A former athletic trainer for the Agnes Irwin School has filed a federal discrimination charge, alleging she was unlawfully fired by the Main Line private school after parents complained about years-old social media posts criticizing Israel.
Natalie Abulhawa, a 24-year-old Palestinian American, says she was fired in November, 10 days after starting as an athletic trainer at the all-girls school. The issue cited by school officials, she said, was a profile about her hosted by a website that bills itself as documenting “individuals and organizations that promote hatred of the USA, Israel and Jews on North American college campuses.”
Abulhawa and the Council on American Islamic Relations — which this week announced it had filed the charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Abulhawa’s behalf — say the website is Islamophobic and targets college students active in advocating for Palestine.
