STORMONT EDUCATION MINISTER Paul Givan has defended asking his officials to publicise a visit he made to a school in Israel, saying it was a “strictly non-political” message, following criticism by Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald and other parties.

He also said the Department of Education social media post took less than one hour of administrative time.

The DUP minister has faced criticism and calls to resign since he took part in the fact-finding trip last week with a delegation of MLAs from Northern Ireland at the invitation of the Israeli government.

This has included a protest in Belfast city centre on Saturday and outside Parliament Buildings yesterday, and an online petition signed by more than 13,000.

Givan is set to face a no-confidence motion in the Assembly next week, which has been backed by People Before Profit, Sinn Fein, the SDLP and Alliance.

Our fact finding mission continues today as we travel to Southern Israel and meet with victims of the terrorist attacks by Hamas along the border areas with Gaza. We had a busy day of official engagements in the Knesset and an inspiring school visit. pic.twitter.com/IGvAhUtNWQ

— Paul Givan (@paulgivan) October 28, 2025

In a bullish response in the Assembly yesterday, Givan insisted he will “not be bullied” and stood by his actions.

Givan previously complained of being “vilified”, but Sinn Fein president Mary-Lou McDonald said he is “not the victim in this”.

She described the motion of no confidence as “merely reflective of widespread public disbelief and anger at the fact that the minister made this trip”.

McDonald told reporters at Stormont yesterday:

Minister Givan is not a victim in this scenario. The victims here are tens of thousands of innocent children and women and men who have been slaughtered over the course of more than two years.

McDonald added: “The world is witness to it and there is a positive obligation on every single human being in my view, and especially people in public office, to lead from the front an appropriate response which calls a halt to this slaughter and that does not seek in any way to give any form of cover to Netanyahu and his genocidal regime.”

The Northern Ireland Teachers’ Council claimed the Department of Education’s promotion of the school visit was an “overtly political and divisive act”, and called for the post to be deleted.

Rival politicians have also questioned whether it was appropriate to visit Israel at a time when the country is facing international criticism over its military offensive in Gaza.

SDLP MLA Cara Hunter asked Givan an urgent oral question in the Assembly yesterday afternoon to outline departmental resources used to promote his visit to Israel.

Formal invite by Israeli government

Givan told MLAs he was formally invited by the Government of Israel and no public funds were spent. He also said none of his departmental officials participated in the trip.

He said his visit during the trip to a school in Jerusalem was “directly relevant” to his ministerial portfolio and “provided valuable insights”.

“In light of this relevance, I requested that the department issue a factual press release to share the inclusive education practice that I observed,” he said.

“This communication was strictly non-political and focused solely on the educational aspects of the visit. No departmental resources were used to publicise any political message.”

During exchanges, Givan insisted that it amounted to less than one hour of administrative time by his department’s officials.

Stormont Education Minister Paul Givan during a broadcast interview Liam McBurney / PA Liam McBurney / PA / PA

Givan also revealed his Permanent Secretary and senior officials carried out a review of his engagements on the visit and said they concluded a “clean bill of health” to him as minister and all civil servants that their actions were appropriate.

“This support was minimal, administrative in nature, and in total it is estimated to have amounted to less than one hour of civil service time,” he said.

“My Permanent Secretary reviewed the press release published by the department pertaining to the school visit and he concluded that it had no political content, was directly related to my portfolio and therefore approved my request.”

Earlier, DUP leader Gavin Robinson condemned the reaction to Givan as “pantomime and performative politics which does nothing for Stormont or society”.

Robinson insisted Givan has his “full confidence” while speaking to media in the Long Gallery at Parliament Buildings, while the minister and other party colleagues stood by him.

Alliance MLA Eoin Tennyson confirmed his party will back the no-confidence motion in Givan over the trip to Israel as well as other issues, including integrated education.

Tennyson said visiting at “such a politically sensitive time is nothing more than provocative” and the minister needs to account for his judgment as to why he was part of a “propaganda mission” for the Israeli government.

“There are serious questions also over the civil service in terms of why the parliamentary resources were used to promote this propaganda mission. There are questions about whether and why no officials were present if Paul was there in a ministerial capacity,” Tennyson said.