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A statement condemning DUP MLA Paul Givan for going on the trip was issued on behalf of the Northern Ireland Teaching Council (NITC) today, representing the five main teaching unions, while similar criticisms were made by Sinn Fein. Part of their criticism focused on the fact Mr Givan's Department of Education had promoted an element of the trip - his visit to a school in Jerusalem - on its website and social media. In response, the DUP said the criticism is evidence of "the levels some are stooping to" over the issue, while the TUV wondered if Sinn Fein's "real problem" was that their "anti-Israel propaganda is being exposed by those of us who have visited Israel". Mr Givan has been on a trip to Israel since last Friday. It was arranged by the Israeli government, and he was travelling alongside other DUP colleagues plus UUP MLA Steve Aiken and TUV deputy leader Ron McDowell. It is expected the delegation will return to Northern Ireland this Thursday. The trip comes at a time when Stormont is on its Halloween recess (October 25 to November 2) and whilst many schools are closed for autumn half-term this week. Mr Givan's department issued a press release on its website on Monday, which it also circulated on social media, showing the minister visiting Ofek School in Jerusalem "to learn more about Israel’s innovative approaches to gifted education and inclusive learning". Mr Givan and others have also visited the Holocaust remembrance site Yad Vashem, the Israeli parliament, sites of Hezbollah rocket attacks in northern Israel and the Gaza border region in the south, including a tour of military facilities and a music festival which were overrun by Hamas on October 7, 2023. Mr Givan has also tweeted out details of his trip from his Twitter account a dozen or so times since he arrived in Israel from his Twitter account @paulgivan (which introduces him as "Minister of Education 2024-Present" and lists his previous government roles). The statement from the NITC said "[we] condemn the actions of the Department of Education (NI) and Education Minister Paul Givan in taking part in and promoting a tour hosted by Israeli officials". The NITC is made up of the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO), National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT), National Education Union (NEU), and Ulster Teachers’ Union (UTU). Its statement added: "The fact that the Education Minister has undertaken this tour in the context of what has been recognised by the UN as a genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people in Gaza, as well as Israel’s consistent disregard and abuse of international laws in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, is deeply troubling. "It is also a cause for serious concern that Minister Givan and the Department have posted a number of inappropriate social media posts and online news items on the Department’s official website in what he has claimed is a 'fact-finding' mission at the invitation of the Israeli Embassy in London. "Official governmental online platforms should be politically neutral. "The minister’s actions in promoting this visit on these platforms is an overtly political and divisive act that serves to diminish confidence in his judgement and respect for the views of the wider education workforce and community. "The NITC demands that the department take immediate action in removing these posts and news stories from their online platforms. "The minister should also be asked to explain his actions in accepting the invitation of the Israeli Embassy at a time when senior officials of that state stand accused of war crimes." Earlier in the day today, Sinn Fein South Down MLA Cathy Mason had issued a statement saying: "The DUP Education Minister has chosen to visit Israel at a time when that very same state is committing genocide against the Palestinian people. "Meanwhile, schools here continue to lurch from crisis to crisis. “Israel has bombed nearly every school in Gaza out of existence and murdered tens of thousands of children. “I have written to the Education Minister to ask a series of questions, including who funded this trip and whether it was undertaken in an official ministerial capacity, or if elements of his visit have been carried out with departmental support. "If not, I am requesting clarification as to why departmental social media has been used to comment on elements of this trip. "Teachers, children and parents deserve answers.” Responding, the DUP said that "it speaks to the levels some are stooping to manufacture criticisms that they appear to have a problem with people visiting a school which educates Jewish, Arab and Christian children together" - apparently a reference to the Department of Education promoting Mr Givan's trip to the Ofek School in Jerusalem. The party added: "From the moment our representatives landed in Israel they have posted detailed updates of the engagements they have taken part in. "It may actually be the fact that DUP representatives are seeing first-hand the situation in Israel and reporting that back which is the real reason behind the criticism." Meanwhile TUV councillor Ron McDowell said: “The issues specific to the Education Minister are, of course, matters for him. "For my own part, I have always been upfront and transparent that I was invited by the Israeli Embassy in London to visit the country as a guest of their government. "There has been nothing underhand about this. Indeed, my party has published multiple videos I have filmed during the visit. “While Sinn Fein seek to undermine the efforts to secure trade and partnership with the world’s only Jewish state and the only democracy in the Middle East, I am pleased to be part of a delegation seeking to build links. “I suspect that Sinn Fein’s real problem here is that their pro-Hamas, anti-Israel propaganda is being exposed by those of us who have visited Israel." He went on to add: “It would seem to me that bypassing their friends in the media and getting the unvarnished truth out to the people of Northern Ireland is really what is bothering Republicans about this trip. "Sinn Fein and the BBC no longer control the narrative - and they don’t like it.” The department said: “The department has not incurred any costs in relation to the visit and no departmental officials are participating. “While in Israel, the Education Minister decided to take an opportunity to visit Ofek School to learn about the approach they take to support diverse learners within a high-achieving environment. “Following his tour of Ofek School, the Education Minister requested the educational visit was highlighted on the department’s social media channels.” No comment was received from the UUP.
