School students marching in support of Palestine

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https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/palestine-march-tower-hamlets-east-london-israel-gaza-b1120876.html
Why are schools allowing/enabling students to do this?
Is it part of what schools should do, promoting frankly one-sided protest? And what will they decide to march about next? Just imagine being a Jewish student in the middle of this.
I find it sinister.

Yes, people weren't happy about kids bunking off school then either...

You still don't understand that it DOESN'T MATTER that you agree with the thing being protested, it is not ok for political organisations to encourage kids to bunk off school for their benefit.

As I said, if you're not happy with every political organisation doing it, you shouldn't be happy with any.

It’s not ok for our government to support a genocide either. Missing a bit of school for an important cause shouldn’t worry a teacher unless you believe all the daily mail headlines.

Of course there should be a ceasefire. Anyone can demand a ceasefire. However a ceasefire can only be achieved by bringing both sides to the negotiating table.

The Stop the War Coalition are too closely associated (with reason) with anti semitism for them to do anything more than inflame the situation. (Even if Netanyahu were interested in listening to opinions on the U.K)

No, I meant, as I said, Israeli politicians doing so about Palestinians. As is well and widely documented in the press.

Ok, so you've now advertised your child as available for any important cause.

Just Stop Oil School Strike next?

My kid goes to protests I don't agree with 🤷🏻‍♀️ So long as they aren't actively harming anyone I think it's great that he forms his own beliefs and opinions and goes out there to protest about it. It's part of growing up. I'm not about forcing my own opinions on kids, they are free to make up their own mind. Obviously you disagree and you are entitled to.

He bunks off school to do this?

I would like unneccessary civilian deaths minimised as much as anyone but people quickly foget it was the Israeli's massacred on Oct 7th and the Isreali's who are currently held hostage in Gaza. Not to mention all the political players involved on both sides. So yes, deeply complex, whether you'd care to admit it or not.

Merrymouse I don’t think a ceasefire can be negotiated because Isreal has all the power, All Hamas has is the hostages who will not survive at this rate. The only thing that might bring about a ceasefire is political condemnation and sanctions. If Isreal withdraw there is an excellent chance of hostage release. I don’t think this will happen though so there is no hope for either the hostages or ordinary Palestinians.

Tbe problem is that Jeremy Corbyn, a key figure in Stop the War, can’t quite bring himself to call Hamas a terrorist organisation.

You don't seem to be aware that Hamas have promised to repeat the atrocities of 7th October as many times as they can.

"All Hamas has is the hostages" 🤦‍♀️

Were the schoolchildren also encouraged to chant "Hamas are a proscribed terrorist organisation"? If not, why not?

Of course you have to do research. You can know what apartheid is but to apply a concept to another country you have to research that country. Now, there is a country that practices gender & religious apartheid - that is Iran. Where are the protests?

Naive.

So hamas a terrorist organisation will just release the hostages 🤔...🙄ok Hamas be good boys now and release the hostages will you. Some may already be dead, tortured, etc.

He doesn't have to. I give him permission to go. He's a straight A, fastidious student, I trust that he will catch up on anything that he may have missed. Being engaged in certain causes is important to him so it's important to me to support him in that.

They have already released hostages though, in the past and recently. Unfortunately the current bombing campaign makes survival hard for anyone in the Gaza Strip plus no hospitals electricity or food.

This is “what aboutism” a deflection tactic that is typical of Israeli public diplomacy, previously known as propaganda. At the moment the Israeli government is carrying out a genocide.Analysts say that they have the resources to wipe out the entire population of Gaza but it will take time and what will run out first is the support from the US and UK due to pressure of public opinion.
One child in Gaza is killed every 10 minutes according to Reuters.These kids are working to push the clock of public opinion forward.

Honestly I think sadly most people have forgotten, simply because of the daily carnage to tens of thousands we are seeing every day. There are now more than 200 hostages that were taken from Al-Shifa yesterday. 6000 in administrative detention. The world is being woken up to the atrocities and terrorism from Israel that has spanned decades. The government have done neither the hostages nor the general population any favours. Quite the opposite really 😔

No school has organised this. Schools don't promote or endorse marching or other acts of civil disobedience for any cause. In this case, it would be a safeguarding matter.

The march is organised by organisers who may or not be students, and the details are circulated on socials. Children either bunk off school or attend with their parents' blessing, taking a day off.

DC's friends went the other week, just didn't go in to school in the morning.

I think external condemnation and sanctions coming from people who chant ‘from the river to the sea’ and talk about Israel as a ‘colonial power’ just increase Israel’s sense that their only option is to fight.

a prerequisite of influencing Israel’s behaviour is complete disassociation from people who question Israel’s right to exist.

The school has to authorise absences. A parent can no more authorise absence for a march than they can authorise absence for a holiday.

You might be right - but their reasoning would be that they had no other alternative. Heavily partisan organisations like Stop the War encourage that belief.

I've taken my dc out of school for holidays before, teacher says "have a lovely time!" and it's marked as an unauthorised absence. Nobody cares,its a box ticking activity.

I think that children marching against a genocide that has killed thousands of children in 5 weeks is fantastic. Bunking off is reasonable in these circumstances.

I take my children on these marches because I am against apartheid and genocide. My first march was protesting the Iraq invasion as a teenager in 2003. Nothing sinister about being against war and oppression and genocide and using your democratic right to demonstrate that.

no, i wouldnt consent for my child to be marching in support of bombing Gaza hospitals for example, because that would be inhumane and against international law of course, but i let my children take day off for climate change protest and I would be ok for my children to attend calls for ceasefire in war.
This doesnt mean i am ok with any old political protest, but i think that the right to protest in general is important