‘URGENT Motion 2 Palestine’ was carried at the Annual Conference of the National Education Union (NEU) in Harrogate on Tuesday.
It read:
‘Conference continues to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people. We support their right to self-determination and call for the end of the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.
‘Conference notes the increase in deaths of the Palestinian people in 2022, at 231. This is the highest number since the early 2000s. There have been at least 80 deaths so far this year.
‘Conference notes the election in Israel of an extreme far-right government described by many as the most ultra-nationalist, racist and homophobic in Israel’s history. This will have a devastating impact on the Palestinians in the West Bank.
‘Conference condemns the new policy paper signed by the UK and the Israeli governments which barely mentions the Palestinians.
‘Conference condemns the attacks by settlers on the town of Huwara on 26 February 2023 where homes and cars were burned.
‘Conference notes the International Criminal Court is examining acts carried out by the Israeli military.
‘Conference believes the Israeli Military at the behest of the government of Israel are carrying out actions which are in contravention of the Geneva convention – the destruction of homes (Huwara), of schools, (Masafer Yatta), the transfer of Palestinian children to Israeli prisons outside the West Bank.
‘Conference further believes the present Israeli government has adopted policies which are set to expand the settlements, take the lands of Palestinians and further notes that members of the Israeli Cabinet have openly expressed views supporting what the Israeli Daily Newspaper Haaretz has called “pogroms” against the Palestinian people.
‘Conference is completely opposed to all forms of racism, including anti-Palestinian racism, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.
‘We salute those young Israelis who have refused to serve in the army of occupation. We also note the significance of the mass movement which has led to calls for a general strike forcing Netanyahu’s government to currently freeze plans to reform the judiciary.
‘On the 75th anniversary of the Nakhba when over 750,000 Palestinians were driven from their homes and lands, we call for the recognition of the rights of the Palestinians by the Israeli government and by the British government and call for immediate steps to ensure those rights are put into practice.
‘Conference opposes any comparisons between the Holocaust and the events taking place in the land of historic Palestine.
‘Conference is committed to opposing all forms of anti-Semitism and believe the injustices suffered by the Palestinians are distinct and merit redress on economic, political and moral grounds.
‘Conference’s solidarity is with the Palestinian people, with Palestinian teacher colleagues and the children they teach.’
Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: ‘The discussion about the rights of the Palestinian people today comes in response to the Israeli government’s decisions to expand the settlements and the increase in deaths of Palestinian people, with 230 lives lost since the start of 2023. The number of Palestinian deaths is the highest since 2005.
‘The NEU recommits to working with teacher trade unionists in Palestine, and to supporting the right of Palestinian children to safety and to education. The Union believes the government should uphold the rights of the Palestinian people, as required by international law.
‘The International Criminal Court is examining acts carried out by the Israeli military and the union is seeking to raise awareness of the destruction of homes and schools and the intolerable conditions created by the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.
‘The union places great importance on being clear on how to assert the rights of the Palestinians using values, principles and language which are not anti-Semitic.
‘It is essential that the actions and the national decisions of the Israeli government are challenged in ways which never draw on anti-Semitic tropes or anti-Jewish prejudice.
‘The union recommits itself today to working to raise awareness and tackle different forms of racism, including Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.
‘Racism manifests in different ways but people can come together to learn about the historic roots to racism, including anti-Semitism, in order to understand contemporary forms of prejudice.’
Meanwhile, UM1 Teachers’ Pay Campaign engage, pressure, strike motion was also carried.
It read:
‘Conference notes:
‘1 The strong support for the initial pattern of strike days in our pay campaign for state-school teachers in England and Wales, not only amongst members but also parents and the wider public.
‘2 That our campaign forced the government to come to the table, negotiate with us, alongside sister unions, and make a new pay offer.
‘3 The executive decisions to:
‘(I). Reject the new pay offer and, if members vote to endorse the executive recommendation, give notice of two further days of strike action to employers as soon as practicable, and for those days to be Thursday 27 April and Tuesday 2 May.
‘(II). Draw up plans for strike day activities on those days in the areas most politically sensitive for the government.
‘(III). Advise members on dispensation discussions with headteachers for year 11 and 13 revision activities.
‘4 That it is vital we plan a programme of escalating strike action, political lobbying and community campaigning that can bring the maximum social weight to bear on the government throughout the summer term, and beyond. Escalation would either involve a greater number of consecutive days than previously or more frequent strikes …
‘Timetable in a 3 day strike in late June/early July to be confirmed by the executive on 18 May …’
Kevin Courtney said: ‘Real-terms pay cuts over the past 13 years have seen the value of teachers’ salaries drop compared to other graduate professions.
‘It is one of the factors driving the teacher recruitment and retention crisis in our schools with a third of teachers leaving the profession within five years of qualifying and schools and colleges struggling to fill vacancies …
‘Parents and the education profession will be in no doubt that if further industrial action needs to be taken the blame for this will lie squarely at the government’s door.’
