Labour MP Damian Egan was been banned from visiting the school in his Bristol North East constituency over his alleged support for ‘Israel’s onslaught in Gaza’
Labour MP Damien Egan was reportedly banned from attending a local school.
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A Jewish MP has been prevented from visiting a school in his constituency over concerns his presence would ‘inflame’ teachers and parents.
Labour MP Damian Egan’s routine visit to a school in his Bristol North East constituency was reportedly cancelled following a campaign by the National Education Union’s staff group and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
The groups highlighted his connection to Labour Friends of Israel and what they described as his support for the “onslaught in Gaza”.
Communities Secretary Steve Reed revealed on Sunday that a Jewish colleague was banned in case his presence “inflames” teachers, branding the move “an absolute outrage.”
“I have a colleague who is Jewish, who has been banned from visiting a school and refused permission to visit a school in his own constituency, in case his presence inflames the teachers. That is an absolute outrage,” he told Jewish News.
He added: “They will be called in, and they will be held to account for doing that, because you cannot have people with those kinds of attitudes teaching our children. You just can’t have it.”
While Mr Reed chose not to name the colleague, social media posts from last September show campaigners celebrating the ban on the MP’s visit.
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Communities Secertary Steve Reed branded the move “an absolute outrage”.
Picture:
Getty
The post reads: “Victory for Education Workers, Parents and the Community.“MP Damien Egan’s planned school visit at Bristol Brunel Academy this Friday has been cancelled after concerns were raised by the NEU trade union staff group, parents and local constituents.
“This is a clear message: politicians who openly support Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza are not welcome in our schools.
“Egan is Vice Chair of Labour Friends of Israel and has visited Israel since the current onslaught on Gaza began, demonstrating his support.
“We celebrate this cancellation as a win for safeguarding, solidarity, and for the power of the NEU trade union staff group, parents, and campaigners standing together.”
A spokesperson for Bristol Brunel Academy said: “Damien Egan MP – as a high-achieving alumnus of the CLF, and in common with other local MPs from across the political spectrum – was invited in September to visit Bristol Brunel Academy, a secondary school situated in his constituency of Bristol North East.
“Mr Egan was due to discuss democracy and the role of an MP, while helping to raise aspirations among students who may have an interest in pursuing similar career paths.
“On the evening before Mr Egan’s scheduled visit, we were made aware of plans for a public protest outside the school. As this protest was scheduled to coincide with the end in the school day, we opted to postpone Mr Egan’s visit to ensure everyone would continue to feel safe when entering and exiting school and to prevent any disruption to our students’ learning.
“We have remained in contact with Mr Egan, and an alternative date for his visit was arranged some time ago. We have also been in contact with the police and followed their advice.”
Labour Friends of Israel is a group of Labour MPs campaigning for a strong bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and Israel.
It calls for a “negotiated two-state solution; with a safe and secure Israel, alongside a viable and independent Palestinian state”.
Speaking at the Jewish Labour Movement (JLM) conference on Sunday, Mr Reed said the Government is taking robust action was necessary to tackle the threat of antisemitism, but admitted that further action is needed. “We’re not alive enough to some of these threats, and we do need to take much tougher action to stop it and to curb it, and to make sure it has no place in our country,” he said.
He added: “I’m talking about identifying those places where antisemitism festers and grows so we can root it out. That is absolutely what we have to do. But we are far away from that point right now.”
It comes as police have been accused of ‘standing by’ while protesters targeted an Israeli restaurant in London.
The restaurant Miznon in Notting Hill was targeted on Friday night by a group operating under a banner of the “International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network.”
Footage on social media showed one protester advocating the “right to resist by any and all means necessary, for the full liberation and from the river to the sea.”
A spokesman for the restaurant, co-founded by celebrity chef Eyal Shani, said it was the seventh time the establishment had been targeted by “racist abuse and intimidation”, and called for the authorities to “put an end to it”.