A Central Bucks teacher and student club are the subject of a federal investigation for alleged antisemitism

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights is investigating a complaint accusing the Central Bucks School District of permitting antisemitic statements by a teacher and a Muslim student group he advises.

The complaint, filed on behalf of a person whose name is redacted, alleges the district has discriminated against Jewish students — citing anti-Israel posts on Instagram by both Youssef Abdelwahab, a Spanish teacher at Central Bucks West, and the school’s Muslim Student Association, among other allegations.

The posts it describes include one on March 30 by Abdelwahab on an account for his business, AragApparel — he sells durags with designs inspired by kaffiyehs, a traditional Arab headdress often worn by supporters of Palestine — that said Israel was “ethnically cleansing Christianity from Gaza.” That weekend, the MSA club posted a prayer for Ramadan that read “Oh Allah, deal with the usurping Jews and the treacherous Zionists.”

In another post that weekend, the MSA shared a tweet that said “the birthplace of Jesus is getting bombed on Easter,” along with a photo the complaint said was taken in 2021.

The complaint, which notes other posts linking Christianity and Islam, alleges both Abdelwahab and the club “seek to align the Christian and Muslim population against the Jewish/Israeli population by using ‘blood libel,’” a centuries-old false accusation claiming Jews murder Christians for ritual purposes.

Abdelwahab said in an interview last week that the club had issued an apology for the post that referred to “usurping Jews,” which he said was posted “accidentally.” Students run the account, but Abdelwahab is supposed to approve posts, he said, and “I apologize for not catching it.”

He also said the post was “referring to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces], those perpetrating the crimes against humanity … It wasn’t just saying, all Jews, or anything like that.”

The post about Easter, he said, was meant as “an olive-branch extension” on the holiday, “showing some empathy” to Christian Palestinians. The post was “by no means meant to single out Jewish kids in any way,” said Abdelwahab, 35, who has taught in the district for five years.

Abdelwahab and MSA have been the subject of criticism since February, when a club event at Central Bucks West encouraging students to protest the state’s financial support for Israel caught the attention of community members.

At a school board meeting in March, several parents accused Abdelwahab of “brainwashing” students who followed his Instagram account; an unsigned 45-page letter addressed to the district’s acting superintendent and shared with The Inquirer detailed the teacher’s anti-Israel social media posts and interactions with students on social media, and called for his firing.

In an interview last week, Central Bucks’ interim superintendent, James Scanlon, said that the district is proposing new social media rules for student clubs, expected to be discussed during a school board committee meeting Tuesday. The rules specify that clubs should only post about their activities, and “should avoid discussing external activities or events unrelated to its core focus.”

Scanlon said that Abdelwahab had not violated district policies.

“I cannot punish somebody for their personal beliefs,” Scanlon said.

Scanlon said he’s met twice with both the MSA and the high school’s Jewish Student Union, as well as with their club advisers and parents who have called.

“When I talk to the kids, they’re all friends, and working together,” Scanlon said, noting an upcoming joint event with both clubs. He said the district was “doing everything to help kids feel safe and secure.”

In a letter to community members last week, Scanlon and school board president Karen Smith said that “the situation between Israel and Palestine and the conversations surrounding this conflict have caused tension for some of our students and parents,” and that the district had “investigated reports of hate speech and inappropriate comments about both Muslim and Jewish members of our school community.”

“There is no space or tolerance in our school community for Antisemitism, Islamophobia or any other forms of discrimination or hate,” Scanlon and Smith said, urging “anyone who has been a victim of discriminatory harassment, bullying or hazing” to report the incidents to administrators.

The complaint against the district was filed by Monique Hofkin, a parent in the Lower Moreland School District who said she had previously filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission about her family’s experience with antisemitism. While Hofkin said only one name was redacted from the complaint, she said she had heard from “several” parents in Central Bucks with the same allegations.

“Many parents are afraid for their safety or their child’s safety and prefer to remain anonymous,” Hofkin said.

The complaint notes that Abdelwahab attended a rally held by the Philly Palestine Coalition on Oct. 8, the day after the Hamas attacks. “When people are occupied, resistance is justified!” Abdelwahab posted two days later.

Asked about his post, Abdelwahab said in an interview that he “would never advocate violence towards anybody.” But “only focusing on Oct. 7 … decontextualizes the history of the occupation. These are occupied people that have been living in inhumane conditions for decades.”

This isn’t the only civil rights investigation into Central Bucks, which has been the subject of complaints alleging anti-LGBTQ discrimination. The district last month settled a lawsuit with Andrew Burgess, a teacher who alleged the district retaliated against him for helping a transgender student report bullying to federal officials.

Central Bucks notified its insurance carrier of the new investigation, Scanlon said. He said Edward Diasio from the Wisler Pearlstine law firm is representing the district.