SCOTTISH teachers and academics have accused Israel of “educide” as they called on colleagues “to speak out against Israel’s systematic targeting of education infrastructure in Palestine”.
Calling themselves Educators for Peace, the group have made a YouTube video charging Israel of “killing learning” by bombing schools and universities and killing pupils and teachers.
In the video, a number of Scottish educators read from a shared script outlining accusations of Israeli attacks including three instances of people being killed by strikes on schools.
The group said: “A new international crime – educide, the killing of learning – is being committed against Palestinians by Israel in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, causing generational damage to Palestinian society.
“Since November 6, 2023 no child in Gaza has been able to attend school because of Israel’s indiscriminate bombing of the territory.
“More than 625,000 students are out of school. At least 346 schools in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed or damaged, 90% of Palestinian Authority schools have been subject to direct or indirect damage. 29% of school buildings are out of service after being demolished or severely damaged. 133 schools are being used as shelters for internally displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
READ MORE: Israel rejects Hamas ceasefire demands and vows to fight until 'absolute victory'
“These schools are sheltering far more than their capacity as 1.9m people have been displaced. Israel has attacked multiple Unrwa schools that are serving as shelters at the moment.
“In November 23, Israeli forces attacked the Unrwa-run Al-Fakhoora school, killing at least 15 people. A week after that, at least 25 people were killed in Al-Buraq School and in December 2023, several were killed in Shadia Abu Ghazala school."
The group said thousands of students had been killed and injured by Israel, as well as hundreds of teachers and administrators.
It also accused Israel of crippling Palestinian academia with strikes on lecturers and universities.
“Centres of higher education have also been targeted,” it added.
“Israel has systemically destroyed every university in Gaza: the Islamic University, Al-Azhar University and Israa University have been demolished by Israeli forces. The Israeli army has targeted and killed 94 university professors.
“The targeted academics studied and taught across a variety of disciplines and many of their ideas served as a cornerstone of academic research in the Gaza Strip’s universities. Before the war, Palestine had one of the highest literacy rates in the world.”
The video ends with a rallying call to others in the profession in Scotland: “We call on all our fellow educators in schools, colleges and universities across Scotland to speak out against Israel’s systematic targeting of education infrastructure in Palestine.”
It comes as Israel this week rejected Hamas's demands for a ceasefire.
The Palestinian militants wanted hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel – including senior militants – to be released in exchange for the hostages they captured on October 7.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would fight on until "absolute victory", adding: "There is no other solution."
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel