Board of Deputies Vice President Karen Newman has welcomed the recommendations of the Bell Review into antisemitism in schools and colleges published today.
Karen said:
We welcome the recommendations of Sir David Bell to tackle antisemitism in schools and colleges and the commitment of the Secretary of State for Education to implement them. The struggle against extremism and antisemitism begins with education, so we must get this right in schools. This is not just about protecting Jewish pupils and staff, but protecting all our children from hateful and extremist ideas, and supporting schools to tackle them where they arise.
The evidence gathered by Sir David Bell showing the scale of the challenges is sobering, and makes clear the need for a determined and consistent approach.
Treating antisemitism in schools as a safeguarding issue will have the benefit of creating an explicit duty on all schools to address this as they would any other threat to children’s safety, and will strengthen accountability.
We particularly welcome the clear recommendations that schools and local authorities follow government guidelines by adopting the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism as a tool to deepen understanding of contemporary antisemitism.
We further welcome recommendations relating to improving education about Jewish life as well as antisemitism and the Holocaust, and ensuring schools and teachers maintain their duties in relation to political impartiality.
We remain concerned about undue external influence on schools driven by narrow political agendas, and tendentious materials seeping into schools and increasing disharmony, and we will continue to press for vigilance against this.
We thank Sir David and his team for the seriousness and diligence with which they have engaged in this task, including his commitment to review implementation after one year.
We stand ready to continue working with government, schools and civil society to tackle antisemitism alongside all forms of racism, deepen understanding of Jewish life, and build a society that is inclusive and welcoming for all.
Read the report here.