Jewish MP barred from visiting primary school 'in case his presence inflames teachers', minister reveals

Reed then gave a specific example of a Jewish MP who had been barred by teachers from visiting a local primary school in their local patch.

“I have a colleague who is Jewish, who has been banned from visiting a school – refused permission to visit a school in his own constituency – in case his presence inflames the teachers. It’s an absolute outrage that that could have possibly ever happened.”

The communities secretary went on to say that those responsible would be “called in and they will be held to account for doing that”, adding “because you cannot have people with those kind of attitudes teaching our children”.

Concern about education is something Jewish residents in his south London constituency of Streatham and Croydon North have personally raised with him.

“Two Jewish mums came to see me at my advice surgery, to tell me that there had been a cultural day at their children's school where they were given biscuits in the shape of Israel and then iced them with the flag of Palestine.”

He said that he thought this constituted a case of “teaching children things that are antisemitic” and said that it was incumbent upon the government “to understand where this is coming from and root it out right at the source.”

Reed also expressed his frustration at the lack of action from law enforcement against what he thought was harassment from protestors against him and his family.

“The police didn't even come when we called the police. I had my neighbours out there shouting at them because they were scaring their children. I had a member of my family vomiting down the toilet in fear.

“Even though I was able to give the names of two of those individuals to the police, nobody was ever prosecuted for it. The person that organised the incident is a teacher trainer.”

Addressing the crowd at JLM, Reed said: “There are real problems. You know that more than me.”

Turning his attention to the pro-Palestine protests outside Israeli restaurant Miznon on Friday, he said it was horrific that anybody would think that “that was a way that they could behave in this country”, adding: “Blatant, outright racism is what it is.”

Reed went on to say that he thought the government would “ensure that there is absolute clarity and consistency against these kind of incidents wherever they arise, whether it's the language imagery or placards that are on marches, or whether it's behaviours outside businesses.”

Describing an incident where a company said it “wasn’t comfortable” working with publisher Jewish News, he said it reminded him “of 1930s Germany, not Britain in the 2020s: “We have to call this stuff out. We have to have consistency, and we have to be prepared to change the law when it happens. Otherwise, we are legitimising this at the fringes, and that's where it grows from.”

In his introductory remarks, Reed lamented the state of antisemitism in the UK.

He told members at the conference: “British Jews have told me that antisemitism has become normalised. But it's not normal that Jewish schools are surrounded by barbed wire. It's not normal that Jewish community centres require guards and bag checks and security barriers. It's not normal that congregations are advised to disperse quickly after synagogue. No other community in this country faces this, and neither should our Jewish community..

Reed continued: “Our Labour government stands with you and with all British Jews to condemn this poisonous hatred utterly … I know and our prime minister knows that words are no substitute for action, so we will act to root out antisemitism wherever it festers and confronts this twisted extremism so we can defend the Jewish way of life.”

During his session, chaired by JN’s Justin Cohen, the communities secretary also criticised local councils for spending time debating motions calling for a boycott of Israel: “Councils don't have foreign policy. They don't need foreign policy. They need to be looking at how they're caring for older people, fixing the pot holes in the road and getting fly tipping off the corner of the streets where people live” and attacked the Green Party for promoting such motions.”