JFS teacher caught up in anti-Zionism dispute
JFS STUDENTS have defended a teacher accused of making anti-Zionist comments during a political discussion for sixth-formers.
The Jewish school launched an investigation into remarks allegedly made by Ethan Saunders, who teaches politics, after a talk on left-wing antisemitism by Dr David Hirsh.
In the talk Dr Hirsh discussed what he said was the “Jew-baiting” campaign by some left-wing figures, including Ken Livingstone, who have suggested that Zionism and Nazism are similar, and that Zionists collaborated with the Nazis.
According to Dr Hirsh, Mr Saunders accused him during the questions afterwards of not telling “the whole story to the students”.
Dr Hirsh said: “It was a pretty clear allegation not only that I kind of got it wrong, but that I was speaking in bad faith.”
He said that Mr Saunders’s words had the effect of having “strongly defended” Mr Livingstone over the former Mayor of London’s comment that Hitler’s backed Zionism. “I’ve no idea what he teaches his students, but I have to tell you that [at this event] what he was clearly trying to teach his students was certainly a cause for concern,” said Dr Hirsh.
Martin Bright, a former political editor of the JC, was present at the talk, having been invited by Dr Hirsh. He said that Mr Saunders had accused Dr Hirsh of “intentionally omitting” important facts in his talk.
“They weren’t being represented as opinions or potential debating points. It was hostile,” Mr Bright said.
He added that the disagreement was “unsettling for the students; a number of them came up to David afterwards and apologised”.
However, several students who were at the lunchtime event hosted by the school’s politics society later put a different interpretation on the exchange between Mr Saunders and Dr Hirsh.
According to one, “the only thing Mr Saunders was doing was adding contextual background, providing the other side of the argument.
“Every single person who is taught by Mr Saunders would agree that he’s not an anti-Zionist. All he does is provide us with both sides of the argument in every single argument possible.”
Two other students described Mr Saunders, who himself attended JFS, as a “well respected member of staff”.
They added: “Providing a well-rounded perspective on an idea or topic is a cornerstone of his teaching style. He is, genuinely, one of the most engaging teachers that the school has”.
They said that “Mr Saunders did not ‘strongly defend’ Ken Livingstone’s remarks on Hitler and Zionism. “Mr Saunders never directly addressed Ken Livingstone’s comments”… [he] was saying that all the facts are required in order to assess whether a criticism of Israel is genuinely anti-Zionist.
“After the talk, our class spoke to Mr Saunders about the debate. He spoke about how loving a country is not blind- ly following them and accepting everything it does politically and on the world stage.”
Responding to the student’s comments, Dr Hirsh told the JC he had “hardly said anything at all about Israel, either pro or anti” in his talk.
A spokesperson for the school, in north-west London, said: “At JFS we provide a forum for students and staff to engage in high-level debate about topical issues. We promote the ideals of free speech and expect our students and staff to respect and be tolerant of differing views and opinions.
“As a proudly Zionist school that is
What he was trying to teach students was a cause for concern’
dedicated to promoting a love of Israel, discussions about the country form an integral part of our cross curricular provision. We support our student led societies in continuing to provide safe spaces for open debate.”
Mr Saunders did not respond to a request for comment.