Britons have been warned of “progressive, woke ideology” being pushed across the nation’s schools after a Jewish Labour MP was banned from visiting a school in Bristol.
Speaking to GB News, broadcaster and columnist Jake Wallis Simons declared “our kids are being brainwashed” by “political indoctrination”.
Damien Egan was blocked from visiting pupils at Bristol Brunel Academy, in his constituency, following protest from the local Palestine Solidarity Campaign and union members.
The activists cited what they deemed “safeguarding concerns” and highlighted Mr Egan’s role as Vice Chair of Labour Friends of Israel.
Criticising the decision to block the MP’s visit, Mr Wallis Simons told the People’s Channel: “We don’t know if he felt safe or not because he wasn’t even allowed in. These are the lengths they go to to shut down debate and free speech, because they know that ultimately they don’t have an argument.
“Israel was not committing a genocide in Gaza by any stretch of the imagination, and they won’t even allow him to come and have a presence in his school.”
He stressed: “He wasn’t even going to talk about Israel, it was nothing to do with Israel. He was just going in as the local MP who happens to be of a Jewish background.
“To be a supporter, it seems, of Israel to some extent, even that was enough to get him cancelled.”
Jake Wallis Simons has issued a stark ‘woke ideology’ warning after a Jewish MP was banned from visiting a school
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HOUSE OF COMMONS / GB NEWS
Arguing schools have become “dominated” by “radical unions” and “indoctrination”, Mr Wallis Simons explained: “This is mob intimidation in our schools. Schools are supposed to be places of safety and of learning and of open inquiry, where opposing points of view are nourished, and that the students are brought on in a spirit of democracy and free speech.
“And instead, they’re now dominated by radical unions, even radical parents it seemed as well, campaigners who are pro-Palestine.
“And one can only conclude that if this chap would have been Iranian and supported the Iranian regime, he’d have been welcome in this Bristol school. But not if he happened to be Jewish.”
Asked by host Martin Daubney if there is cause for a more “broad concern” for similar agendas across Britain’s schools, the columnist responded: “This is a huge concern. The National Education Union, really it should be concerned with teachers wages, pay and conditions, but it seems to be mainly concerned with hating on Israel, hating on Jews and supporting the Palestinians 3,000 miles away.
The activists celebrated the ban as a ‘victory for parents, teachers and the community’ | GETTY
“This is the ideology that it’s rolling out across the country, it’s endemic throughout our schools. Now, according to the Education Act, schools are forbidden to carry out political indoctrination, and yet they do.
“My local secondary school, I had to complain about Black Lives Matters posters, about pro-trans material, about pro-Palestine material that the radical teachers were putting up on the walls and thrusting down the necks of the students, trying to indoctrinate them into what they see as being an enlightened way of viewing the world.”
He added: “Our kids are being brainwashed because we have looked the other way for too long, while radicals in the education establishment have gradually taken it over and employed people in their own image. We have a serious problem on our hands of brainwashing in our schools.”
Warning that the progression of “woke” ideologies in schools has been present for “decades”, Mr Wallis Simons said: “Now, I’m not saying that left wing positions shouldn’t be represented in schools, of course they should, but so should right wing positions.
Mr Wallis Simons told GB News that it has ‘already gone too far’
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GB NEWS
“There should be a breadth of opinion available to kids as they’re growing up and being nurtured through their life. There should be pro-Israel stances as well as pro-Palestinian stances, and yet these people just want to brainwash kids into a progressive, left wing, woke ideology.
“The red lights have been flashing on the dashboard for decades, and now it’s getting to a point where something really needs to be done. But it seems like it’s gone too far already.”
Agreeing with Mr Wallis Simons, Martin concluded: “I think you’re exactly right. The long march through the institutions has been going on for many, many years now. Have our schools been captured? Is it too late to do anything about it?”
In a statement, a Bristol Brunel Academy spokesman said: “On the evening before Mr Egan’s scheduled visit, we were made aware of plans for a public protest outside the school. We opted to postpone Mr Egan’s visit to ensure everyone would continue to feel safe when entering and exiting school and to prevent any disruption to our students’ learning.
“We have remained in contact with Mr Egan, and an alternative date for his visit was arranged some time ago. We have also been in contact with the police and followed their advice.”