A father from a Beer Sheva kindergarten in southern Israel went on a hate-filled racist rant in a WhatsApp group for parents. He called for an Arab Bedouin girl to be expelled, saying “scum must be isolated.”
The conversation, according to Ynet News, started out with the parents discussing a recent increase in Palestinian-Israeli violence. The subject of the little girl, Nura, aged just three, came up as one parent fanned the flames, taking the question further.
“If there is an Arab kid in the kindergarten it’s time to expel him!” the parent started off, before suggesting that “She has no place in the Jewish State… she should study in her village. Go to Syria; they love you there, Assad is waiting.”
The whole thing was a profound shock to Nura’s father, Hamed, who plans to remove his daughter from the kindergarten, and accuses the parent of racism.
“I was shocked to see it, I’m ashamed,” Hamed, who is a department head in the Hura local council and a football referee, told Ynet. “I just started shaking when I read the messages. The parent knew that there is an Arab girl at the kindergarten, he was talking about her specifically.”
But the verbal assault didn’t stop there, despite Hamed’s best intentions at de-escalation, his threats of complaining to the media resulted in the following statement from the other parent: “I hope they burn your village! F**ck you and the media you Arab dog.”
The enraged individual went on to recommend that Israel should “stop giving [Palestinians] financial support, education, everything. I hope their villages are closed off and they die from hunger.
“I’ll tell you who you are, you’re the slave of Jews!” he wrote. “Clear out! And to all the parents who are sitting in silence, who I know agree with me, I have one word to say to you: shame!”
Hamed demanded an apology, asking “of what is a three-year-old guilty?” before the kindergarten teacher appeared on the group and threatened to close it unless everyone calmed down.
That didn’t stop the other parent’s hate-filled rant, however. Now, Hamed is afraid his wife and daughter’s lives might be in danger as a result of the political situation, and plans to move Nura to another kindergarten. But “even if she moves away from the kindergarten, with the situation in the country the way it is today he might try and hurt them." Stabbing attacks carried out by Palestinian youths have been on the rise across Israel.
The Beer Sheva municipality responded. “We fiercely reject any attempt to harm or discriminate against any child.
“The relevant professional authorities are in touch with the girl’s parents and measures will be taken steps in accordance with their will and preferences,” the statement added.
As these events unfolded, tear gas and riot gear were used by Israelis in Bethlehem, after thousands gathered in the city to mourn Mutaz Zawahreh, who was killed by IDF on Tuesday. It's the latest set of clashes between Palestinian civilians and Israeli forces, following similar unrest, which has been an almost daily occurrence near the separation wall in Bethlehem over the past week, Ma'an news agency reported.
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