Anti-Israel activist who vandalised Warsaw Ghetto now advising UK teachers over anti-Semitism

An anti-Israel journalist who has committed anti-Semitic hate crimes has been given access to influence British teachers to spread her anti-Israel agenda through the guise of tackling anti-Semitism. And the course she runs, “Understanding Antisemitism”, may in fact promote anti-Jewish sentiment by alleging racism within the Jewish community.

Ewa Jasiewicz, someone who Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has described as “a very good friend”, is a journalist and British anti-Israel activist who caused outrage in 2010 with her “desecration” of the site where an estimated 92,000 Jews were murdered and 300,000 more were held before being transported to death camps.

The activists sprayed ‘Liberate All Ghettos’ in Hebrew, followed by ‘Free Gaza and Palestine’ in English on a wall of an original block in the ghetto. The block is across the street from the last fragment of the remaining perimeter wall of the Ghetto. They also hung Palestinian flags from the wall.

Attempting to justify the vandalism in 2018, Jasiewicz said Israel had “co-opted” the Holocaust to serve “agendas of colonisation and repression”.

Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust museum, said Jasiewicz’s graffiti was “tainted with anti-Semitism”.

To highlight how controversial she is, the far-left activist group Momentum removed Jasiewicz from their events as a speaker after her actions made headlines in 2018.

It is therefore shocking that someone who has committed anti-Semitic crimes, and whose actions themselves could spread anti-Semitism, is now allowed access to the teachers of our children.

The Jewish News reported:

Jewish News can reveal that in her role as an organiser with the NEU North West Region, National Team, the 43 year-old has been behind three recent sessions called “Understanding Antisemitism”, held for members of the National Education Union (NEU).

Two Jewish NEU members said they were “absolutely sickened” by the decision of the union to allow a controversial figure such as Jasiewicz to organise antisemitism training sessions for members.

One told Jewish News: “This says everything about the NEU’s attitude towards its Jewish members.

“It’s no wonder hundreds of teachers and teaching staff have decided to quit the NEU in recent months.

“How is the wider membership meant to gain a proper understanding of what antisemitism actually is, when a woman like this is in charge of sessions aimed at teaching the truth about anti-Jewish racism.”

Ahead of workshop two, which took place on 20 May, Jasiewicz directed NEU members to “core reading” material produced by the controversial American group Jewish Voice For Peace which she said challenged “common Eurocentric understanding of antisemitism.”

The event was also scheduled to feature the accounts of “four prominent black British Jews discuss their experiences of racism in the Jewish community”.

The first workshop event the week before had featured speeches by Keziah Berelson and Eran Cohen.

Jasiewicz defended her involvement in this course saying : “The sessions on Understanding Antisemitism were commissioned and run by the North West Black Members Organising Forum which I as an NEU staff member support and provide the Zoom platform for and communication with members.

“The workshops were part of a series of anti-racist workshops that they have organised. The workshops themselves were devised and run by Eran Cohen and Keziah Berelson.”

This morning we have written to @MaryBoustedNEU and @cyclingkev, regarding the extremely disturbing story that an individual who sprayed “Free Gaza and Palestine” on a wall of the Warsaw Ghetto has been organising “Understanding Antisemitism” workshops for the @NEUnion pic.twitter.com/I3bfCCA1gb

— Board of Deputies of British Jews (@BoardofDeputies) June 9, 2021

President of the Board of Deputies, Marie van der Zyl, wrote to the joint general-secretaries of teachers’ union, criticising them for allowing Jasiewicz to organise sessions. Saying she is “profoundly disturbed” by the “simply grotesque” decision, she said many Jews consider her daubing on the Warsaw ghetto wall to have been “profoundly antisemitic”.

Van der Zyl urged the NEU to ensure antisemitism training in the future is “given by providers who are widely respected within the Jewish community, rather than people like Ms Jasiewicz and her associates. To do otherwise makes a total mockery of what is often referred to as “the oldest hatred”.”

The Board of Deputies president also called on NEU to ensure “this type of activity is not repeated” saying it “not only does it do a disservice to your members, it also tarnishes the NEU’s reputation.”