National Union of Teachers Accused of Peddling ‘Extremist’ Palestinian Propaganda

The National Union of Teachers (NUT) has been accused of peddling an “extreme agenda” and pro Palestinian “political propaganda” in schools.

The group is Britain’s largest trade union of teachers, counting its membership as over 325,000. It has, according to the Telegraph, been accused of disseminating material that refers to “Jews” instead of Israelis – in criticism of the State of Israel. It is promoting a project which includes short films and literature to be distributed to schools; the result of a collaboration between the children’s education charity Edukid, the NUT and the General Union of Palestinian Teachers.

The films which will be launch at the NUT conference in April, are said to “break down stereotypes, and address issues of inequality” on the project’s website. The charity Edukid asks teachers to explore themes of Palestinian “occupation, freedom and resistance.”

“Our aim is that by the time UK pupils leave school they will be more knowledgeable and empowered to continue to help others,” the accompanying booklet reads. “… Identity, community, culture, faith, values citizenship and conflict are explored…”

However, the pack focuses on perceived “inequality” without exploring the wider context and history of the region, and the ideological and military threat Israel faces. The pack’s appendix features Palestinian children “assaulted by settlers” and the video contains a reference to “Jews,” as opposed to “Israelis.”

Tom Wilson, a Research Fellow at policy think-tank The Henry Jackson Society told Breitbart London: “This overtly agenda driven project is a particularly shameless example of political activism masquerading as a legitimate form of education.

“The resource pack purports to provide context and background information. But in many ways it does exactly the opposite; detailing Israeli security measures without ever explaining the security threats that these measures come in response to.”

Sam Westrop, the director of Stand for Peace, a counter-extremism group, told The Telegraph that by teaching children that Palestinian “resistance” against Israel was a worthy cause, the “NUT’s political propaganda and misrepresentation serves the extremist agenda.”

A spokesman from the Department for Education said: “The law is crystal clear that all political discussions in school should be unbiased and balanced.”

The Charities Commission said they will contact Edukid and assess whether or not regulations have been breached.