Sir,

Your recent article, “UK Islamic summer camp ‘risks radicalising children’” (12 July), amplifies claims from UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) that are deeply misleading, politically motivated, and unsupported by credible evidence.

The camp in question, run by the Ahlulbayt Islamic Mission (AIM), has operated lawfully for years, providing children with a space for recreation, learning, and community. To cast suspicion on this initiative based on religious expression or pro-Palestinian sentiment is not safeguarding—it is discrimination.

UKLFI’s attempt to frame cultural activities and religious discussion as extremist is not only unfounded but part of a broader pattern of targeting Muslim civil society under the guise of national security. The portrayal of children making kites, an innocent and universal childhood activity, as somehow sinister and linked to the activities of Hamas borders on the absurd and reveals more about the writer’s prejudices than any real threat (Sawer sought to downplay Gaza victim numbers as vilifying Israel rather than recognise the murder was part of an ongoing genocide).

Moreover, the article quotes figures like Lord Walney and Robert Jenrick, staunch political advocates of the Israeli government, without questioning their ability to speak impartially. Their invocation of “foreign influence” while defending and advancing the interests of another state is deeply hypocritical.

Your readers may also wish to note that UKLFI is the same organisation that has previously justified the starvation and deaths of Palestinian children as a means of reducing obesity, and lobbied to remove Palestinian children’s artwork from public view at a hospital. Their record on child safeguarding is somewhat suspect.

The legal provisions UKLFI cites, including those relating to public order, safeguarding, and counter-terrorism, require evidence, proportionality, and neutrality. The unevidenced claims they make do not warrant the public scrutiny they seek to provoke – but rather scrutiny of UKLFI itself.

Media coverage should inform responsibly, not lend weight to ideologically driven campaigns that stigmatise communities and deny children their right to a safe and enriching summer experience.

Kind regards,

Massoud Shadjareh

Chair, IHRC