London school declares ‘fast day for Gaza’

A Jewish parent said that the school erected a Palestinian flag not long after the massacre of Israelis on October 7.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

A London secondary school is promoting a fast day for Gaza, The Jewish Chronicle reported.

The George Green School in Tower Hamlets has requested that all students, many as young as 11, refrain from eating between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Friday.

A letter to parents said, “GGS staff and students are holding a ‘Collective Day Fast’ on Friday, December 13, in aid of UNICEF’s [The United Nations Children’s Fund] Gaza Appeal for Children in Crisis.

“We are asking students to sign up for the fast and raise sponsorship. We are already halfway to our target of £2500 but need your support.”

About half of the students at the East London school are below the poverty line, and many qualify for the free school lunch program.

One Jewish parent who has told her daughter to hide her Jewish identity at the school for safety reasons said that the presence of Jews at the educational institution is considered “subversive.”

“The school organizing something like this causes a sense of shame for the [Jewish] kids. The school has a point of view, and it is against Jewish students,” the parent said.

“The school has decided who is good and who is bad. Judaism has been portrayed as bad. No one is going to go out and announce [they are Jewish] at that school.”

The parent also said that the school erected a Palestinian flag not long after the massacre of Israelis on October 7, 2023.

In addition, she described incidents of antisemitic vandalism, such as swastikas on the stairwell.

Although the school insists that the fast is voluntary, the Jewish parent said there is nonetheless a “stigma” against those who do not participate. “It puts the onus on the young person at the age where they least want to stand out.”

The school’s principal, John Ryder, said a similar event a year ago raised several thousand pounds.