MoCo Teacher On Leave After Antisemitic Social Media Posts: Reports

ROCKVILLE, MD — A teacher with Montgomery County Public Schools was placed on administrative leave after she was accused of posting antisemitic messages on social media and claiming the October attack by Hamas on Israel was a hoax, according to multiple reports.

Sabrina Khan-Williams, a world studies teacher at Tilden Middle School in Rockville, was placed on leave after parents reported the posts to school officials, according to a WTOP report. Khan-Williams also teaches diversity, equity and inclusion classes at the school.

Parents Emily Proffitt told WTOP that screenshots of the posts were shared in a group chat among parents.

"She's posting things that are akin to the Holocaust deniers. She's posting denial of a massacre that occurred on Oct. 7," Proffitt told the station.

The war between Israel and Hamas, now in its sixth week, was triggered by a wide-ranging Hamas attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7 in which the militants killed over 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and captured some 240 men, women and children.

Israel responded with a weekslong air campaign and a ground invasion of northern Gaza, vowing to remove Hamas from power and crush its military capabilities.

More than 11,200 Palestinians have been killed, two-thirds of them women and minors, according to Palestinian health authorities. Another 2,700 have been reported missing, with most believed to be buried under the rubble. The official count does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths, and Israel says it has killed thousands of militants.

According to screenshots of the social media posts obtained by The Washington Post, Khan-Williams said, "Palestinian's are being killed and their organs are being sold. How is real life scarier than the movies??"

Another read, "Debunked! No music festival attack. Babies were not burned. Women were not violated. Hospitals were attacked on purpose," the Post reported.

Tilden principal Sapna Hopkins wrote to parents Monday and addressed the posts, though she didn't mention the staff member by name, according to the Post's report.

"These social media posts have undermined our school's values of respect and belonging," Hopkins wrote. "I understand the deep distress and hurt this incident has caused our community."

She added, "A strict process governs our response to this matter, and any actions resulting from an investigation will be considered a personnel matter."

A Montgomery County Public Schools spokesperson did not immediately return Patch's request for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.