Saqib Bhatti MP is the Shadow Minister of State for Culture, Media and Sport and the MP for Meriden and Solihull East.
Ever since the horrific events of the 7 October, where 1200 people were brutally murdered by Hamas, antisemitism has been on the rise. On Monday, it was a huge privilege to address headteachers at a conference aimed at tackling hatred in our schools.
As Shadow Equalities Minister, I am clear that every single act of hatred on our streets is a damning stain on our society, but the fact that children also are also on the end of the attacks is unacceptable. We cannot let our classrooms become breeding grounds for anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim hatred.
The Community Security Trust found antisemitic incidents hit a record high in 2024. But last year in our schools, there were 63 incidents at Jewish schools, 88 relating to Jewish schoolchildren away from school, 109 targeting Jewish schoolchildren or staff at non-faith schools. An appealing 260 incidents in all.
Of course, it is not just antisemitic incidents that are on the rise. Tell Mama reported that anti-Muslim hate reached record highs in 2024. They found there were a shocking 6,313 cases of anti-Muslim hatred in 2024, up 43 per cent on the previous year.
Unfortunately, it’s impossible not to draw a correlation between ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the rise in anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim hatred. It is time the Government got serious about stamping out these vile attacks.
In my role as Shadow Minister for Equalities, I regularly read harrowing testimonies from people across the country about some of the appealing acts they experience. As a Member of Parliament, most of my colleagues and I have also been exposed to these iniquitous acts of hostility. But our overriding priority has to be first and foremost to protect our children.
Our schools should uphold British values. I am proud that Britain stands for democracy, liberty and tolerance, and it is essential young people learn this from day one. There is no place for politics in the classroom. Children should not be used as political pawns, no matter how much someone believes in a cause.
That’s why I have called on the Schools Minister, Catherine McKinnell MP, to do far more to ensure are schools do not become bastions of anti-Jewish hatred.
But Ministers alone can’t tackle this existential problem. Organisations like Ofsted must step up. It urgently needs to issue guidance for inspectors and enhanced reporting on antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate in our schools, beyond anything that is currently produced. There should be detailed reports on what incidents have occurred in schools, what plans have been put in place, what educational initiatives will be introduced to stamp out hatred.
It’s unacceptable that the biggest teaching union, the National Education Union, are seeking to bring the ‘Palestinian struggle’ into our classrooms. We all accept the war in the Middle East is catastrophic, but students should not be exposed to pro-Palestinian propaganda. Our children should be taught to think freely and use their own judgement on highly-complex and sensitive political issues.
We all know that Labour are at the mercy of their trade union paymasters, but the Schools Minister has an obligation to ensure that this doesn’t reach the classroom.
It’s essential we root-out the politicisation of our children’s education. This is essential if we are to make a more cohesive society. Critically, it’s essential if we are to stop harrowing racist incidents from taking place in our schools.
