UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) has written to all schools in Sussex, Tower Hamlets and some other London Boroughs, to warn them of teachers taking action in their workplaces in support of the Palestinian cause.

The National Education Union (NEU) had been circulating a message, calling on its members to take action in schools on Thursday 15 May, which the NEU dub “Nakba Day”.

UKLFI has warned that the teachers’ actions could lead to the promotion of partisan political views in schools, against the government’s policy on political impartiality in schools and in breach of the prohibitions under the Education Act 1996 on political indoctrination in schools.

The NEU’s message to teachers encouraged them to take action including:

• wear red on the day in protest at the ongoing violence;
• take a group photo in the staff room, printing off NEU signs to hold;
• hold a lunchtime protest off site in solidarity with Palestinians (together with local schools);
• organise a lunch-time meeting, teach-in or film screening to educate colleagues about the Palestinian struggle for freedom;
• hold a Disarm Education meeting; and
• distribute leaflets for the national demonstration for Palestine on 17 May;

UKLFI wrote to head teachers in light of the legal obligations on schools on prohibiting political indoctrination (and prohibiting junior pupils pursuing any partisan political activities) and suggested that they should:

• remind teachers of their legal obligations;
• consider what additional steps can be taken to prevent teachers from pursuing political agendas at school and ensure teachers behave in ways that uphold the standards expected of teachers both inside and outside of school;
• take disciplinary action against teachers where appropriate; and
• refer teachers who are particularly radicalised to Prevent to block the spread of extremism among both teachers and students.

The NEU has a close association with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), and has formally affiliated with them.  As a result of the affiliation, the NEU has confirmed its support for the PSC’s aims and objectives, including campaigning to “support of the rights of the Palestinian people”, “expose and campaign against all actions by the Israeli state and those complicit in supressing the rights of the Palestinian people”, “expose, challenge and end the complicity of UK government public bodies, companies and corporations complicit in supporting Israel’s suppression of the rights of the Palestinian people”, and to “build the maximum unity in action possible in support of these objectives”.

Caroline Turner, director of UKLFI commented: “We made head teachers in these areas aware of the proposed actions that were going to be taken on 15 May and generally by the NEU. We hope that their planned attempts to politicise teachers were thwarted.”