antisemitic incidents within schools in 2023, with 23 per cent of British Jewish parents reporting that their child had experienced antisemitism at or within the vicinity of schools.
The vast majority of these incidents, which are almost certainly under-reported, occurred within mainstream non-Jewish schools. Of course, it isn’t just children who have endured this steep rise in abuse.
The NASUWT teaching union found that 79 per cent of Jewish teachers working in non-faith schools had experienced antisemitism. Many Jewish parents have long since told their children to remove religious items such as the Star of David for their own safety when travelling to and from school.
But the data shows that these children are seldom better protected within the grounds of mainstream schools. Young people - Jews and non-Jews alike – must be able to learn and thrive in a dignified way.
Today, children at Jewish faith schools will walk through police patrols and 8ft-high security fences in order to study. Despite this norm, these schools are reporting a marked increase in first preference applications – a clear indication that parents of Jewish pupils are short of confidence that the situation will improve.
To ensure this ugly decision doesn’t set a dangerous precedent, decisive steps must happen. It should go without saying that a diversity lead expressing support for Hamas can have no place in the education sector.
Communities Secretary Steve Reed was right to explain his “absolute outrage”, and the Prime Minister’s pledge to hold those behind the ban to account is welcome. Urgent action is now essential.
A review into the status of the Bristol-based multi-academy trust will send a powerful message, but this can only work alongside a coordinated effort to end the pernicious abuse of schools.
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