Bristol MP Damien Egan wanted to visit a school – Bristol is saying no

Damien Egan is an MP so strident in his support for the genocidal Israeli regime that parents and teachers didn’t want him in their school.

Now people in Bristol, where Egan is a Labour MP, want to keep the city safe from his bile. They say the recent situation raises serious concerns about safeguarding, ethics, and the use of schools and community spaces for political publicity involving Egan.

Take action – Bristol’s community response

So they’ve set up a letter-writing action that people can use to express their concern to local schools and community organisations. It highlights that Egan is vice chair of Labour Friends of Israel and has consistently supported Israel’s actions in Gaza.

The call to action continues:

His political alignment, lobbying links, and voting record have prompted parents, educators, and community members to question whether he is an appropriate speaker in educational and community settings, particularly when discussing democracy, human rights, or civic values.

This action allows Bristol residents to raise, and to ask institutions to prioritise safeguarding, ethical responsibility, and community trust when considering visits from public figures with links or association with international and state violence, human rights abuses, and violations of international law.

Those behind the action say it’s about protecting community spaces and standing for justice and accountability. They add that it takes 30 seconds to take action and email schools, colleges, and local institutions.

Bristol Palestine Solidarity Campaign statement on Egan

It is regrettable that PM Starmer has chosen to endorse right-wing attacks on concerned parents, school staff, and residents of a Bristol Labour constituency for holding their MP to account for his actions.

As vice chair of Labour Friends of Israel, Egan has a long record of complicity in Israel’s well-documented human rights abuses in Palestine.

LFI is a lobby group that does not disclose its funders, but Egan has accepted their funding and consistently voted in line with Israeli positions in the UK Parliament. He has expressed support for extremist Israeli politicians including followers of the far-right minister, Ben-Gvir, who is subject to UK sanctions, and Netanyahu himself who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes.

Many in Egan’s constituency questioned his suitability to speak about democracy, human rights, or civic values to children. Yet their attempts to engage with their elected representative have consistently been met with hostility, unfounded accusations, and even claims of intimidation of activists by his staff.

Bristol Palestine Solidarity Campaign stands in solidarity with decent parents, NEU trade unionists, and residents in Egan’s constituency who expect their MP to serve them, not a foreign power engaged in genocide. And who believe that schools are unsuitable venues for the agendas that Mr Egan promotes.

The insinuations of ‘antisemitism’ our Prime Minister is recycling in this context are a desperate smear campaign by the pro-Israel lobby which undermine genuine efforts to tackle anti-Jewish racism in the UK. It is shameful that a Labour Prime Minister should use the despatch box to threaten to ‘hold to account’ decent citizens of our city for lawfully expressing their views on a matter of personal concern.

Instead, it is the Labour Party under Keir Starmer’s leadership which will one day soon be held to account for its shameful record of complicity in Israeli genocide – and its wider crimes in Palestine.

This is an abuse of power intended to intimidate. But we will not be silenced.

Featured image via the Canary