Calls for Anti-Semitism probe after education union boss's rally video

Calls for anti-Semitism probe into hard-left Corbynite who is set to become the next leader of education union after video emerged of him speaking at a rally

• Daniel Kebede spoke at a rally where there were chants of ‘Khaybar, oh Jews’
• The hard-left Corbynite previously apologised for using an anti-Semitic slur

There have been calls into a hard-left Corbynite who is set to become the next leader of Britain’s biggest education union after he become embroiled in an anti-Semitism row.

Daniel Kebede, who will succeed joint secretaries Dr Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney as head of the National Education Union (NEU) in September, was seen speaking at a rally where the crowd allegedly chanted a song calling for violence against Jews.

Members of the audience chanted ‘Khaybar, oh Jews’, a song the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) says ‘can be perceived as a threat of armed violence or forcible expulsion against Jews today’. 

While Mr Kebede is not thought to have taken part in the chant video of the rally, which took place in Newcastle in 2021, showed him calling for people to ‘globalise the intifada’ – a phrase referring to uprising against oppression.

The primary school teacher, who was once forced to apologise for using an anti-Semitic slur while defending Jeremy Corbyn, was backed by the NEU, which said he condemns ‘all acts of anti-Semitism and any attacks on Jewish people’.

Daniel Kebede, pictured here at a ‘Rally for Palestine’ outside Downing Street last August, was seen speaking at a rally where the crowd allegedly chanted a song calling for violence against Jews

He was speaking at a rally in Newcastle in 2021 by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Pictured: A rally involving the National Education Union, Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Stop The War Coalition in Manchester, in May 2021

The self-professed ‘anti-racist’ had been speaking at a Palestine Solidarity Campaign rally in Newcastle two years ago when the video was taken.

In footage he can be seen holding a microphone telling people it’s ‘time to stand together and oppose Apartheid, oppose occupation and fight for Palestinian liberation’.

READ MORE HERE:  President of the National Union of Students, 27, is sacked following investigation into ‘antisemitism’ allegations 

He went on to say: ‘Let’s do it for Palestine, Ramallah, West Bank, Gaza – it’s about time we globalise the intifada.’

As he handed the microphone over to someone else, there were chants of ‘Allahu akbar’ from the crowd.

The term intifada has long been used by people fighting what they see as the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory by Israel, and is commonly used by people to mean a legitimate uprising against oppression.

The Telegraph reports that at the same rally the audience chanted ‘Khaybar, oh Jews’, a song referring to battles between Muhammad, the founder of Islam, and Jews living in the oasis of Khaybar in modern day Saudi Arabia.

These battles, which the Quran claims took place after treachery by Jewish people, eventually led to the subjugation, mass expulsion, or slaughter of the area’s tribal Jewish communities, the ADL says.

It adds: ‘Invoking this slogan today at such a demonstration problematically shifts the complex Israeli-Palestinian conflict into a religious battle between Islam and Judaism.

‘Moreover, in celebrating a past military defeat of Jews, this chant can be perceived as a threat of armed violence or forcible expulsion against Jews today.’

Mr Kebede’s presence at the rally has sparked calls for an investigation from the Conservative Friends of Education, a Tory campaign group, which said it had ‘serious concerns’ about the impact these allegations could have on Jewish teachers and students in the union.

‘It is essential to ensure that the biggest teaching union is free from discrimination and prejudice, and anti-Semitism,’ it said in a statement 

It added:’ Ensuring a safe and inclusive environment for all members is a priority, and addressing this controversy is crucial to upholding those British values.’

Mr Kebede, pictured here with RMT boss Mick Lynch, was elected to takeover as general secretary of the National Education Union this week

The former primary school teacher, pictured here at a rally in Southall in 2019, said in a statement though the NEU that he and the union ‘completely condemn such chants, all acts of anti-Semitism and any attacks on Jewish people’

A spokesperson for the NEU told the Telegraph: ‘Daniel Kebede was present at a Palestine Solidarity Campaign rally in solidarity with Palestinians facing eviction in Sheikh Jarrah in 2021.

‘In speaking to the rally Mr Kebede called for peace and justice in the Middle East and expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people.

‘He used the slogan ‘globalise the intifada’ which is an expression of such solidarity, and of support for civic protests; it did not convey any support for violence.

‘He wasn’t aware of the chanting of ‘Khaybar, oh Jews’ and both he and the National Education Union completely condemn such chants, all acts of anti-Semitism and any attacks on Jewish people.’

It comes after Mr Kebede was forced to apologise after using an anti-Semitic slur while defending former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn online.

The 35-year-old claimed those close to the downfall of Mr Corbyn were being paid ’30 pieces of silver’ for book deals – the price for which Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus Christ in the Bible.

The phrase was used by the Nazis to suggest that the Jews were traitors and responsible for Christ’s death. 

Mr Kebede told the Mail in January that he was ignorant of its meaning: ‘I did not know at the time that can be read as anti-Semitic. As soon as I learned this, I deleted it and my apology remains on my Twitter feed.’

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