Muslim preschool teacher fired after her 'kill some Jews!' tweet surfaces

A Texas preschool teacher has been fired after her "kill some Jews!" tweet from 2013 surfaced, along with other anti-Semitic tweets, the Dallas Morning News reported.

Nancy Salem, who said she's a Muslim American of Palestinian heritage, was fired from The Children's Courtyard in Arlington, the paper reported.

Salem in 2013 retweeted, “How many Jews died in the Holocaust? Not enough!” — and followed it with a lengthy all-capped "HAHAHA":

Image source: Twitter

KTVT-TV reported that another of her tweets said, “Gassed a Jew. I’m sweating. Heil.”

Salem deleted her Twitter account after her tweets were publicized, but it was picked up under a different handle — Unite Against Hatred:

The watchdog group Canary Mission called attention to Salem's tweets and as well as anti-Semitic tweets from current and former University of Texas at Arlington students, the Morning News said.

While Salem wasn't enrolled at UTA, the paper said the Canary Mission report indicates she was involved in the school's chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine — a "focal point for campus anti-Semitism," the report said. But a university spokeswoman told the Morning News that Salem wasn't a member of the student group.

Jesse Stock, southern regional coordinator for StandWithUs — an Israel education group — had strong words for Salem's tweets in an interview with KTVT: “It’s absolutely unacceptable to spread anti-Semitism. It’s dangerous, it’s irresponsible and we have an obligation to stand-up against that type of speech."

Salem apologized Thursday in a prepared statement, the paper reported:

Several years ago, while still a teenager attending high school, I made some racist and anti-Semitic statements that I deeply regret and believe are not a reflection of the beliefs I hold today. Furthermore, these statements were made at a time when I was not strong in my faith nor do they reflect the family values of inclusivity and respect for all faiths that my parents have worked very hard to instill in us. As many people can relate, teenagers often get involved with individuals that influence their behaviors and not always for the better and I deeply regret having been influenced in such a way.

That, however, does not excuse my actions and I am truly sorry for the pain and hurt my words caused, especially to members of the Jewish faith. As a Muslim American of Palestinian heritage, I am all too accustomed to being bullied and the target of hate speech so the fact that I made such statements is even more offensive because I should have known and acted with more compassion. Finally, even though these statements were made years prior to my employment at Children's Courtyard and I do not espouse such sentiments today, I take full responsibility for my past statements and respect the actions my employer took to address the concerns as a result.

The preschool also released a statement concerning Salem's firing, the Morning News said:

"Providing a safe, nurturing and inclusive learning environment is of the utmost importance to us," the statement said. "The offensive comments certainly don’t reflect our views. Our employees are expected to uphold certain standards of personal and professional conduct. Our senior leadership thoroughly investigated this matter. This person no longer works for our company."