Teachers wearing Palestine flag badges at school or encouraging children to Strike for Palestine, a biassed geography book, antisemitic posts on social media, swastikas on the playground wall, a school “Fast” for Gaza are some of the many incidents happening in UK schools. Jewish parents often don’t know what to do about it, or who to turn to for help when they and their children feel scared and oppressed by the situation.
As a response to antisemitism or anti-Israel bias in UK schools, UKLFI Charitable Trust (UKLFI CT) has produced a new Toolkit for Tackling Antisemitism and Anti-Israel Bias in UK Schools, now available on our website
The Toolkit is a practical resource designed to support parents in recognising, addressing and constructively challenging antisemitism or anti-Israel bias within school settings. It sets out:
- examples of common issues;
- an overview of schools’ key legal duties;
- practical guidance on raising and, where necessary, escalating concerns; and
- tips for constructive dialogue with teachers and school leadership.
Issues covered include staff displaying partisan political symbols in school, biased teaching resources, antisemitic posts on social media, and bullying or harassment targeting Jewish pupils or those perceived to hold Israeli or Zionist identities or beliefs. The Toolkit can be applied to schools at all stages, from nursery and junior to senior schools and colleges.
The Toolkit equips families with the tools to navigate these situations confidently, ensuring that concerns are addressed fairly and constructively, while promoting respectful dialogue in schools.
The toolkit encourages families to speak directly with schools where they can, but if parents are worried about suffering a backlash, or not wanting to identify themselves as the complainant, UKLFI CT can report the issue on their behalf, or on behalf of a group of parents and children. This way the parents and children would not be identified and hopefully there would be no retaliatory action against them.
Parents can email UKLFI Charitable Trust at schools@uklfi.com with the date of the incident, a detailed description of what happened, and if possible, the names and roles of those involved.
A spokesperson for UKLFI CT said: “We hope parents and children will feel that they have support and that they have somewhere to turn if they are not sure what to do about possible anti-Israel bias and antisemitism at school. The first step should be to read this Toolkit”