Episode 33: How schools censor Palestine and glorify Ukraine conflict

First aired on 10 September 2022

Ukraine and Palestine in British schools In a blow to free speech.

High Court judge Dame Beverley Lang recently allowed the Department of Education to continue its clamp down on Palestine solidarity in British schools after denying permission for a judicial review brought by human rights group CAGE.

The legal challenge was in relation to a discriminatory letter sent to schools by the then Education Minister Gavin Williamson, which gave instructions to schools on how to present the occupation of Palestine and recommended schools work with three specific organizations to deliver a ‘balanced’ presentation of the issue.

As this program pointed out some months ago, none of the three organizations provide balanced or truthful accounts of the occupation of Palestine. In fact, every one of them has a covert Zionist agenda.

Solutions Not Sides – as a project of OneVoice a group set up by prominent Zionists. Our research shows that multiple staff members have previously worked for the Israeli regime including for the Occupation forces.

Some worked in Zionist intelligence and others worked for Israel at the same time as working for OneVoice.

Forum for Discussion of Israel and Palestine. This is a group pushing Zionist narratives set up by an organization called the Council of Christians and Jews.

This is a long-standing pro-Israel grouping which has overlapping personnel with FODIP, though they claim to be independent.

Community Security Trust is a group that claims to combat anti-Semitism in the UK but which purposely blurs together anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism in pursuit of Israel’s foreign policy objectives.

It’s charitable objective includes combating extremism. However, its founder the convicted fraudster Gerald Ronson has a record of funding extremist Zionist groups –such as Chabad - through his family foundation.

It seems that a bias in favor of the racist ideology of Zionism is regarded as acceptable in schools, whereas standing up for Palestinian Rights is not.

CAGE found multiple cases where school kids have been punished, disciplined or prohibited even from the mildest display of solidarity with Palestine.

These included: The school that banned the colors of the Palestinian flag, or any clothing resembling ‘Middle Eastern clothes’.

The student who was referred to Prevent after emailing videos of Islamic lectures to his school to express his unhappiness at a one-sided presentation on Israel-Palestine.

The students were suspended for wearing a Palestine badge to school or for discussing Palestine.

In response to the Judge’s decision on the letter from the Education Secretary, CAGE released a summary of responses to a survey on Ukraine.

This showed that just like the support for Zionism most schools have been supporting the NATO proxy war in Ukraine, with schools bedecked by Ukraine flags and fundraisers - openly supported by schools.

Of course the idea of raising money for Palestine, is regarded as controversial and students are disciplined for raising the issue.