Sabreen Msarwi reinstated!
Palestinian teacher and Standing Together leader Sabreen Msarwi has been reinstated to her job, after a domestic and international campaign to defend her from victimisation.
Sabreen was suspended from her job and threatened with disciplinary action after she attended a Nakba Day protest on 15 May. She has now been reinstated, with the Israeli Education Ministry confirming she has no case to answer.
Sabreen said:
“My participation in the Return March, under its declared slogans, which express the right of refugees to return, is a legitimate participation […] within the right to expression of opinion, and comes in the context of the political activity of Palestinian-Arab citizens in the State of Israel.
“What caused me pain is the incitement campaign of personalities from outside the school, which successfully recruited parents and students to demonstrate incitement against me despite their [lack of] knowledge of what I had provided to the students and the educational process of the school […]
“What made me most happy was the broad turnout and support from the Arab and Jewish communities, including Arab political leaders, associations and institutions, and parents, students, part of the school staff, as well as parents, students, and teachers from schools I previously worked for.
“It is said that every crisis is an opportunity to bring about change and that’s what it was: this crisis [contributed to] raising students’ awareness of freedom of expression and the right of Palestinians in the country to participate in the demonstration, as well as introducing school students about the Palestinian Nakba and what it means to us as Palestinians. I believed from the beginning that the issue is not a personal one and it is part of the public intimidation campaign against the Arab masses in the country, from which our voices were asked to be silenced.”
On 31 May, Sabreen was a speaker at an anti-war rally in the Arab-Palestinian town of Iskal, in northern Israel. The second picture below shows Sabreen alongside fellow speaker Ayala Mezger, whose father-in-law Yoram was held hostage by Hamas. Yoram’s death was sadly announced today (3 June).