Schools in England block lessons on Middle East over fears of bias claims

Teachers say pupils losing out on learning about history of Israel-Palestine conflict due to worries about bad publicity'

A generation of young people are not learning about the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict because schools are afraid of being accused of bias, according to teachers in England.

Fewer than 2% of GCSE history students in England studied a module on the Middle East in 2020, and experts estimate that only 27 schools in England currently teach it. The Observer has learned that some schools are blocking attempts to introduce the subject, in spite of active interest from pupils, due to the amount of heat" the topic draws and worries about bad publicity".