Beersheba Student Faces Three-Day Suspension for Expressing Concern Over Gaza Children

A 13-year-old student from Beersheba, a member of the Arab Bedouin community, faced a three-day suspension after expressing concern for Palestinian children in Gaza during a classroom discussion about the October 7 Hamas-led massacre.

According to Channel 12 News, the student shared her thoughts on the suffering of children in Gaza, mentioning their lack of food and shelter, stating, “There are hungry children in Gaza, there are children without a home.”

Her comments, intended to highlight the humanitarian issues, led to severe backlash from her classmates, many of whom misinterpreted her words as support for Hamas.

Verbal Harassment, Suspension and Clarification

Following the class discussion, she was subjected to verbal abuse from her classmates, who threw objects at her and accused her of supporting Hamas. Many of her classmates linked her hijab to their accusations, often questioning her loyalty based on her appearance.

The student explained that her concerns were purely humanitarian and that she did not support Hamas or any form of violence. Despite her clarifications, the situation escalated, leading to her suspension.

School’s Justification for Suspension

The school, Zilberman Middle School, and the Education Ministry defended the suspension as a precautionary measure to protect the student from further harassment during an investigation. This explanation, however, has been met with criticism from the girl’s family and legal representatives.

Father and Legal Representative’s Response

As reported by Haaretz, her father criticized the school for failing to protect his daughter during the incident. He mentioned that the teacher did not intervene when the situation escalated, leaving his daughter to face her classmates’ harassment alone until another teacher stepped in and took her to the principal’s office.

Attorney Shahada Ibn Bari, representing the family, described the suspension as “extreme and illegal.” He emphasized that the student’s comments were taken out of context and that the school should have focused on protecting her instead of penalizing her.

Schoolmates Celebrated Her Suspension

Videos circulated on social media soon after the suspension showed some students celebrating the girl’s suspension. They chanted, “May your villages burn” in an apparent mockery of the girl’s comments and her subsequent suspension.

Protecting Students or Suppressing Free Speech?

Zilberman Middle School, which accommodates both Jewish and Arab students, has seen rising tensions in the wake of the incident. According to attorney Shahada Ibn Bari, many Arab students have reportedly chosen to stay home due to fears of verbal attacks or worse. The school, however, maintains that the suspension was meant to protect the girl, not to punish her.

As Beersheba’s municipal authorities prepare to hold a meeting to discuss the incident, the focus is now on how schools can create a safe environment for open discussions without subjecting students to hostility.

Similar Incident

In an unrelated but similar incident, on March 2024, Professor Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian from Hebrew University of Jerusalem was suspended for comments perceived as denying the sexual assaults committed by Hamas during the October 7 attacks.

She later clarified that she believed the victims and did not deny the rapes occurred, leading to her reinstatement. However, her separate statements accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza were not retracted.

This situation, similar to the suspension of the 13-year-old student, shows how difficult it can be to balance freedom of expression and acceptable speech, especially in sensitive times. Both cases demonstrate the serious consequences people can face for expressing opinions that are considered controversial.