1 year ago
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NEW DELHI: A dentist was fired after he was caught on camera tearing down posters of
Israeli hostages
, which had been displayed in the trendy Brickell neighborhood of Miami, reported the New York Post.
Dr Ahmed ElKoussa
claimed that his actions were intended to prevent racially charged hatred in the city. The incident quickly gained attention when viral footage of him and a friend tearing down the posters circulated on social media.
The posters featured images of roughly 200 people kidnapped by Hamas, the Palestinian militant organization. While Dr ElKoussa's intentions were reportedly to prevent potential conflicts and violence in his local community, his actions faced widespread criticism.
The dental office where Dr ElKoussa worked,
CG Smile
, issued a statement expressing their disapproval of his actions and clarifying that they do not support terrorist groups, their actions, or their supporters. Consequently, Dr ElKoussa was removed from the staff, and all affiliations with him on the dental office's social media pages and groups were severed.
Dr ElKoussa's representative and lead attorney at Muslim Legal,
Hassan Shibly
, told the Post, “His personal opinion was that posters from either side may potentially incite conflict and he did not want there to be any conflict escalation in his local community. And he was concerned that those posters could potentially trigger conflict — rightfully or wrongfully, he was concerned that they would trigger and escalate conflict.”
The dentist's actions are said to be influenced by a recent incident involving a 71-year-old landlord who fatally stabbed a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy, Wadea Al-Fayoume, and injured his mother.
Upon contacting the police with his concerns about the flyers, Dr ElKoussa was advised to either put up counter-posters or remove the existing ones. He chose to remove the posters, but his actions sparked outrage and even led to death threats and harassment, ironically contributing to the conflict he sought to avoid.
Hassan Shibly emphasized that Dr. ElKoussa's intention was never to harm anyone, and he had acted based on an analysis he made on the spot, deeply affected by the stabbing of the 6-year-old child. Dr ElKoussa has since apologized for any harm his actions may have caused to the Jewish community and intends to seek to regain his job, claiming that he was wrongfully terminated.
Dr ElKoussa's social media accounts have been taken down, and his dental practice's Yelp page has been flooded with negative reviews.
English (US)