Middle school teacher alleges discrimination for being placed on leave over pro-Palestinian email signature
A teacher at a Maryland school district was placed on administrative leave for her email signature which included the phrase, "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," but now, she is suing for discrimination.
Mongomery County Public Schools (MCPS) teacher Hajur El-Haggan filed the 13-page complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Maryland Commission on Human Rights, alleging that she was discriminated against as a Muslim and Arab-American woman.
In November, El-Haggan was placed on administrative leave from Argyle Middle School while she was investigated for her work email correspondence. She was told her email signature, "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," was not allowed, but even after she removed the signature, El-Haggan claims she was still put on leave.
The complaint cites other email signatures from staff in the district, which included endorsements of Black Lives Matter and another staff member who noted they were the sponsor of the Rainbow Alliance, an LGBTQ club at the middle school, while a Library Media Specialist reportedly links to an article titled "Should you put Pronouns in Email Signatures and Social Media Bio?" in her email bio.
A teacher at a Maryland school district was placed on administrative leave for her email signature which included the phrase, "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," but now, she is suing for discrimination.
El-Haggan's email address read: "Hajur El Haggan 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free."
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"Yet, until the present situation with Ms. El-Haggan, MCPS had never taken adverse action against any other employee who chose to include political speech in their email signature," the complaint said. "Ms. El-Haggan was informed that including any political or non-political quotes in an email signature was against the MCPS Employee Code of Conduct, yet this policy was never enforced against any of Ms. El-Haggan’s colleagues who participated in similar conduct."
El-Haggan is one of five MCPS employees on administrative leave amid investigations into their email or social media correspondence, according to WJLA. The complaint filed by El-Haggan alleges the county's approach to her case is "in direct opposition of their own Restorative Justice policies and personnel regulations," as well as a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act.
Mongomery County Public Schools (MCPS) teacher Hajur El-Haggan filed the 13-page complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Maryland Commission on Human Rights, alleging that she was discriminated against as a Muslim and Arab-American woman.
"'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free'" is a slogan that supports Palestine and does not discriminate against Jews or any other ethnic group. It is disingenuous to suggest otherwise, and it violated the First Amendment to punish Ms. Haggan for her support of Palestine," Justin Sadowsky, Senior Litigation Attorney at CAIR Legal Defense Fund, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Chris Cram, the Director of the MCPS Department of Communications, told Fox News Digital that because this is a personnel matter, he is prohibited by law from providing any other information.
El-Haggan likened "From the river to the sea" to the American slogan "From sea to shining sea," adding "It's no different. It's a call for freedom, peace, basic rights, and humanity and coexistence," according to WJLA.
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But, many people in the Jewish community disagree and believe "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" is a call for violence and genocide against Jewish people in Israel.
The Anti-Defamation League has classified the chant as a call to violence against Jews in Israel.
"This rallying cry has long been used by anti-Israel voices, including supporters of terrorist organizations such as Hamas and the PFLP, which seek Israel’s destruction through violent means," the organization states on its website. "It is fundamentally a call for a Palestinian state extending from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, territory that includes the State of Israel, which would mean the dismantling of the Jewish state."
Former counterterrorism coordinator Nathan Sales recently told Fox News Digital that the slogan is a call for "extermination of the Jewish state," and that proponents of the slogan "think that Israel shouldn't exist at all."
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Some pro-Palestinian advocates, including "The Young Turks" show host and announced 2024 Democratic Party presidential candidate Cenk Uygur believe the phrase is "hurtful" to the Jewish people and "counterproductive" to the Palestinian cause.
"Do not chant something that the majority thinks is a call for genocide. Not complicated," Uygur said.
In addition to her email signature that led to her being placed on leave, El-Haggan also had a large Palestinian flag on her car’s windshield with the text "Free Palestine." Someone cut off the windshield flag and pushed in the passenger side mirror, which she reported to police, according to the complaint.
El-Haggan wore shirts or sweatshirts with a variety of slogans including "Free Gaza," "Free Palestine," and "From the River to the sea, Palestine will be free" on the weeks and months after the October 7 massacre in Israel, where Hamas terrorists killed at least 1,200 Israelis and took over 250 hostages. She also reportedly wore a red hijab, along with black and green clothing to represent the colors of the Palestinian flag, as well as homemade Palestinian pins and buttons on her outfits every day, according to the complaint.
El-Haggan told WJLA that she would like to return to the classroom, but still plans to "Advocate to make sure that the county is taking steps to ensure that Muslim and Arab educators like myself are protected from discrimination."
Fox News' Maria Lencki and Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.
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