A play about two lovers who meet in war-torn Gaza that’s being taught at Victorian high schools has been labelled hateful and anti-Jewish by the state Liberal Party.

Tales of a City by the Sea, by Palestinian-Australian Samah Sabawi, is one of six plays senior high school drama students can study in 2016 as part of their Victorian Certificate of Education.

This week the chair of Jewish organisation B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission, Dvir Abramovich, said the “disturbing” play had the sole aim of damaging Israel’s standing.

Liberal MP Tim Smith, the shadow parliamentary secretary to leader Matthew Guy, wants the state government to remove it from the VCE list.

“It’s offensive, it’s anti-Israeli, it’s anti-Jewish, and frankly it shouldn’t be taught to our children,” he told reporters on Tuesday.

The member for Kew said the play teaches students to “hate Israel” because it “describes Israel in a very unflattering light.”

“It’s hateful, it’s divisive, it’s provocative,” he said.

The playwright has hit back at opponents who have attacked the play as “anti-Israel propaganda”.

“It is intentionally written in a depoliticised sense and brings out the lives and stories of the people,” Ms Sabawi told The Australian newspaper.

A spokesman for Mr Guy said the opposition leader supports Mr Smith’s comments about the play, which reflect the state party’s stance.

Mr Smith denied he wanted censorship on what year 12 students could study.

“I’m not advocating censorship at all. I’m advocating for an inclusive curriculum that doesn’t make any kid feel unwelcome at school.”

Tales of a City by the Sea premiered in Melbourne in 2014, with its sell-out season gaining favourable reviews.

A review by The Australian Jewish Democratic Society described the play as a “stunningly theatrical experience” that portrayed a “lovingly wrought, gentle tale”.

Its second season at La Mama Courthouse is due to open on Wednesday.

The office responsible for setting Victorian curriculums says it is confident teachers will focus on the dramatic aspects of the play “while providing an even-handed explanation of the political context”.

Earlier this year, the state opposition supported Malcolm Turnbull’s review of the Safe Schools anti-bullying program, which focuses on gender and sexuality issues.

AAP