The boss of Britain’s biggest teaching union has promised not to repeat his call for pro-Palestinians to ‘globalise the intifada’.
Daniel Kebede, the general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), said he ‘certainly will not use phrases like that’ while he remains in the role.
He made the vow as he was quizzed about the controversial cancellation of a Jewish MP’s visit to a school following a campaign by pro-Palestinian teachers and parents.
Damien Egan, the Labour MP for Bristol North East, had been due to speak to students at Bristol Brunel Academy in his constituency in September.
But the visit was called off due to ‘safeguarding’ concerns after activists highlighted his links to the Labour Friends of Israel group.
The local branch of the NEU hailed the cancellation of the visit as a ‘victory for education workers, parents and the community’.
They added it ‘sent a clear message’ that ‘politicians who openly support Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza are not welcome in our schools’.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has condemned the incident as ‘very concerning’, adding that all MPs ‘should be able to visit anywhere… without fear of anti-Semitism’.
Daniel Kebede, the general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), said he ‘certainly will not use phrases like that’ while he remains in the role
Damien Egan, the Labour MP for Bristol North East, had been due to speak to students at Bristol Brunel Academy in his constituency in September before the visit was cancelled
Speaking to BBC Radio 4, Mr Kebede insisted it wasn’t the position of the NEU at a national level that Mr Egan shouldn’t attend the school.
But the NEU boss was asked if the local branch of his union might have been inspired by his own past comments.
In 2021, Mr Kebede appeared at a pro-Palestine rally in Newcastle where he told a crowd: ‘It’s about time we globalise the intifada.’
Intifada is an Arabic term for ‘uprising’, with calls to ‘globalise the intifada’ seen by some Jewish people as an incitement to violence.
Quizzed about his past use of the phrase, Mr Kebede said: ‘On the school and the MP, it’s right that that MP attends that school.
‘And, actually, union groups cannot stop visits. That’s just beyond their power.
‘On the issue of what I said in I think it was 2019… 2021. I gave a speech about how support for the Palestinians was an anti-racist struggle.
‘This was at the time of the evictions in Sheikh Jarrah in east Jerusalem.
‘There was a general strike at the time in the West Bank and across Palestine that was called the ‘unity intifada’.
‘I certainly recognise now, as general secretary of this union, I cannot and I certainly will not use phrases like that.’
The cancellation of Mr Egan’s school visit has been highlighted now after Cabinet minister Steve Reed told a recent conference about a Jewish MP being banned.
Mr Egan converted to Judaism after meeting his Israeli-born husband Yossi Felberbaum and is an honorary vice-chair of Labour Friends of Israel.
Mr Kebede said of the September incident: ‘My understanding of the situation is that there were concerns raised to the rep.
‘And, of course, there were some parents raising concerns also around the MP’s attendance.
‘The school actually took it upon themselves to postpone that visit and it has been reinstated.
‘You’ve got to remember as well, in September we were in the most fiercest part of the genocide that has been happening in Gaza – that is internationally recognised – and that feelings were running incredibly high.’
Asked if someone like Mr Egan – who is Jewish with links to Labour Friends of Israel and who has been to Israel – is welcome in schools, Mr Kebede replied: ‘Absolutely.
‘I think he should be in schools and visiting schools and getting a deep understanding of the crisis in funding, crisis in workload that exists in education at the moment.’