Canadian school teacher, Nadia Shoufani
Schools open again next Tuesday in Mississauga after the summer break.
But Nadia Shoufani does not know if she will be back in class with her students in the Southern Ontario city, just outside Toronto.
The elementary school teacher has been suspended for almost a month, as the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board investigates her over a speech supporting Palestinian rights that she gave at a rally in Toronto.
The rally on 2 July marked al-Quds Day, normally the last Friday of Ramadan, which many people observe as a day of solidarity with Palestinians.
Since then, Shoufani has been the target of a campaign by pro-Israel groups in Canada which seek to have her dismissed for allegedly supporting "terrorism."
During her address,
which can be seen on video, Shoufani defends the Palestinian struggle against Israeli occupation and colonization. She says she speaks on behalf of Palestine solidarity groups frustrated at the "silence towards what's happening in occupied Palestine." She condemns extrajudicial executions by Israel, land theft by settlers, home demolitions and arrest raids.
Comment: Tobacco and nicotine have been demonized for quite some time now. The fairly new trend of vaping nicotine may be dangerous - who knows? Carcinogens have been found in e-cigarettes. They also reportedly have chemicals in them that have been linked to lung disease along with toxic compounds linked to oral disease. A similar trend happened with tobacco.
Unfortunately, people are vaping to quit smoking or they think that it's a healthier option than tobacco. To the contrary, there are many amazing health advantages to smoking tobacco. Given the history of junk science (lies) behind the anti-tobacco movement, it makes us wonder why something so beneficial is being portrayed as so wicked!