Elham Asaad Buaras
A superintendent for a California school district in the US has, during a school board meeting on November 14, denied that his district considers the slogan “Free Palestine” to be hate speech.
Wesley Smith, Superintendent for the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, was addressing the suspension of the unnamed Corona del Mar Middle and High School student, purportedly for making a “Free Palestine” remark.
“We want to make sure people understand this district does not consider ‘Free Palestine’ hate speech,” Smith said. “We absolutely are committed to free speech; we’re committed to making sure every single square inch of this district is safe for our students.”
During the board meeting, multiple parents and community members raised questions and concerns about what led to the suspension. Some commended the district’s actions; others questioned why a student would be suspended for voicing support for Palestine.
The superintendent, however, did not clarify what led to the student’s suspension, adding that district officials are not permitted to divulge personal information about children and their disciplinary actions.
“We can only talk in generalities and hope that people understand and trust that we are doing our jobs,” said Smith.
Social media messages began to circulate from a variety of accounts, including one claiming to be the student’s aunt and contained a copy of a letter, dated November 9, from Principal Jacob Haley to the student’s parents stating that he had been suspended for three days.
In the letter shared on the X platform, the principal said, ‘(The student) said threatening remarks to a young lady in class. He said, “Free Palestine,”’ the letter read. Those social media posts also detailed previous bullying incidents directed at the suspended student.
In her post, the woman said her nephew responded with “Free Palestine” after allegedly being called a terrorist by the female student.
In an email to parents, Newport-Mesa Unified said, “Information on social media and news media is an inaccurate and incomplete picture of what occurred.”
“We do not discipline students for solely exercising their right to free speech,” the district said. “However, to adhere to laws that protect student privacy, we are unable to share the full details of the incident.”
The Southern California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations also condemned the suspension.
“This one-sided approach perpetuates Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian sentiment, creating an adverse climate for American Muslims,” said CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush in a statement.
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