Three Jewish schools in North London have temporarily ceased operations today, with some attributing the decision to anticipated protests in solidarity with Palestinians.
Amid concerns of potential street violence, parents of students at one school were advised to keep their children indoors, while Menorah High School in Brent, Torah Vodaas Primary School, and Ateres Beis Yaakov in Barnet decided to close temporarily, as conveyed in letters to parents.
The Community Security Trust, a charity dedicated to offering security guidance to the British Jewish community, expressed the view that schools should remain open.
Meanwhile, the head teacher at Menorah High School for Girls, a state secondary school with 389 students, attributed the closure decision to the upcoming protests.”
Esther Pearlman told parents, saying, ‘Please understand that this challenging choice has been made due to the potential risk of street violence.
“Police have expressed concern that, with the absence of girls in school, there’s a possibility they may go outside. Therefore, we’re urged to remind you, as parents, of the importance of keeping your children indoors.”
David Landau, the school’s chair, stressed during an interview on the Today Programme that most Jewish schools have decided to remain operational, reasoning that there is no immediate threat to the community, and their objective is to avoid causing undue alarm.
But, he said: “We have this situation where where we have an international day of rage called for.
We’ve had horrible demonstrations in London openly displaying antisemitism and celebrating Jewish deaths.
“Individually, our school is fairly isolated from the community. We’re out there out there on our own and we felt there was significant risk to the kids, ultimately we’re worried that on a day like this that an individual might do something outstandingly stupid and it’s very difficult to control against that.”
In a letter addressed to parents at Ateres Beis Yaakov, a small primary school with 35 students, reference was made to a call by former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal for Friday protests in solidarity with the Palestinians. The letter emphasized that the school’s choice was based on prioritizing the safety of its students.
Similarly, parents of children attending Torah Vodaas Primary School, a boys’ school with 372 enrolled students, were informed that they had received guidance from Rabbi Avrohom Gurwitz, a respected figure in the Jewish Haredi community.
“We live in unprecedented times,” parents were told.
“Although there is no specific threat to our school, we should not have school tomorrow.
In light of the concerns, a spokesman for the Community Security Trust (CST) said its advice was for schools to stay open.
“CST’s advice to Jewish schools remains that Jewish life should continue and schools should remain open as normal.
“All Jewish schools have security guards that are paid for by the government, which has today pledged a further £3m towards the cost of security guarding in addition to the measures that are already in place.”
This concerns an announcement by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, allocating extra funds to protect schools, synagogues, and other Jewish community buildings.
The funding will be directed to the CST, which has reported 139 antisemitic incidents in the last four days – a fourfold increase compared to the same period in 2022.”
“We appreciate the challenges and demands that this is putting on you and it is not a decision that has been taken lightly, but we need to do what is best for our precious children,” as written on the letter.