Police Scotland is reviewing a video in which children are encouraged to participate in a game simulating the defense of Al-Aqsa Mosque from “Zios,” following a complaint concerning an Edinburgh primary-school teacher, according to a report in The Sunday Times.
Police Scotland is assessing a disturbing video in which children are encouraged to play a game defending Al-Aqsa Mosque from “Zios”, following concerns about Edinburgh primary-school teacher, Sara El-Awaisi. https://t.co/4XH2Jxrf83 https://t.co/Eoi8KaYYqr
— UK Lawyers For Israel (@UKLFI) October 4, 2026
The video, posted to Instagram on September 15 and reportedly filmed in Indonesia in July, shows teacher Sara El-Awaisi and another woman demonstrating a hand game for children in which “Zios” attempt to seize Al-Aqsa Mosque or the Dome of the Rock. During the game, children are told not to allow the “Zios” to take their mosque. According to reports, El-Awaisi herself is not the person heard using the term “Zio” in the footage. The term, an abbreviation of “Zionist,” is widely regarded by Jewish organizations as an antisemitic slur and has at times been used as a coded substitute for “Jew.”
UK Lawyers for Israel, which assisted in submitting the complaint, said Police Scotland confirmed receiving a report about the footage and said its contents are “currently being assessed.” Edinburgh City Council also confirmed to The Sunday Times that it is investigating the matter. The council declined to say whether El-Awaisi had been suspended, citing confidentiality regarding personnel matters. Her name, however, no longer appears on the staff page of Liberton Primary School, where she had previously been listed as a Primary 5 teacher.
According to UK Lawyers for Israel, previous recorded activities involving El-Awaisi have featured children declaring that they would be strong so that Al-Aqsa would be strong and that they would “liberate” the mosque. The organization also cited a January 2026 presentation in which El-Awaisi argued that devotion to Al-Aqsa should be instilled in children’s “hearts and minds” from a young age.