Florida school expels Palestinian student over mother's social media posts

The mother of a student and an employee at a school in Florida says she wasn't planning on making waves when she made social media posts on her private account showing support for Palestinians amid Israel's war in Gaza, but was simply expressing her frustration over a conflict that has killed members of her family.

Dr. Maha Almasri's son, Jad Abuhamda, 15, was expelled last month from Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale. This came as she was fired from the school where she had been working as a maths tutor over social media posts criticising Israel's war on Gaza.

In the posts, Almasri criticised Israel's "eradication" of Palestinians.

"This was personal to me. We lost 30 members of my husband's family in Gaza," Almasri told The New Arab. "Even if it wasn't personal, it's just a big humanitarian crisis. I consider myself a voice among voiceless people. I was posting on my private social media account." 

One image Almasri posted that the school took issue with was of a soldier aiming a gun at a baby in an incubator, which the school said had the potential of inciting hatred. Pine Crest did not respond to The New Arab's requests for comment. 

They do, however, have a Q&A section on their website addressing the case of Almasri and her son, in some cases answering questions that might imply more than they ask, such as "Did the family have any previous concerning issues/events?" with their response being that they would not discuss the family's history at the school out of respect for their privacy. 

In other answers, the school described Almasri as acting aggressively and disruptively with her social media posts in their explanation for why they expelled her son. This is contrary to how Almasri describes the issue, saying it was not her but the school that had brought this to the public's attention.

A disproportionate response?

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is urging an investigation by the Department of Education, saying the school's response to Almasri's social media posts in expelling her son is unfair.

"Dr. Almasri made a statement in her personal capacity. The statements were not directed at the school," Omar Saleh, an attorney with the Florida chapter for the CAIR, told TNA.

"We have extreme voices in the parent and donor groups. This is a reaction that really damages [Pine Crest's] own reputation and the reputation of others," he said.

"We wouldn't be here if it were just about the firing," continued Saleh, noting that political speech is not protected in the private setting, referring to Pine Crest's status as a private school.

"We can advocate for them as much as we can. I don't think there's a clear cause of action for the expulsion," he said of Abuhamda's sudden dismissal.

Saleh, who grew up in Florida and was on his school's debate team, recalls Pine Crest as an impressive competitor, a sign of its high academic standing. The school, located in Fort Lauderdale, is consistently ranked among the best schools in Florida, per the education platform Niche. According to the school's website, the tuition for high school is $42,040 per year – about $3,000 more than Florida's per capita income.

Pine Crest's high status and exclusivity has no doubt fostered an atmosphere of unusually high parental and alumni involvement, which some have described as stifling. Though Almasri doesn't have the full details of her dismissal, the school did inform her that it was a fellow parent who turned her in over her social media posts.    

A climate of moral panic

This case comes amid a nationwide rise in employee dismissals related to personal positions on Israel's war in Gaza. 

It also comes at a time when Florida is seeing a surge in culture wars related to race, gender and other identities, often playing out at educational institutions. Right-wing parents' groups have played a prominent role in mobilising outrage related to the teaching of the US history of slavery as well as pushing for book bans, often of mainstream classical literature that address controversial topics.

For Abuhamda and his family, this incident is one of many that appears to meet a low threshold for controversial speech, which can come as a surprise for those who are not closely following the ongoing culture wars.

"Pine Crest was my home, my community. Even people I'm not best friends with were people I've seen for the past 10 years," Abuhamda told The New Arab."I feel like I was betrayed when that was taken away from me so suddenly."

However, for some who are familiar with Pine Crest, hearing about this incident does not entirely come as a surprise.

Ashby Bland, who graduated from Pine Crest in 2016, reacted to the news of Abuhamda's expulsion with outrage, but also with a strong sense of familiarity from her time there as one of the few Black students. 

"My four years at Pine Crest were the worst four years of my life. It's an incredibly racist school and centered around white comfort," Bland told TNA. She says she experienced multiple forms of bullying, without accountability or process for those she says made the offensive comments.

Indeed, for Abuhamda, his entire time at Pine Crest, he didn't mention that he was Palestinian, only referring to himself as Jordanian when the subject of his background came up.

"While I was at Pine Crest, I never told people I'm Palestinian. If [my background] was brought up, I'd say I'm from Jordan," he said. "I never felt safe saying I'm Palestinian. It always felt like it was too touchy a subject to mention the word Palestinian," he said.

"Now that it's out, it feels nice. For the friends I do still talk to now knowing I'm Palestinian, it feels like a weight has been lifted off my chest," he said.  

Facing loss and an uncertain future

As the reality sets in for Almasri and Abuhamda, they are hesitant to dwell too much on their professional and educational lives being upended, given the growing death toll in Gaza, which has surpassed 20,000. 

Losing their routines, familiar environment and a longtime social circle, however, has been no doubt difficult. 
Throughout the ordeal, Almasri has been thinking about her students, who lost their math tutor shortly before their midterm exams.

"I'm a doctor of pharmacy. I took this job because I love math and I love teaching students math. I was more of a mentor to the students. They relied on me so much. The first thing that came to mind was my students, while my heart was broken for my son," she said. She has, however, been heartened by the outpouring of support from friends, alumni and others, some who have shared their own "me too" stories.

Meanwhile, Abuhamda has been focused on where he will continue his education mid-year, which will likely be difficult to arrange given the publicity of the case and the lack of spaces available at schools on short notice.

"I'm anxious because I don't know what my future will be next semester," said Abuhamda. "I miss my teachers. I feel kind of lost. I don't know what the future holds," Abuhamda said, just days before the new year, still with no new school lined up. 

"Hopefully, I'll find a school that I can go to. Hopefully, it will be different than Pine Crest so that I can be who I am -- a Palestinian kid who's just trying to get through high school."