A high school in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has expelled a Palestinian student because his mother made pro-Palestine posts on social media. This comes as the Israel-Gaza war continues.
However, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has requested the U.S. Department of Education investigate the expulsion.
15-year-old Jad Abuhamda was expelled from the Pine Crest School on November 19. His mother, Maha Almasri, was a math tutor at the school, but she was fired after the school found her social media posts “hateful and incendiary.” In a statement posted on its website, Pine Crest said her posts were “the possibility of inciting hatred and creating a climate of fear.”
Additionally, the school said Abuhamda was expelled because when parents show “disruptive, intimidating, or overly aggressive” behavior, they may “take the action that it deems necessary to address the situation.” So, the school decided to “separate” from the family.
The Israel-Gaza war was caused by Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel on October 7. They killed 1,200 people and took more than 200 people hostage. The Hamas-run Ministry of Health reports that Israel’s retaliatory air strikes and ground invasion of Gaza have killed over 18,000.
CAIR’s Florida chapter disagrees with Pine Crest’s comments about Almasri and her son. They described it as “false and defamatory.” Also, Almasri believes that the school took her posts out of context and is unduly punishing her son.
On the other hand, Pine Crest said it investigated the issue and contacted Almasri several times about her posts. “Her behavior was also such that the school believed it could increase the risk of violence in our community and compromise the safety of our students, employees, and families,” the school said in its statement.
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The school also said that Almasri violated its employment terms and “parent expectations that families agree to abide by.” Additionally, she posted photos of herself with her school lanyard, which “clearly identified her as a Pine Crest employee and improperly linked her posts to the School.”
Furthermore, Pine Crest said one of the images that promoted their decision was an image of a “soldier pointing a machine gun at an infant inside of an incubator and an image with commentary suggesting that some wanted to roast babies in an oven.” However, CAIR describes the same posts differently. They said Almasri’s posts were criticism of Israel’s sustained brutality against Gaza.
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Since the war broke out, reports have claimed that the Israeli air strikes and ground attacks have caused multiple deaths of innocent civilians in Gaza. Various humanitarian groups and aid organizations have accused the government of war crimes. However, Israel continues to maintain that they are simply fighting Hamas terrorists.
As a result of the conflict, there has been a spike in anti-Islamic and anti-semitic sentiments in America. Just two months ago, a Florida university system chancellor ordered all chapters of the Students for Justice in Palestine group at state universities to be dissolved.
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