The current edition of the UK teaching union (NEU) magazine (not posted yet) – which is sent free of charge to all Union members – has a full page advert for the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the antisemitic organisation whose thinly-veiled objective is the elimination of the world’s only Jewish State. This is an attempt to brainwash teachers. It is illegal for the PSC to advocate inside schools or to leave PSC material in schools. There is an obligation under the 1996 Education Act (Section 407) for political topics to be addressed in a balanced manner. So the PSC does the next best thing – it uses the NEU magazine to brainwash teachers.
Next to the PSC advert is a full page article about children detained in Judea and Samaria for criminal acts. It is written by Ayed Abu Eqtaish who is ‘the accountability programme director at Defence for Children International-Palestine’ (DCI-P).
Teachers are told:
For many Palestinian children the trauma of Israeli military detention endures long after they are detained, physically abused, interrogated, tried and incarcerated in a system that does not guarantee them the most basic protections enshrined in international law;
Extensive documentation by Defence for Children International-Palestine shows that ill treatment within the Israeli military detention system is widespread and systematic;
Eighty-five percent of children detained in 2020 reported they experienced physical violence at the hands of Israeli forces and 27 children were held in isolation solely for interrogation purposes; in one case for 32 days;
Classes [for detained children] are infrequent and limited to Maths and Hebrew or Arabic. There are often no textbook and classes are not grade appropriate.
But there’s a lot the teachers are NOT told:
- That numerous individuals with alleged ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organisation have been employed and appointed as board members at DCI-P. The PFLP is designated as a terrorist organisation by the US, EU,Canada, and Israel.
- That DCI-P is also actively involved in promoting BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanction) and legalcampaigns (“lawfare”) against Israel.
- IDF statistics show that from 2013-2017 between 800-1,000 Palestinian minors were arrested annually in areas under Israeli control. Of those arrested, only 450-505 Palestinian minors were prosecuted. In other words, on average, out of a population of one million minors (according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics), less than 85 Palestinian minors were arrested each month, and less than half of them are actually prosecuted. In comparison, nearly 90,000 minors aged 10-17 were arrested in England and Wales between April 2015-March 2016, an average of approximately 7,500 each month. Adjusted for population, the rate of arrests of minors in England and Wales is 5.5 times higher than the West Bank, even though it is not in an armed conflict situation (data reproduced from NGO Monitor)
- DCI-P claims that ‘Eighty-five percent of children detained in 2020 reported they experienced physical violence at the hands of Israeli forces’. The truth is that very few complaints are either submitted to the appropriate Israeli civilian or military authorities or raised in court, and even fewer are found to be justified. In practice, DCI-P’s claims are based on anonymous complainants “interviewed” by DCI-P staffers.
- DCI-P says Palestinian children ‘have no right to have a lawyer or a family member present during interrogations.’ Israeli law does not permit lawyers to be physically present during interrogations. Having said that, the law provides that every suspect has the right to consult with counsel before being interrogated (Paragraph 56). Alongside the general provision, the law applied in Judea/Samaria places a specific and additional onus on the interrogator of a minor to ensure that the nature of the right has been explained in language that takes into account the age and maturity of the suspect (Paragraph 136C(a)).
- Information based on NGO Monitor research, see here and here and here and here
This is not the first time this magazine has carried anti-Israel propaganda in the guise of educational material!
Why aren’t teachers being told the truth about Defence for Children International-Palestine and about how Israel treats minors detained in Judea and Samaria?
I think we all know the answer.
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