Chamber and committees

John Mitchell submission of 23 September 2021

PE1879/F - Provide an accessible and professionally developed learning and teaching resource on Israel and Palestine

I wish to convey my opinion for the reinstatement of the Israel/Palestine Teaching and Learning Resource on to the GLOW website were teachers can access a quality assured (by Education Scotland) teaching resource for Scotland's pupils.

John Swinney's decision to withdraw the resource from GLOW was based upon a lack of 'consensus' between the stakeholder groups. Out of the four stakeholder groups only one - the Jewish/pro-Israel group objected claiming that the resource was partial and should be totally withdrawn.

It is my understanding that every stakeholder was given the opportunity to submit additions to the resource which reflected their historical perspective including the Jewish/pro-Israel group which would have made the resource more 'impartial' but they declined (with the exception of Scottish Jews for a Just Peace).

Education Scotland said, 'The resources have now been through several iterations and Education Scotland considers that they are able to provide learners with a balanced but sensitive learning experience'

I believe that the decision to withdraw the resource from GLOW was not an educational one but a political one. Will education in Scotland have to go through a political debate amongst lobby groups before it attains legitimacy and acceptance? That is why an objective approach is crucial and if we don't have one, teachers will inevitably be forced to search the internet taking them back to the imbroglio of the school in North Lanarkshire.

This historical issue goes back over 100 years and is still as controversial today as it was back then. It is my view that Britain was fundamentally responsible for this ongoing catastrophe and in particular a Scot by the name of Arthur James Balfour.

Scottish pupils should know about this.