A controversial new anti-Israel curriculum has been “temporarily” pulled from British schools, The Jewish Chronicle reported today.
The National Union of Teachers has “temporarily” pulled a new educational resource which aimed to “illustrate the daily struggles experienced by Palestinian children”, following public outcry that it was one-sided and unbalanced.
In a statement on Tuesday the union said: “The NUT and Edukid are temporarily withdrawing the jointly developed ‘My Name is Saleh’ teaching resources, which examine the situation of a Palestinian child through the framework of the UN Rights of the Child. …
The union came under fire last week from politicians and Jewish leaders after it was revealed that it was offering schools a series of books and videos alongside educational charity Edukid that profiled suffering Palestinian children.
The Telegraph reported yesterday on the introduction of the curriculum, which would be taught to children as young as three.
The NUT has designed and promoted a teaching resources pack, under a partnership with Edukid, a children’s education charity, which asks teachers to explore themes of Palestinian “occupation, freedom and resistance”.
The resource pack, titled “My Name is Saleh”, and a video were launched at the NUT annual conference in April.
The Telegraph cited Tom Wilson from the Henry Jackson Society:
The resource pack’s accompanying video contains references to “Jews” as opposed to “Israelis” was described as “extremely troubling” by Mr Wilson, who added that it carries a risk of “inciting tensions between faith communities in the UK”.
The article also quoted Sam Westrop, the director of Stand for Peace, an anti-extremism organization, who said that “by teaching school children that Palestinian ‘resistance’ against Israel was a worthy cause, the ‘NUT’s political propaganda and misrepresentation serves the extremist agenda.'”
The Algemeiner reported that Gerald Steinberg, president of NGO Monitor, called for an investigation into the curriculum.
“An immediate, thorough and independent investigation by the Charities Commission as well as the U.K. education authorities is clearly required,” demanded the president of Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor, Gerald Steinberg.
Steinberg called the curriculum, which was developed by NUT together with a Christian charity called Edukid that aims to educate children living in poverty or conflict zones, “a fictitious narrative that promotes hate and incitement.” …
Edukid, Steinberg added, partners with organizations with known links to the Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine (a European Union-registered terrorist group) as well as supporters of a one-state solution that seek to dissolve the Jewish state, and the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS).
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