Antisemitism reviewer David Bell said Muslim schools could threaten UK's 'coherence'

The lead reviewer into antisemitism in British schools has previously been accused of singling out Muslim schools by suggesting they could potentially threaten Britain's coherence as a nation, it has emerged. Sir David Bell, who led the antisemitism review published this week, made the remarks in 2005 when he was the head of Ofsted, Britain's schools regulator. He called on Muslim schools to reform their curriculums to allow pupils to "acquire an appreciation of and respect for other cultures in a way that promotes tolerance and harmony".

"I worry that many young people are being educated in faith-based schools, with little appreciation of their wider responsibilities and obligations to British society," Bell said during a lecture on citizenship education, warning that religious segregation in schooling "must not put our coherence at risk". He argued that pupils must be made "aware of the political institutions in society, of being part of a democracy, of other faiths. In some of the Muslim schools that is not happening to a sufficient degree."

New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Bell said: "This growth in faith schools needs to be carefully but sensitively monitored by government to ensure that pupils receive an understanding of not only their own faith but of other faiths and the wider tenets of British society." He added: "We must not allow our recognition of diversity to become apathy in the face of any challenge to our coherence as a nation."

Bell was widely criticised for the remarks, including by senior colleagues. Christopher Schenk, who was an inspector of independent faith schools, disputed the idea that Muslim schools did not promote tolerance and harmony. He said after Bell's speech that Muslim headteachers argued "that tolerance and harmony are Islamic virtues and they want their pupils to appreciate and respect other cultures". "As I inspect Muslim schools I meet headteachers and trustees who talk about the need to educate the next generation of good British Muslims so that they can play a full part in the life of their country," said Schenk. 'Highly irresponsible' Meanwhile Iqbal Sacranie, then the secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said : "With only 3 percent of Muslim children attending Muslim faith schools, it is astonishing that they have been singled out in this way, especially when considering the fact that state-funded Muslim schools and many independents are now outperforming the state sector."

Sacranie criticised Bell's remarks, saying "we consider it highly irresponsible to suggest that the growth of Muslim faith schools poses a threat to 'our coherence as a nation'. "The issue around schools not adequately fulfilling their responsibility in preparing children for 'their wider responsibility and obligations' is a generic issue affecting all poorly resourced schools." Dr Mohamed Mukadam, then the chairman of the Association of Muslim Schools, said : "I think it's a misconception of Islamic schools and a further example of Islamophobia.

For a person in his position to make such a generalised comment just beggars belief." UK antisemitism report questioned as 'three in five' student claim and other findings fall apart Read More » He added: "If you look at the statistics of those young people who come to British Muslim schools and compare them to state schools you will find a far higher proportion of them are going on to further and higher education to fulfil their role fully towards society."

The Ofsted report which followed Bell's remarks accused 18 out of 50 Muslim schools inspected by the agency of failing to teach tolerance, along with 17 out of 40 evangelical Christian schools - a higher proportion than that of Muslim schools. Middle East Eye has contacted Bell for comment. The Labour government said this week that it will encourage schools to adopt the widely criticised International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, on the recommendation of Bell's review into antisemitism in schools.

Bell has previously been named as sitting on the National Council of the Academic Study Group on Israel and the Middle East, which has opposed the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. Earlier this week Bell said: "My report was on antisemitism and not Israel and the Middle East. "While I might have been named as being on the National Council of the Academic Study Group on Israel and the Middle East, I have never carried out any work on its behalf, attended any meetings of the group, or been consulted on any issues relating to it."

Controversy over new report Bell's report says that "a significant proportion of Jewish children are educated in Jewish schools", adding: "In the 1970s an estimated 20 percent of all school-aged Jewish children attended Jewish schools and this has risen to nearly 70 percent." It says that "almost three in five (59 percent) who identify as Jewish" reported "having experienced antisemitism", leading to headlines in the media that "three in five Jewish pupils" experience antisemitism at school.

An analysis of the report itself indicates that statistic is based on a survey of 16- to 18-year-olds, including 92 Jewish students. The report says: "It is important to note the data collected is not representative of all school and college students and a low sample size of 92 students who identify as Jewish should be treated with caution. "Nevertheless, the conclusions still provide a valuable insight into students’ experience of antisemitism."

The annex further notes: "These results are not representative of the entire student population as a significant number within this age group have not applied to study at university or college." Hundreds to risk arrest at 'mass actions' targeting US embassies over Palestine Action ban Read More » Of the 92 Jewish students, 70 responded to a question about whether they have personally experienced or witnessed antisemitism. Twenty-nine Jewish students said they had experienced antisemitism, which equalled 41 percent of the Jewish respondents, not three in five, which would be 60 percent.

The review calls on schools to recognise antisemitism as a distinct category of harm. The government said it would accept the review’s findings in full. But Bell's review has been criticised by the National Education Union, whose general secretary, Daniel Kebede, said : "Recommending the IHRA definition risks tightening the chilling grip already stifling classroom discussion of the Gaza genocide . "Schools need practical support to confront antisemitism, not a contested framework that risks shutting down legitimate discussion."

The IHRA definition of antisemitism was originally formulated in 2004 as a non-legally-binding tool to assist in monitoring antisemitism. Examples appended to it include "claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour", which critics say blurs the line between antisemitism and political criticism of Israel. Its lead author, Kenneth Stern , has warned against its use as a disciplinary or legal instrument, arguing that it may risk restricting legitimate political expression.

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