School administration prevented 8-year-old student from attending for refusing to remove Palestinian flag sewn into his coat (social media)
Parents of a school in the east of the British capital, London, organized a sit-in on Thursday, December 21, 2023, to protest against the fact that children are not allowed to show any signs of solidarity with the events in Palestine inside the school.
A teddy bear dispute was at Barclay Elementary School in Lytton after students attended Mufti's Day to raise money for children in need, wearing the red, green, white and black colors of the Palestinian flag, which the school deemed contrary to instructions.
The protest also follows the school's decision to ban an 8-year-old student from attending since November 23 for refusing to remove the Palestinian flag sewn into his coat.
The rift between teachers and parents escalated further after a letter was sent to parents last month "threatening" them to be referred to a counter-terrorism programme.
The letter, which the school said was sent to "eight families" on November 17, warned parents that their children's clothing could be considered "offensive" to other students and violated the academy's code of conduct.
The letter also warned that "inappropriate comments made or shown at school, including extremist or divisive comments, can lead to formal meetings with the school, or referral to the prevention team or hate crimes team."
BREAKING: Parents are protesting outside London's Barclay Primary School amid a row with Muslim parents over alleged anti-Palestine censorship. pic.twitter.com/32E8XEV74K
— 5Pillars (@5Pillarsuk) December 21, 2023
According to the British newspaper "Daily Mail", "the primary school was forced to close early on the occasion of Christmas after a number of its employees received threats on social media," without clarifying the nature of these threats.
Video footage showed parents gathering outside the school campus carrying pro-Palestinian banners, chanting "Education is under attack".
"The school was putting a huge Ukrainian flag abroad and promoted the fact that they support Ukraine. We had a situation today where Israel attacks Gaza. "Why don't they allow an eight-year-old to wear the emblem of his homeland and heritage?"
Since the outbreak of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, students in British schools have organized solidarity events with the children and schoolchildren of Gaza who have been killed as a result of the Israeli aggression.
On November 2023, <>, dozens of students in Bristol participated in a demonstration inside College Green School in support of the Palestinian cause, raising awareness of the massacres and Israeli aggression facing Palestinians, and calling for a ceasefire.
Students also hung badges the color of the Palestinian flag on the walls of Bristol City Council to pressure council members to support and publicize the cause and solidarity with the Palestinians.
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On 16 November 2023, the student march roamed the streets of Tower Hamlets in central London, waving Palestinian flags, demanding a ceasefire and saving civilians, and hundreds of children chanting "Free Palestine".
Schoolchildren in several parts of Britain, including students at London's Goldsmith School, were refrained from entering classrooms, where they gathered outside the school calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Since October 7, the Israeli occupation army has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, which has left 20,52 martyrs and 600,<> wounded, most of them children and women, as well as massive destruction of infrastructure and an unprecedented humanitarian disaster, according to the Gaza Strip authorities and the United Nations.
Source : Al Jazeera + British Press + Social Media