Bristol school did nothing wrong when postponing pro-Israel MP’s visit

An independent review has confirmed that a school did nothing wrong when it postponed the visit of a pro-Israel MP (a vice-chair of Labour Friends of Israel no less!). So as we said at the time, it seems it absolutely was just a non-story that cynical actors were stirring up to create a useful scandal.

The pro-Israel MP and the cynical ‘scandal’

Israel’s genocide in Gaza has killed over 20,000 children. But our pro–Israel political elites apparently think it’s a good idea for Israel lobbyists to enter our schools. And they don’t want pesky parents, teachers, or students to have any say about that.

That’s why, when ordinary people questioned pro-Israel lobbyist and MP Damien Egan coming into a Bristol school, cynical political actors kicked up a fuss.

The school had postponed Egan’s visit because there were plans for a local protest against the high-profile member of the “opaquely funded” Labour Friends of Israel. And as the independent review confirmed, its decision to postpone over “safeguarding concerns” was entirely justifiable and legitimate.

Cynical right-wing agitators – Jewish and non-Jewish alike – at the time suggested the postponement was because Egan was a convert to Judaism. It wasn’t. And the fact that the school rescheduled his visit soon after proved its decision was not political or discriminatory.

What the media SHOULD be focusing on…

The problem is that the corporate media was, and is, awful. It fuels the highly problematic conflation of Judaism as a religion and Israel as a brutal settler-colonial apartheid state. And it did this even when reporting on the review saying there was nothing wrong with the school’s actions. For example, outlets ran with the headlines:

• Inquiry clears Bristol school of antisemitism for postponing Jewish MP’s visit
• School cleared of antisemitism after cancelling Jewish MP visit
• Bristol school cleared of antisemitism after postponing visit from Jewish MP Damien Egan

Although it’s completely irrelevant, especially considering what the inquiry itself confirmed, outlets placed focus on “Jewish MP”. There was no hint in these headlines that he’s a pro-Israel lobbyist. That’s despite it being a very relevant piece of information, as the whole postponement surrounded public resistance to his political positions.

It would be amazing if the mainstream media actually:

• Placed appropriate emphasis on exactly who Egan is and the politics he represents.
• Highlighted the current Labour government’s million-pound outsourcing of ‘antisemitism education’ to pro-Israel lobbyist (and former Labour Friend of Israel) Natascha Engel.
• Stressed that schools have been censoring solidarity with Palestine during Israel’s mass murder and destruction campaign in Gaza.
• There have been hundreds of incidents of UK institutions and pro-Israel groups targeting teachers and students with censorship in a systematic attempt to “dismantle solidarity” with Palestinians.
• Schools already have enough problems due to years of underfunding and backdoor privatisation. They don’t have time or resources to be dealing with cynical political games too.

This whole fiasco should be a lesson to us all. But it’s not one the corporate media is likely to learn (or want to learn).

Featured image via the Canary

By Ed Sykes

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