Northern Ireland education minister faces no-confidence motion over Israel trip

Northern Ireland’s Education Minister, Paul Givan, is facing a no-confidence motion at Stormont following his participation in a six-day trip to Israel alongside other unionist politicians.

The visit, organised and funded by the Israeli embassy in London, cost £3,810 and covered flights, accommodation, meals, and transport.

Highlights of the trip included a briefing from Israel’s foreign ministry, a visit to a Holocaust memorial, meetings with victims of Hamas terrorism, and a tour of Ofek School in Jerusalem.

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The no-confidence motion was proposed by Gerry Carroll of the People Before Profit party and is supported by Sinn Féin, the Alliance Party, and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). Carroll said the motion reflected the views of many who were “abhorred and disgusted by the minister’s actions”.

Critics have taken issue with Givan’s decision to instruct officials to publicise his visit to the Jerusalem school on the Department of Education’s social media channels, with teaching unions also calling for a related press release to be removed from the department’s website.

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Other attendees on the trip included DUP MP Sammy Wilson, UUP MP Steve Aiken, and TUV councillor Ron McDowell.

In his register of interests, Givan described the trip as a “fact-finding tour” that involved meeting Israeli Jews, Christians, Muslims, Druze, and others.

He also noted that he was “briefed by eyewitnesses to the murderous terrorist attacks by Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, and the Houthis”.

Givan has defended his actions, stating he will provide a detailed account of the trip and his conduct during the Assembly debate. “I will give a very clear account of my activities and why nothing here was wrong,” he said.

“The most important confidence that I can have is the confidence of my party leader, and I have that. The most important confidence I get is from my constituents in Lagan Valley, and I have that. I will outline in the Assembly this afternoon and draw a clear contrast between the double standards that are being applied towards me from Gerry Carroll’s coalition that he has assembled today.”

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), and Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) have all stated they will not support the motion, dismissing it as “performative”.

Ahead of the debate, DUP leader Robinson commented: “You know what the outcome is going to be. Sadly, this Assembly will go through the performative function of debating a motion when you know the outcome. You know that nothing is going to change.

“As the leader of a party who has full confidence in all of my ministers, I look forward to the end of today and the ability of the Northern Ireland Assembly to get back to focusing on the issues that matter for the people of Northern Ireland.”

Sinn Fein MLA Declan Kearney accused Stormont Education Minister Paul Givan of being a “genocide denier”.

Speaking in the no-confidence motion in the Northern Ireland Assembly, Kearney claimed the minister intended to cause “rancour and division” with his visit to Israel.

“The participation of the Education Minister in his Israeli state-sponsored propaganda stunt was an obscene act, one which has caused deep offence,” he said.