DOZENS OF TEACHERS demonstrated against Israel’s war in Gaza during a speech by the Minister for Education at the annual Teachers’ Union of Ireland conference in Killarney this morning.
The placards carried messages such as ‘Government Action, Not Words’ and ‘Free Palestine’, with others showing the number of teachers who have been killed and schools destroyed in the region.
Other teachers backed calls from union colleagues to support the Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) movement, a Palestinian-led boycott movement against Israel.
Protesters raised placards to demonstrate silently throughout speeches by Education Minister Norma Foley and TUI president David Waters.
In his address, Waters urged Foley and the Irish government to “redouble your efforts” and “do everything in your power” to help secure an immediate ceasefire in the conflict.
Waters also called for the government to ensure humanitarian aid can be delivered into Gaza and pleaded for Ireland to help achieve “long-lasting peace in the region based on a stable, viable two-state solution”.
In her address, Foley said that all were “deeply disturbed and horrified” by the conflict in the Middle East.
“The Irish government has consistently called for an immediate ceasefire and the unconditional release of hostages. The UN Security Council has passed a resolution to the same effect,” the Kerry TD told TUI members this morning.
“Israel must immediately facilitate full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access into and throughout the Gaza Strip,” Foley added.
“This is clearly Israel’s responsibility under international humanitarian law. There is no alternative to this if we want to avoid mass hunger.”
Gaza has arisen as an issue elsewhere during Ireland’s teaching conferences this week.
Yesterday saw members of the Association of Secondary School Teachers of Ireland (ASTI) demonstrate as Foley arrived at their conference gathering in Wexford.
And earlier today, at the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) annual congress in Derry, members condemned the “mass displacement of innocent civilians” and the destruction of infrastructure, including schools and hospitals in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Supporting a motion expressing solidarity with the “people of Palestine, delegates repeated calls for an immediate and full ceasefire to enable the flow of international humanitarian aid to the area”, the INTO said in a statement.
It noted that the motion “also condemned the 7 October Hamas attack” on Israeli civilians.
INTO delegates called for its union leadership to raise with the government the need for “substantial investment in order to be able to provide children with access to education” in the region, following a ceasefire.
Primary teachers also called for EU funding to be made available for rebuilding efforts in Palestine and the West Bank.
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