Bosnian genocide survivor fired from Luxembourg school over pro-Palestine posts. Photo credit: enroyanew.tv
Fatima Kurtic, a Bosnian genocide survivor and elementary school teacher in Luxembourg, was dismissed after speaking out on social media against the killing of children in Gaza. The Ministry of National Education said the decision was based on posts it considered antisemitic and incompatible with the duties of a civil servant. Fatima disputes that characterization, saying her posts criticized the Israeli government and Zionism—not Jewish people—and that her advocacy has consistently opposed war crimes and the killing of civilians.
Following her dismissal, students, parents, and supporters organized peaceful demonstrations calling for justice and demanding her reinstatement.
Fatima, a Bosnian refugee who arrived in Luxembourg in 20023 at around 8 years and spent 4 years in a refugee camp, spoke to Anadolu after being dismissed last October from her teaching position over social media posts on Palestine. She argues her firing by the Ministry of National Education violates her right to free expression.
Fatima is a fearless truth teller
She said her posted merely express support for Palestinians and opposition to the war in Gaza, stressing they contained nothing antisemitic and she never share anything targeting Jewish people or Judaism, but instead criticized the action of Israel. Despite losing her job, Fatima said nothing would stop her from speaking out about Palestine and what she described genocide taking place there.
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Her case gained wider public attention after rights groups and media outlets reported on it, with students and families organizing demonstrations in support of her reinstatement, according to Roya News.
Amnesty International Luxembourg said that individuals who contacted the organization reported experiencing censorship, workplace pressure, dismissals, harassment, public exposure, the leaking of personal information such as phone numbers, home addresses, and workplaces, as well as death threats and threats of torture.
"My social media posts have never targeted Jewish people. They have been critical of the Israeli government—and that is not antisemitism," Fatima told the Luxembourg Times. The Ministry of Education's failed to publicly respond to Fatima's specific claims about her dismissal and legal challenge.
She maintains that she has been unfairly targeted
"My posts are against war crimes in Gaza or in any part of the world. My posts differentiate between Jews and Zionists so that Jews never have to experience hatred and racism due to the actions of Israel. That is not antisemitism," she said.
Antisemitism is overused and misused term
Violently assaulting Herad Jewish protesting the forced conscription into Israel's child murdering army is antisemitic but speaking out against the murdering of Palestinian and Lebanese mothers and child is not. Using the term antisemitism against any criticism of Israel renders the term useless and shallow.
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“Amnesty International Luxembourg stated,“People who reached out to us talked about censorship, pressure at work, being fired, harassment, being exposed in public and the leaking of personal information such as phone numbers, addresses and places of work, as well as death threats and torture threats. Some people even complained of being followed in the streets."
Fatima is active on Instagram, where she has more than 111,000 followers.
She also called for a boycott of Luxembourg-based company Grosbusch, which she says sells dates produced in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Middle East Monitor reported in February that several media investigations and European consumer watchdog groups have alleged that dates produced in Israeli settlements may be marketed with concealed country-of-origin labels to circumvent boycott campaigns and regulatory scrutiny in Europe.
It is worth noting that Fatima's dismissal reportedly came without prior notice. She has since challenged the decision in court, with her lawyer arguing that the evidence presented by the ministry does not justify her dismissal.
Fatima also said she became the target of a coordinated campaign after her account of persuading one of Luxembourg's largest retailers to stop selling Israeli products went viral. She maintains that she never brought her political activism into the classroom. According to Fatima, the ministry accessed her private social media account, relied on screenshots of her posts, and built a case that ultimately led to her dismissal, effectively preventing her from teaching elsewhere.
The demonstrations supporting Fatima became one of the most visible public responses to her dismissal. Multiple news outlets have described the protests as large, emotional, and driven by students, parents, and members of the local community. Supporters say the case has become a symbol of concerns about freedom of expression.
A prolonged delays in resolving her legal challenge effectively deny her justice. The Ministry of National Education should listen the public demands outside her school, after all they are the one who elected them to office. Protesters carried signs reading:
#JusticeForFatima and #StandWithFatima
Caption for photo at the bottom
A Luxembourg primary school teacher and survivor of the Bosnian genocide, named Fatima Kurtic, has been dismissed after the Ministry of National Education deemed her social media posts expressing support for Gaza as antisemitic. Photo credit: X
Mahmoud El-Yousseph is a Palestinian freelance writer and retired U.S. Air Force veteran. He writes on U.S. foreign policy, Middle East affairs, and justice. Email: elyousseph6@yahoo.com.
