UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) has urged far stronger action to protect Jewish pupils and ensure political impartiality in education in its evidence to the UK Government’s Independent Review into Antisemitism in Schools and Colleges.
Drawing on extensive experience supporting Jewish families, UKLFI’s submission describes a pattern of institutional failures that have left many Jewish pupils feeling isolated, intimidated and, in some cases, fearful of attending school.
UKLFI warns that schools have too often failed to recognise contemporary manifestations of antisemitism, adequately safeguard Jewish children or respond effectively to complaints.
The submission identifies widespread concerns over politically partisan and factually inaccurate teaching materials relating to Israel and the Middle East. UKLFI provides examples of classroom resources that
- present contested political claims as established fact,
- describe Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide”,
- justify Hamas’s 7 October 2023 atrocities as retaliation,
- use historically inaccurate terminology for the land of Israel in biblical times, and
- promote misleading “shrinking Palestine” maps.
These and other examples are supported by annexes submitted to the Review.
UKLFI argues that many schools lack both the expertise and oversight mechanisms needed to assess whether teaching resources are factually accurate, politically impartial, age-appropriate and compatible with safeguarding obligations.
UKLFI recommends that schools be required to maintain records of all externally produced educational materials and make them available for inspection by parents and regulators. It also proposes mandatory assessments of politically sensitive teaching resources before they are used in classrooms.
The submission also raises concerns about political activism within schools. It describes cases involving teachers wearing Palestine flag badges and keffiyehs, allegations of anti-Israel bias by teaching staff, and school activities which, UKLFI argues, created an intimidating or hostile environment for Jewish pupils.
UKLFI contends that such conduct may breach schools’ obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and calls for Department for Education guidance prohibiting staff from displaying political insignia, flags and symbols associated with divisive political conflicts while at work.
In addition, UKLFI highlights the practical barriers faced by parents seeking to enforce their children’s legal rights. Although schools are subject to equality and political impartiality duties, the organisation argues that litigation is often prohibitively expensive, slow and damaging to the continuing relationship between families and schools.
UKLFI therefore calls for more accessible mechanisms to hold schools accountable without forcing families into costly legal proceedings or requiring children to leave their schools.
Another area addressed by UKLFI’s submission is discrimination against and harassment of Jewish teachers.
Among its wider recommendations, UKLFI calls for improved oversight of safeguarding and complaints procedures, greater transparency over educational materials supplied by external organisations, structured training to promote respectful discussion of contentious issues, and more effective enforcement of existing legal obligations on schools.
Commenting on the submission, UKLFI said:
“Schools have a vital role in teaching respect, tolerance and critical thinking. When political activism, misinformation and antisemitism are allowed to flourish unchecked, Jewish pupils pay the price. We hope this Review will lead to practical reforms that ensure schools are places where all children, including Jewish children, feel safe, respected and able to learn free from intimidation.”
The submission has been made to the Independent Review chaired by Sir David Bell, which was commissioned by the Government to examine the nature and extent of antisemitism in schools and colleges and recommend measures to address it.