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Youth Hostels Association launches probe into Palestine Youth Movement event held at one of its premises
Exclusive: YHA spokesperson will look into whether four-day long event in Peak District hostel breached terms, conditions or policies
The Youth Hostels Association (YHA) has launched an investigation into a four-day pro-Palestine summer camp held at one of its premises, where children were filmed calling for Zionism to be crushed and viewing images of a member of a designated terrorist organisation during a classroom session.
Jewish News reported that the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) Britain hosted the camp at YHA Edale in the Peak District over the May Bank Holiday.
The group later posted videos and photographs of the event on its social media platforms.
Footage showed young attendees chanting in Arabic, “We will crush Zionism” and, “Young people, rise up, our revolution is an Arab revolution.”
Additional images depicted a lecture where a projected photo of Ghassan Kanafani—Palestinian novelist and former spokesman for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)—was displayed on a screen.
Responding to concerns about the event, a YHA spokesperson told Jewish News: “We are aware of the concerns raised regarding footage reportedly recorded during the group’s stay. The views or activities of private groups using our facilities do not represent YHA’s views or values. YHA is committed to providing welcoming, inclusive, and respectful spaces for everyone.
“We are actively investigating the circumstances surrounding this booking, including whether any of our terms and conditions or policies may have been breached. We will consider any appropriate action once that review has been completed.”
More than 100 young people attended the camp, held from May 22–26 at YHA Edale, which is operated by YHA (England and Wales) and has previously received funding from Sport England.
A spokesperson for the venue clarified: “YHA can confirm that this was a private group booking. YHA was not involved in organising, delivering, or supervising the group’s programme or activities.”
Founded in 2006 as the Palestinian Youth Network, PYM became the Palestinian Youth Movement at its second international general assembly in Istanbul in 2011.
Since then, the group has expanded across the West, with over 15 chapters in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
According to its website, “The Palestinian Youth Movement is a transnational, independent, grassroots movement of young Palestinians in Palestine and in exile worldwide as a result of the ongoing Zionist colonisation and occupation of our homeland.”
The organisation explicitly identifies as anti-Zionist, describing itself as an anti-colonial movement opposing Zionism, which it defines as a settler-colonial ideology responsible for the displacement and subjugation of Palestinians.
Former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and former Foreign Secretary David Lammy have both been directly targeted by PYM members.
Communal organisations in the United States and Israel have long accused PYM of seeking to “eradicate Zionism”—a goal which, they argue, acts as a proxy for antisemitism.
Reports by groups such as NGO Monitor and the Israeli Ministry for Diaspora Affairs have also highlighted PYM’s alleged links to the PFLP.
In a separate Instagram post, PYM Britain shared photos from a community football tournament in North Kensington, West London, which involved local schools and community groups.
One photograph shows five children from behind, with two wearing shirts numbered 7 and 10—a possible reference to October 7, 2023. Another photo depicts an organiser presenting medals while wearing a shirt with the number 40 and the slogan “The future is decolonial.”
Photos and videos from both the summer camp and the football tournament have raised concerns that young people in Britain are being exposed to hardline anti-Zionist views, and that some may be encouraged to celebrate terrorist ideology under the guise of supporting the Palestinian cause.
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