UK teachers’ union slams IHRA definition push in schools
Assiah Hamed reports in The New Arab on 22 October 2026:
The leader of the UK’s largest education union has strongly criticised a recommendation for schools across England to adopt the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, warning that it risks silencing legitimate criticism of Israel and stifling classroom discussions about the Gaza genocide.
Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), condemned the proposal as the “wrong approach”, arguing that the contested definition could further restrict freedom of expression on Palestine by blurring the distinction between antisemitism and criticism of Israeli government policies.
His criticism followed the publication of Sir David Bell’s independent review into antisemitism in schools, which recommended that educational institutions adopt the IHRA definition, despite longstanding concerns from civil liberties groups and academics about its implications for political speech.
The government has accepted all 27 recommendations in the review, with Education Secretary Lucy Powell announcing plans to write to educational institutions urging them to adopt the definition.
In a statement on Wednesday, Kebede warned that the recommendation could exacerbate the very problems it was intended to address, leaving teachers uncertain about how to discuss Israel’s actions in Gaza without facing accusations of antisemitism.