A Muslim athletic trainer was fired by a private girls school in Bryn Mawr over years-old social media posts criticizing Israel, the Philadelphia Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) alleged Wednesday.
The group has filed a federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charge on behalf of Natalie Abulhawa against the Agnes Irwin School, an all-girls college preparatory school with grades pre-kindergarten to 12. The complaint alleges discrimination on the basis of national origin and/or religion.
It alleges Abulhawa, who is Palestinian American, was vetted and hired for just a few days, before school leadership fired her after showing her social media posts that had been curated by the website Canary Mission.
“I was an athlete my whole life, I knew I wanted to be an athletic trainer since I was in high school,” said Abulhawa during a press conference on Wednesday. “To, just within 10 days, to have my whole life thrown off track … it took a big toll on me emotionally,” she continued.
Canary Mission’s aim is to document “individuals and organizations that promote hatred of the USA, Israel and Jews on North American college campuses,” according to its website.
In practice, the profiles can have a chilling effect on activism and can lead to professional consequences, including firings, for those who appear on its website, the Intercept has reported.