A nine-year-old Jewish pupil at a north London state primary school says his teacher told him Jews were to blame for the October 7 massacre, the JC can reveal.
The appalled family reacted asking for antisemitism training to be given but claimed they were told that staff “can’t be forced into politics”.
The father, who wishes to remain anonymous, says after the incident earlier this year he felt “forced” to move his son, who is now at a Jewish school.
Jewish leaders have said the case highlights the importance of the government implementing recommendations from the upcoming report by Sir David Bell on antisemitism in education.
The boy had already experienced antisemitism aged eight at the school, after one pupil shouted “F**k Israel” at him and others had chanted “Free Palestine”.
A year later, the father told the boy about the attack by Hamas on festival-goers at Nova.
The following day, the child told his teacher about the conversation.
According to the son she replied: “Actually it's the opposite.”
The father told the JC: “His understanding was that she was saying the Jews attacked the Palestinians, but she was denying the criminality of what Hamas did on that day – she was saying that it was deserved because they were ‘freedom fighters’.”
He immediately set up a meeting with the deputy headteacher who took notes and said the matter would be addressed with the teacher in question.
The father said he has heard nothing back from the school, despite calling the office for an update and sending a follow-up email.
An email seen by the JC followed up the concerns raised a week earlier and asked for an update on the school's review of the matter and any actions that had resulted from it before the end of term.
The father also asked if the school was considering providing training to help staff understand antisemitism and address it appropriately within the school community.
He offered to suggest organisations that could support the school in delivering such training.
The father suggested to the deputy head that his son’s teacher attend the Nova exhibition running in London at the time so she could understand what happened on October 7.
He recalled the teacher saying: “‘We can't force the staff into politics.’ I replied, ‘This is not politics. This is an event now marked in history. Innocent people have been murdered.’”
As a last resort, on the last day of term he brought up the subject with the headteacher but was told they had “nothing to do with it” and that the deputy head would get back to him.
The father said: “As a parent I was devastated. We felt forced to move our son out of his school, and were desperate.”
Last year, when his son was eight years old, he had also experienced hate from classmates when he praised the Israeli singer in the Eurovision Song Contest at school.
“Right away, one of his peers shouted 'f*** Israel' in his face. And then two other friends started chanting 'Free Palestine’."
The family sought a Jewish school and received a place for the boy in time for the new academic year, and weeks into term he is beginning to thrive.
The father said: “Coming back to school hasn’t been easy since last year deeply damaged him emotionally. He hasn’t come back from it but the new school is giving him what he needs to regain trust in others and in himself.
“Every day at pick-up, we see him with a smile on his face, chatty and energised from his day. He seems to be rebuilding the self confidence that he totally lost.”
He added: “I could never again send him to a non-Jewish school. That's finished. I lost all my trust.”
The French-born father recalled in 1940 his grandfather took his mother out of school because of antisemitism under the Vichy government.
He said: “I can't shake this feeling that I'm here now with my nine-year-old son – I've got to take him out of his school in England because of antisemitism in 2026. Things have deteriorated so badly that we experience antisemitism even in primary school.”
A JLC spokesperson said such incidents highlighted the urgent need for Sir David Bell – who was commissioned last year by the Department for Education to review antisemitism in schools and colleges – to publish his findings.
A spokesperson for CST said: “Schools should be places where children can learn, thrive and feel safe, free from bullying, harassment or political intimidation. It is deeply concerning that some Jewish pupils encounter hostility because of their identity or religion.
“Teachers should be trusted to educate children, not to introduce extremist ideas into the classroom.” We urge any family that experiences antisemitic behaviour in a school setting to report it to the school, the police and CST.”
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