London school sparks outrage after hosting ‘fast for Gaza’ event: ‘It’s political indoctrination!’
A school’s decision to organise a ‘fast for Gaza’ fundraiser has sparked a fiery row, with one commentator labelling it an “astonishing piece of political indoctrination”.
Speaking to GB News, Angela Epstein expressed serious concerns about the initiative’s impact on students, while commentator Samuel Sweek claimed the Tower Hamlets event should be “applauded”.
Epstein criticised the school’s approach, questioning its duty of care towards pupils’ physical and mental wellbeing.
“A lot of children at this school are on free school meals, so asking them to desist from eating all day is completely anathema to looking after the children in your care,” Epstein said.
She argued that if the initiative was about expressing empathy, it should also address other aspects of the conflict.
“If this is about expressing empathy, then talk about the hostages as well, who will be starving, believe me, and who are in the most dire situation,” Epstein stated.
The commentator warned that such “extreme things breed extremism”.
In support of the decision, Sweek told GB News that as a Jewish father himself, educating school pupils on such a “polarising issue” should be “applauded”.
He explained: “As a Jewish father of two, I think it’s actually to be applauded that children do take an interest and take note of what is happening around the world.
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“This is what we are seeing by definition of people like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and others, a genocide unfolding before our eyes in Gaza, where 70 per cent of the victims of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza are women and children.”
Hitting back at Sweek, Epstein strongly advocated that schools should not be venues for complex political discussions.
“Schools are not bastions of high-level political discourse, which is extremely polarised in terms of the Israel-Gaza conflict,” she stated.
“The head teacher’s head should roll because of this,” she declared.
Offering her view as a parent, Epstein expressed her personal outrage at the situation.
“As a mother, never mind a Jewish mother, I would be absolutely outraged if my children were at this school,” she told GB News.
“And like I say, the headmaster or headmistress should either be dismissed or suspended if they allow it to go ahead.”
In a statement, George Green’s School Principal Jon Ryder told GB News: “The Fast has been organised in response to student voices on this issue and it follows on from a similar event we ran a year ago which raised several thousand pounds.
“The event was entirely voluntary and was well-supported by members of the school community, including students, parents and staff.”