Teaching unions criticise education minister’s trip to Israel

The body representing Northern Ireland’s main teaching unions has criticized the Education Minister for his visit to Israel, amid international condemnation of his actions in Gaza.

Paul Givan is among a group of Unionist politicians who are on a six-day tour of Israel that the minister has described as a “fact-finding mission”.

The Northern Ireland Teachers’ Council (NITC) said it was “deeply troubling” that it accepted an invitation to a state accused of genocide – a claim Israel denies.

The Department of Education said Givan had been “invited by the Israeli government to participate in an official visit as part of a delegation of representatives from Northern Ireland”.

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician shared photos from his tour, which included a visit to the National Holocaust Memorial Center and meetings with Israeli victims of Hamas attacks.

According to another member of the Northern Ireland delegation, their group also received “briefings” from the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

The NITC condemned Givan’s decision to accept the Israeli embassy’s invitation “at a time when senior officials of this state are accused of war crimes.”

He asked her to explain her actions and further criticized the Department of Education at Stormont for “promoting” her visit on the department’s online platforms.

The department publicized Givan’s visit to Jerusalem’s Ofek School on its official website and social media accounts.

He confirmed that Givan met with staff and students at the school “as well as representatives of the Israeli Ministry of Education.”

The NITC said Givan made the tour “in the context of what has been recognized by the UN as genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people in Gaza.”

He added that his decision to document the trip on his department’s platforms was an “overtly political and divisive act that diminished confidence in his judgment.”

The NITC argued that the Northern Ireland Government’s official online platforms “should be politically neutral” and called for these elements to be removed.

Asked to respond to the NITC, the ministry said its minister “decided to take the opportunity to visit Ofek School to learn more about the approach they take to supporting diverse learners in a high-achieving environment”.

“After his visit to Ofek School, the Minister of Education requested that the educational visit be highlighted on the department’s social networks,” the department added.

However, Mark McTaggart of the Irish National Teachers’ Organization (INTO) said it was “difficult to understand, let alone justify, that an education minister would accept this invitation”.

“Negative reaction” towards Ireland

The delegation taking part in the Israel tour also includes Givan’s DUP colleague Sammy Wilson; Steve Aiken of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and Ron McDowell of the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) party.

Wilson also posted several photos from his visit, including one of him in front of the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

During a trip to Jerusalem, he praised the city’s residents for “refusing to give in to terrorist threats aimed at disrupting their lives.”

The DUP MP said the Northern Ireland delegation had learned “not to say we are from NI”.

“The mention of the word Ireland immediately caused a negative reaction,” he said, adding that his hosts “cannot do business with Ireland.”

Aiken said they had been briefed by the Israeli Foreign Ministry and said it was “good to have as broad an understanding as possible of the complexities of the conflict.”

“Far too often the ‘narrative’ is skewed in one direction,” the UUP politician said.

“Guest of the Israeli government”

McDowell, the TUV adviser, said the delegation was seeking ties with “the only Jewish state in the world and the only democracy in the Middle East.”

He added for his part that he had been “frank and transparent in saying that I had been invited by the Israeli Embassy in London to visit the country as a guest of their government.”

The TUV representative posted photos of the delegation’s visit to “a school for gifted young people”, adding that their classroom was “a bomb shelter”.

He also shared a photo of him and Givan spinning plates with students.

McDowell said the delegation then spent the evening “meeting with researchers and media analysts who challenge fake news spread by organizations like the BBC.”

The current military campaign in Gaza began following a Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 others kidnapped.

Israel responded by launching ground and air strikes that have killed 68,500 people so far, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.

Last month, the world’s leading association of genocide experts declared that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza.

At the time, the UN and some Western countries said they would consider as authoritative only a court ruling that a genocide was taking place.

The NITC is an umbrella organization representing the Ulster Teachers’ Union (UTU); Irish National Teachers’ Organization (INTO); National Association of School Teachers and Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT); National Association of School Principals (NAHT) and National Education Union (NEA).

BBC News NI has also asked the DUP for a response to the questions raised by the NITC.