Hounslow council’s decision last week to cancel an educational display on Jewish life is surprising, especially as it deprives local schools of a valuable teaching resource at a critical time.
The Jewish Living Experience exhibition has been run successfully by the Board of Deputies of British Jews for many years.
Quite how necessary this kind of provision is at the moment can be illustrated by a recent school session run by Jewish Museum London’s learning team, when they were asked: “Why do people hate Jews?”
Dedicated sessions with schools are essential, not least in order to work with children away from their phones
There are two especially worrying aspects to this question: it is in the present tense; and it suggests that hatred of Jews is a general fact — for this child, it is not even “some people” but “people” who hate Jews. Rising antisemitism in schools is well documented. The latest data from the Community Service Trust, which monitors antisemitic incidents, show a huge increase: 126 incidents in 61 days since October 7, compared with 94 for the whole of last year.
Since Hamas’s invasion of Israel and Israel’s military retaliation, the Government committed £7 million in the Autumn Statement to tackle antisemitism in schools and universities. How should this work be delivered?
Dedicated sessions with schools are essential, not least in order to work with children away from their phones, where algorithms make it likely they will encounter antisemitism on social media.
It is often said that people may forget what you tell them, but they will always remember how you make them feel. It is essential to help schools offer a positive experience of Judaism and Jewish culture.
At Jewish Museum London we are entrusted with the national designated collection of Judaica, and with generations of material history detailing the lives of Jews in Britain.
These assets are crucial to avoid Jews being seen as misunderstood stereotypes. It is indeed vital that schools “should teach about contemporary antisemitism”. There are many ways to tackle it in schools, and we need all of them.
