With the support of organisations like ELT 4 Palestine, teachers have been pushing IATEFL to take a more active stance on the genocide in Gaza. IATEFL’s recent statement on the matter isn’t only hypocritical, it’s a moral abdication. Here is the response of the steering committee of the TEFL Workers’ Union.
The TEFL Workers’ Union condemns, in no uncertain terms, IATEFL’s failure to take a stand against genocide, apartheid, and occupation.
IATEFL claims to be an organisation that advances the interests of English language teachers and students the world over. For students and teachers in Palestine, there can be no safety and no security when a civilian population is being bombed and starved into submission.
It should not be controversial to state that Palestine has been under decades of occupation and that its population has been subject to apartheid, discrimination, and oppression. The assault on Gaza is the latest and most violent example of this.
None of this is to justify Hamas or suggest that Israeli civilians – teachers amongst them – are to blame for the actions of the Israeli state. Israelis of conscience have spoken out in opposition to the brutal war and occupation. It’s a stain on IATEFL’s reputation that they couldn’t take a lead from those brave voices and stand against, for example, the destruction of Palestine’s education system at the hands of the IDF.
IATEFL claims that as a charity they are obligated to remain politically neutral. This is untrue. While they cannot endorse political parties or candidates, they are legally protected to speak out on social and political issues that relate to their charitable aims. The fact that IATEFL had no such qualms about the war in Ukraine, Black Lives Matter, or the climate crisis should put this claim to bed.
None of this should, however, be a surprise. IATEFL is, fundamentally, an industry body. The reality is that IATEFL represents publishers, language schools, and ELT employers. Their continual failure to speak up on matters of employment and working conditions speaks for itself.
Whether for an individual or an organisation, the true test of character is to raise your voice when your words can bring you into conflict with those in power. We’ve seen the consequences for those who are willing to speak out on Palestine. A willingness to speak out despite those consequences lends even more power and credence to their words.
The assault on Gaza is one of the greatest crimes of this century. IATEFL’s failure to call out this genocide for what it is and, instead, hide behind flimsy legal excuses is an act of cowardice. Shame on the IATEFL leadership for failing to stand on the side of humanity.
If you are an English language teacher in the UK interested not only in improving working conditions but in supporting wider struggles for justice, we invite you to join our union.
In solidarity,
The TEFL Workers’ Union steering committee