UK government facing legal challenge over IHRA antisemitism definition in schools

The British government is being challenged legally over its recommendation for schools to adopt the contested IHRA definition of antisemitism. The Good Law Project launched a legal challenge against the government on Monday. The group’s executive director Jo Maugham told Middle East Eye he was worried that “rules which conflate criticism of Israel with antisemitism… could be among the drivers of antisemitism”. “Antisemitism and the rise of antisemitism in Britain and around the world are very real things, and I want to say to British Jews who are at the sharp end, I hear your pain,” Maugham said.

“But I also worry - and it's a point I've made many times - that rules which conflate criticism of Israel with antisemitism, and that unjustifiably constrain the freedom properly and vigorously to criticise Israel, could be amongst the drivers of antisemitism.” The UK Department of Education’s move to encourage schools to adopt the IHRA definition follows the recommendation made in British education official and academic David Bell's recently published report on antisemitism in the country's schools and colleges.

New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The Bell report has been questioned for misrepresenting its findings, equating criticism of Israel with antisemitism, and surveying small numbers of students from a narrow age bracket. The controversy surrounding the IHRA’s working definition of antisemitism, which was originally formulated in 2004 as a non-legally binding tool to assist in monitoring antisemitism, comes mainly from the fact that seven of its 11 “illustrations” of antisemitism include references to Israel. 'Jewish pupils should be safe at school, and antisemitism has to be taken seriously.

The IHRA definition doesn’t do that job' - Na'amod The definition’s lead author, Kenneth Stern, has warned against its use as a disciplinary or legal instrument, arguing that it may risk restricting legitimate political expression. In 2018, leading human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson issued a legal opinion stating that the definition is “likely in practice to chill free speech” by encouraging complaints against legitimate criticism of Israel.

The British Jewish group Na’amod , which also opposes the imposition of the IHRA definition, told MEE: “Jewish pupils should be safe at school, and antisemitism has to be taken seriously. The IHRA definition doesn’t do that job.” “Its examples run criticism of Israel together with hatred of Jews, and in universities it has overwhelmingly been used to censor speech about Israel rather than to protect Jews,” a spokesperson for the group added.

“In schools, that leaves teachers policing children who talk about Gaza or the Nakba, instead of tackling real anti-Jewish racism. It also fails Jewish pupils, many of whom don’t tie their Jewishness to support for the Israeli state.” The Bell review The IHRA definition has been formally adopted by 47 countries. Its adoption in British schools was one of 27 recommendations made in the Bell review. Following its publication on 21 October, it was widely reported that “three in five” Jewish students had experienced antisemitism in English schools.

This figure came from a survey of 5,000 students, 92 of whom were Jews aged, between 16 and 18. Seventy of those students responded to a question about whether they had personally experienced or witnessed antisemitism, with 29 of them - 41 percent, or around “two in five” rather than “three in five” - saying they had. UK antisemitism report found increase in 'anti-Israel' sentiment, not 'anti-Jewish' attitudes Read More » The Bell review itself acknowledged that this was a “low sample size” and should be “treated with caution”.

It also found that “anti-Jewish attitudes are typically less prevalent and have remained more stable, whereas anti-Israel sentiments are more prevalent and have been increasing”. Middle East Eye asked the UK Department for Education about its plans to adopt the IHRA definition and about whether it had considered the warnings - including from the definition’s lead author - about the “chilling effect” the definition can have on pro- Palestinian expression and criticism of Israel.

“Antisemitism is a growing problem across society, including in our schools and colleges, and Jewish children and staff should never face hatred or prejudice in education,” a Department for Education spokesperson said in response. “That is why we have accepted all 27 of Sir David Bell’s recommendations and are acting on them, including encouraging schools and colleges to adopt the IHRA working definition of antisemitism. “The IHRA definition has been adopted by 47 countries and countless public bodies and can provide a practical framework for teachers and pupils, and help give greater clarity on how to identify and tackle antisemitism wherever it occurs.” 'Consistency is what we want' Bell’s review recommends separate measures for tackling anti-Jewish hatred, distinct from existing anti-racism and anti-bullying policies.

The National Education Union has criticised the move, warning it risks “creating a hierarchy of racism”. The Good Law Project and Na’amod both told MEE that the British government should be consistent in how it deals with racism and not apply special treatment to antisemitism. 'It is not merely important to protect the space to advance vigorous criticisms of Israel’s appalling actions. We think it is necessary in a moral society' - Jo Maugham, Good Law Project “What we really want is for government to be consistent in how it tackles hate speech,” Maugham said.

“The rules that apply to one minoritised group should also be the rules that are applied to other minoritised groups… Consistency is what we want.” “Antisemitism should not be taught as exceptional,” the spokesperson for Na’amod said. “It should be taught alongside racism and Islamophobia, because these struggles are bound together and the people who fight one are the natural allies of those who fight the others. “Treating antisemitism as a special case with its own rulebook prevents that learning and sets Jewish safety apart from everyone else’s.”

Gary Spedding , a cross-party political consultant on Israel-Palestine, told MEE he thought Bell’s review was “sloppy, misleading and inaccurate”, and that it was part of a “systemic, legal and institutional dismantling of any support for Palestine, or any education and discussion about Palestinian history and existence within the UK education system”. Pro-Israel influence in British schools Over the past decade, the Department for Education and British government ministers have issued warnings to headteachers, teaching staff and local authorities over how Palestine is approached in schools.

These interventions have often come after lobbying from pro- Israel groups such as UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Community Security Trust (CST). 'Palestine is viewed as a partisan issue triggering school neutrality, but Zionism and Israel are not' - Gary Spedding, political consultant on Israel-Palestine In 2021, the BBC removed a seven-part series of educational videos about Palestine from its GCSE Bitesize platform - a free classroom resource for teachers - following pressure from UKLFI.

Former Conservative education secretaries Gavin Williamson and Gillian Keegan both formally instructed headteachers to ensure “political impartiality” when it came to discussions on Israel-Palestine in schools. “Palestine is viewed as a partisan issue triggering school neutrality, but Zionism and Israel are not,” Spedding told MEE. “Meanwhile, the activities of pro-Israel advocacy organisations, operating in and having access to UK schools, do not receive an equivalent level of UK government or institutional scrutiny,” he said.

A plethora of pro-Israel groups, including StandWithUs UK , United Jewish Israel Appeal and JNF UK provide educational resources, speakers and trips to Israel for British students and teachers. StandWithUs has said that it helps students “stand strong in the face of antisemitism and anti-Zionism”, while the JNF allows them to “explore Israel” and offers “workshops on Zionist history”. “Israel advocacy organisations try to argue their presence in the school system is necessary to counter rising antisemitism and anti-Zionism in schools,” Spedding said.

“But our educational unions have noted that the resulting imbalance leaves teachers highly anxious about covering topics related to Palestine, answering pupils’ questions and queries with regard to Palestine, and that traditional pro-Israel and Zionist viewpoints go largely unscrutinised by the UK government.” “It is not merely important to protect the space to advance vigorous criticisms of Israel’s appalling actions,” Maugham reiterated.

“We think it is necessary in a moral society.” Copyright © 2014 - 2026 . Middle East Eye. All rights reserved. Only England and Wales jurisdiction apply in all legal matters. Middle East Eye ISSN 2634-2456