Quaker advice to teachers on Israel and Palestine

'When conflict escalates in Israel and Palestine, antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents increase.'

Teaching materials on Palestine and Israel have seen a ‘rapid uptake’ recently, according to the Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) peace education team.

The rise points ‘to a thirst for understanding,’ writes Ellis Brooks, peace education coordinator for BYM, in a post on the Quakers in Britain website, outlining how educators can respond to events in Palestine and Israel.

Recent years have seen a fall-off in teaching of the Arab-Israeli conflict in England, he notes, and, in 2018, Education Scotland was pressured to unpublish resources on the subject for schools.

‘Sadly, there is hate and bullying in schools. When conflict escalates in Israel and Palestine, antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents increase. Teachers, parents, and carers will be concerned about intolerance in their communities and how they navigate these challenges and prevent harm.’
The article details what the government is telling schools. ‘The Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, has written to schools in England reminding them to challenge behaviour that celebrates violence or stigmatises others. She also highlighted schools’ duty to impartiality. Keegan condemned the Hamas attacks and expressed government’s solidarity with Israel. Essential messages, although incomplete,’ writes Ellis Brooks.

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