British NGO threatens lawsuit over UK policy promoting IHRA antisemitism definition in schools

The British NGO, "The Good Law Project," has announced plans to sue the UK government for its policy encouraging schools and colleges to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism.

The UK government's policy followed an independent review of antisemitism in schools and colleges in England, led by Sir David Bell. Published on Oct. 21, the review recommended that educational institutions adopt the IHRA working definition of antisemitism, concluding that antisemitism is widespread and should be recognized as a distinct form of harm. The review also found that one in five students and faculty members had personally witnessed an overt antisemitic incident. Many, however, chose not to report it, citing a lack of confidence that the relevant authorities would take action.

The Good Law Project said that, following consultations with Palestinian parents and students, as well as academics, it decided to formally challenge the policy and seek clarification from the British government.

"Whether we sue depends on what the UK Government says, but if we do not sue we will share any surplus equally between the Magical Breakfast and Medical Aid for Palestinians," the NGO said in a statement.

The organization also said that schools have legal duties not to "promote partisan political views" and protect free speech, adding that in their view, "vigorous" criticisms of Israel’s "appalling actions" were "necessary in a moral society.”

"So, students whose family members have been killed by Israel’s destruction of large parts of Gaza will not be able to say Israel is a racist state or that its actions are reminiscent of the Shoah – the genocide carried out against Jews?" the statement added.

The Good Law Project's latest move follows other recent actions by the organization, including its strong support for the outlawed Palestine Action group, which is appealing its designation as a terrorist organization before Britain's Supreme Court this week.

The Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) and Community Security Trust (CST), the two main umbrella organizations representing and protecting British Jewry, are scheduled to present arguments before the court explaining “why the continued proscription of Palestine Action matters, not only for the Jewish community, but for society as a whole.”

Testimony already entered into the legal record on Monday included a motion by the JLC and CST saying that British Jews are "especially vulnerable to Palestine Action (PA)’s violent activities." It also noted that the group had openly declared its intention to target Jewish community centers, synagogues and Jewish-owned businesses for harassment and potentially violent attacks.

JLC and CST added that the Court of Appeal "rightly concluded" that Palestine Action is a "violent organization, concerned in terrorism, with a wide range of targets, that its activities are often undertaken covertly with no suggestion of restraint or proportionality, and that at the point it was proscribed it had an escalating trajectory of seriousness and an expanding focus. If the proscription of PA was held to be disproportionate and quashed, this would cause serious prejudice to the Jewish community.”