UK Gov grants £5.5M for pro-Israel push in Schools & Universities

• The anti-Palestine IHRA definition the British Department of Education is pushing into schools and universities

• The elitist weaponisation of October 7 against the Palestinian cause for freedom

After the economy has taken a dire risk with the rising escalation in the Red Sea with US and UK bombardments of the Houthis, it raises one question: what are the economic impacts of this western offensive in Yemen? The price of oil has remained relatively the same even after the Treasury predicted that a scenario like this in the Red Sea could risk a recession. Why is this the case? In reality, the answer lies with Saudi Arabia. According to analysts, the reason for the price of oil remaining pretty much stagnant is because of Saudi Arabia’s own initiative to cut prices during a period of crisis like this.

The risk of a wider escalation in the Middle East remains the highest it has been in more than a decade. With the US bombing Iranian-backed targets in Iraq and Syria and Iran firing on what it claimed to be Israeli targets in Iraq, A risk of escalation would mean the price of oil and other commodities could rise exceptionally high and bring the likelihood of a recession even higher. So why is the UK government spending £5 million to reinforce the picture of its genocidal ally Israel at a time when it risks a nationwide economic crisis?

The anti-Palestinian IHRA definition of antisemitism

The IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) definition is made up of lots of statements and points. One of those points is ‘denying Jewish people the right to self-determination’. This part of the definition, according to the IHRA website, suggests that naming the existence of the state of Israel as a racist endeavour is antisemitic. In other words, it means that any negative comment regarding the existence of Israel, regardless of whether it is right or wrong, is a racist endeavour. In reality, Israel is an occupational force that was created by sin, just as the United States was created by the sin of colonial settlers. The difference is that Israel’s sin of existence is still in effect and is affecting millions of Palestinians both inside and outside of the occupied territories of Palestine. The pain and anguish of the sin of the rise of the colonial project Israel is still in its early stages and is being heavily felt today, and the planned colonialism in the takeover of Gaza after an ongoing genocide is evidence that the sin of the existence of Israel is still in effect. To question the existence of Israel and to criticise its existence when the ripples of its founding are causing problems today is unjustly labelled antisemitic. This whitewashes the suffering of the Palestinian people who were ethnically cleansed because of the founding of Israel and means that any criticism of the continued displacement of Palestinian people worldwide because of the founding is deemed antisemitic. This prevents basic Palestinian refugees, who have been refugees since the 1948 Nakba, from criticising the ones who displaced them and the reason for their displacement. This is tantamount to covering up genocides of the past to likely aid in the cover-up of genocides in the present and future.

Another part of the IHRA definition that the government of the UK wants to push out in schools and universities suggests that any comparison between Israeli policy and that of the Nazis is considered antisemitic. The only issue with this is that Israel’s current policy is that of the Nazis. Even before October 7th, Gaza was one the most unemployed places on the planet, with basic services and necessities like clean water being denied to the majority of its 2.3 million population. This bears a stark resemblance to the Nazi occupation of Poland, in which the Nazis had forced large populations of the Jewish community into ghettos and denied them basic services. The Nazis committed genocide, and Israel is still committing genocide in Gaza. The Nazis took over foreign territory that they believed was their right as being the superior race. Israel continues to expand its illegal settler colonialism project in the West Bank by continuing to displace thousands of Palestinians, thinking they are the rightful owners because of their race. This again shows a stark similarity between the policies that surround Israel and those of the Nazis. To compare the policies of the Nazis to those of Israel is not antisemitic; rather, it is the plain reality that Israel finds itself in.

£5.5 million wasted on a whitewash of Israel

After the high risks of the economic crisis facing the UK and Europe because of the tensions in the Middle East and the anti-Palestinian pro-Israel IHRA definition being seen as something to enforce in UK schools and universities, It is really unjust and naive for the UK to use £5.5 million of taxpayer money to propagate such a narrative in this current climate. The protests for Palestine have been some of the largest in the history of the United Kingdom, and the support and sympathy for the Palestinian cause are only growing. It is without question that the UK government sees and fears this growth of pro-Palestinian sentiment, especially amongst the younger generation. To try to counteract this large wave will be extremely difficult and likely impossible. The £5.5 million to be spent will only be vital money that will be wasted.