UK high school encourages students to join ‘collective fast’ to raise money for Gaza

A UK high school is encouraging students to join a “collective fast” this coming Friday to raise money for Gaza amid Israel’s war with the Hamas terror group.

George Green’s School, located in London’s Tower Hamlets, has held a series of fundraiser events in recent weeks for UNICEF’s Gaza Appeal for Children in Crisis, and after raising more than £1,000 (roughly $1,270) across two bake sales and two sports tournaments, the school is now encouraging students to join a “Collective Fast Event” this coming Friday.

“On 13th December, both staff and students will come together in a collective fast, demonstrating our solidarity and raising awareness,” the school states on a fundraising page for the event. “Through this initiative, we aim to gather much-needed funds to provide food, medical aid, and other critical resources. Every donation, no matter the size, will make a significant difference.”

The UK’s Jewish Chronicle newspaper says that it obtained a copy of the letter sent to parents in an effort to encourage their children to sign up for the event.

“We are asking students to sign up for the fast and raise sponsorship,” the letter states. “We are already halfway to our target of £2500 but need your support.”

Speaking to the news outlet, a parent of a Jewish student at George Green’s School says that the event, and a previous one like it last December, instills a feeling of “shame” in her child and other Jewish students.

“The school has decided who is good and who is bad. Judaism has been portrayed as bad,” she tells the Jewish Chronicle. “No one is going to go out and announce [they are Jewish] at that school.”

In response, the school’s principal Jon Ryder tells the Jewish Chronicle that the event is “entirely voluntary,” but that it is “well-supported by members of the school community, including students, parents and staff.”