by Nicholas Watt 23 Febbraio 2008

David Cameron found himself at odds with Jewish leaders yesterday when he appeared to dismiss a government initiative to take schoolchildren on educational trips to Auschwitz as a "gimmick".

The Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Holocaust Educational Trust expressed disappointment after the Tory leader highlighted the government-sponsored trips to Auschwitz in a list of "Gordon Brown's 26 gimmicks".

Henry Grunwald, the board's president, said: "The board of deputies does not get involved in party politics but we are surprised and disappointed that David Cameron should in any way have used the word gimmick in connection with visits to Auschwitz."

Karen Pollock, the chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said: "We do not want to be involved in party politics. But you should not use visits to Auschwitz to score political points."

Their remarks came after Cameron criticised Brown during a speech in Bolton for being "obsessed with short term gimmicks". In a briefing note to explain the speech the Conservative press office listed 26 "gimmicks". Fourth on the list was trips to Auschwitz.

Cameron made no direct reference to Auschwitz in his speech, though he did mention the government's initiative to encourage schools to visit Poland. Auschwitz is close to Krakow in south-eastern Poland.

Cameron said he had been "keeping a tab" on what the government had "told our schools and teachers". These included "trips to Poland".

The Conservative leader believes the government announced a "gimmick" when it said it would provide £4.65m for the Holocaust Educational Trust's Lessons from Auschwitz programme. The Tories believe this has not lived up to its billing because schools are asked to contribute £100 towards the £350 cost of taking each pupil.

A Tory spokesman said: "School trips to Auschwitz are a brilliant idea. However, by announcing these trips without providing the necessary funding the government has - in classic fashion - hidden the detail in the small print.

"Under a Conservative government these trips would be funded in full and schools would not have to find £100 per pupil from their budgets."

Other Tories thought Cameron should have been more careful. Sir John Butterfill, MP for Bournemouth West and a longstanding supporter of the Conservative Friends of Israel, said: "I am sure that David Cameron would not argue that going to Auschwitz is a gimmick. Let us hope this is properly clarified ... I think perhaps it might have been better if it had been better explained than it has been."

But the government was scathing. Jim Murphy, the Europe minister, who has taken 150 children from Glasgow to Auschwitz, said: "To describe them [the visits] as a gimmick is sick and an insult to the memory of those who have suffered and to the experience of the survivors who still live with this today."

Ed Balls, the schools secretary, said: "This is a truly disgraceful remark by David Cameron and he should apologise immediately for the offence he has caused ... In trying to make this issue into a matter of party politics, David Cameron has shown once again that he not only lacks judgment but also a basic sense of decency."

But Lord (David) Hunt, who is vice-president of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said: "It is absolute nonsense to suggest that David Cameron is attacking the principle of trips by students to Auschwitz. Clearly he is not ... Labour is deliberately taking this out of context for party political reasons."

by Nicholas Watt

Source >  Guardian