Pro-Palestinian petition pushes Jewish teachers to quit the Independent Education Union

Angry Jewish teachers have resigned from the Independent Education Union after several union organisers signed a pro-Palestinian petition.

Principal Rabbi James Kennard from Mount Scopus Memorial College in Burwood, Melbourne. Picture: Stuart McEvoy

Angry Jewish teachers have resigned from the Independent Education Union after several union organisers signed a pro-Palestinian petition.

Rabbi James Kennard, the principal of Mount Scopus Memorial College in Melbourne, said some of his teachers had quit the union over a “deeply anti-­Semitic’’ petition.

He said the petition – signed by 16 IEU members – “demonises Israel and states that Jews are the cause of their own suffering’’.

“At these dark times, when the spectre of anti-Semitism is returning with a terrible vengeance, colleagues may wish to check carefully whether their own values align with that of the IEU,’’ he wrote in a memo to staff.

Rabbi Kennard said “many” staff had resigned from the IEU in protest after some union organisers had signed the petition, which was circulated by the NSW branch of the National Tertiary Education Union.

The names of 16 members of the IEU – which represents teachers in private and religious schools – are among the 350 pages of signatories from dozens of different unions.

They include three IEU organisers and an industrial officer.

The petition signed by “union members in solidarity with Palestine’’ states that the war ­between Israel and Hamas is a “direct result of Israel’s blockade and siege of Gaza, and of the apartheid and ethnic cleansing it maintains in the West Bank and within its own borders’’.

The petition makes no mention of the Hamas ­attacks on ­Israel on October 7, during which 1300 residents were killed and hundreds taken hostage.

Gemma Segal, a Year 2 ­teacher at Mount Scopus Memorial College, said she had ­resigned from the IEU after six years as a member, in disgust that union staff members had signed the petition. She said she felt a “visceral reaction’’ when she saw the petition.

“My heart started racing,’’ she said. “That educated people, who have a responsibility as teachers would sign this is so scary to me as a Jewish person, a teacher and a mother.’’

Ms Segal said it was “the last straw’’ for her that the IEU had refused to take action against employees who signed the petition.

“When you are a union employee I feel you need to be more careful,’’ she said. “I was really disappointed that members of the union I’m meant to be represented by have signed a petition I thought was dangerous, factually incorrect and extremely biased.

“I’m really disappointed by the lack of response by the union ­itself. A high proportion of teachers have resigned (from the union) due to the fact the union no longer represents our views and values.’’

IEU federal secretary Brad Hayes said the union had not ­endorsed the petition.

“The IEU represents teachers and support staff working across all faith-based schools,’’ he said. “The IEU is not affiliated to any political party and we don’t tell our members what to think or, and this is important, what to ­believe.

“We are a tolerant community of equals dedicated to respecting all faiths and instilling that ­respect in the children we teach.

“Like all members of the community, individual union members can choose to participate in a range of activities and hold a range of views.’’

Mr Hayes said he did not have data about how many teachers had resigned.