“This isn’t about being orange or green… This is about being pro-human rights. It’s about being pro-humanity”
Education Minister Paul Givan faced intense scrutiny and was accused of “laughing like a Disney villain” over his recent visit to a school in the Ramat Alon region of occupied East Jerusalem, a trip organised and paid for by the Israeli government.
The controversy intensified as MLAs questioned his decision to direct Department of Education resources for promoting the visit via an official press release and social media. This led to a motion of no confidence being submitted by People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll, supported by Sinn Féin, the SDLP, and the Alliance Party.
Beyond the moral concerns surrounding the trip, which critics labelled a “propaganda trip,” MLAs raised potential legal issues. These included whether the Minister breached the Functioning of Government Act by directing officials to promote the event, and concerns over whether the visit to occupied territory constituted a breach of UK foreign policy.
Earlier, DUP Leader Gavin Robinson attempted to frame support for the motion as a “pan-Republican front.”
Alliance Party deputy leader Eóin Tennyson announced his party’s support for the motion, stating they shared the “revulsion” felt by the public over Mr Givan’s actions. Directly addressing Mr Robinson’s accusation, Mr Tennyson said: “Is Gavin Robinson seriously claiming that it is somehow Republican to care about human rights? That it’s Republican to care about international law? That it’s Republican to care about 20,000 children that have been killed? I think Gavin Robinson ought to be ashamed of his flagrant attempts to sectarianise this issue.
“This isn’t about being orange or green… This is about being pro-human rights. It’s about being pro-humanity.”
He accused the DUP of “blatant politicking” instead of showing “contrition or leadership,” and also raised serious questions about the Civil Service’s role in promoting the trip using departmental resources.
Explaining the decision, Mr Tennyson added: “Alliance will support the motion of no confidence in Paul Givan, as quite simply, we have no confidence in him. Be it in relation to this issue, his hostile approach to integrated education, his mismanagement of his budget, and his failure of children with special educational needs in our system.”
He acknowledged that the motion was unlikely to succeed but stressed that the bid “underlines the need for reform of our system… to ensure that we’re actually capable as an Assembly of holding ministers to account and removing them from office.”
Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald condemned the visit in the strongest terms, stating that “no minister in any government should be a party to a propaganda effort on behalf of Netanyahu’s genocidal regime.” She asserted that the motion reflected “widespread public disbelief and anger,” arguing that Mr Givan was “not a victim in this scenario.”
Ms McDonald continued, describing the victims as “tens of thousands of innocent children, women and men who have been slaughtered over the course of more than two years,” and stating, “A live genocide is underway.” She insisted that public officials have an “obligation… to lead from the front an appropriate response that calls a halt to this slaughter.”
Facing an urgent oral question from the SDLP regarding the use of departmental resources, Mr Givan defended his actions, revealing that his Permanent Secretary had given the visit a “clean bill of health.” He claimed the only objection was that he “actually visited a school in Israel,” stating that the official press release had “no political message whatsoever.”
He highlighted that the school was an “integrated school, Jews, Arabs, Christians being educated together,” and accused his opponents of manufacturing “this outcry.” The Minister confirmed: “my permanent secretary and senior officials have carried out a review of my engagements on this visit. And they’ve concluded that review and give a clean bill of health… that their actions were entirely appropriate.”
As questions continued, Mr Givan accused MLAs of being motivated by anti-Semitism. A claim fiercely refuted by the SDLP’s Cara Hunter, who, in a point of order, accused the Minister of behaving inappropriately. Ms Hunter stated: “is it really appropriate for the minister to be laughing, sniggering, and smiling when we’re talking about the innocent killing of thousands of children? He is laughing like a Disney villain.”
She also questioned whether it was in order for the Minister to accuse members of anti-Semitism given their previous condemnations of violence, and whether he had adequately answered questions relating to his department.
The Speaker confirmed he would review Ms Hunter’s points. The motion of no confidence is scheduled for a vote on Monday, 10th November. However, despite likely receiving a majority of votes, it is expected to fail due to the requirement for cross-community consent
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