A teacher at Argyle Middle School in Silver Spring has filed a discrimination complaint against Montgomery County Public Schools with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Maryland Commission on Human Rights after being placed on leave for having a pro-Palestine saying in her work email signature.
Hajur El-Haggan was told her email signature including the pro-Palestine chant “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” was not allowed and she was placed on administrative leave to investigate her email activity. El-Haggan told WJLA that she offered to remove the saying, but was still placed on leave.
Her complaint alleges she was discriminated against as a Muslim and as an Arab-American. She told WJLA that she has colleagues who have included the phrase “Black Lives Matter” and links explaining pronoun usage in their email signature, so she believes she is being specifically targeted for her views on the Israel-Hamas war.
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington has called the saying antisemitic, but El-Haggan defended it, calling it a “peaceful rallying cry” similar to the American saying “from sea to shining sea.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Dist. 8) hosts high school congressional art contest
Entries are being accepted in U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin’s (Dist. 8) annual contest for high school students to have their art displayed in the U.S. Capitol.
High school artists who live within Maryland’s eighth congressional district are eligible to submit their art to be judged by independent artists. The winning entry will hang in the Capitol alongside other artwork from students across the country.
“Each year, I look forward to seeing the boundless artistic talent and youth creativity represented in my Congressional Art Competition,” Raskin said. “I encourage all high school students across our district with a passion for visual arts to enter the 2024 competition and share their vision with us. 8th District youth are the future of American art.”
Entries must be submitted by March 25 via an online portal.
Montgomery County to give away free laptops to low-income residents
The Montgomery County government is giving out 60,000 Chromebooks to low-income residents, thanks to a federal grant.
To qualify, recipients must be at least seven years old, have a library card and be a Maryland resident. Proof of ID and address are required. Recipients may not already have access to a computer at home.
There are eight dates left for qualified residents to pick up a free Chromebook at a county library, but prospective recipients must fill out an online application to get an appointment.
While the county has received other grants in the past to provide free laptops, they anticipate this will be the last one.
Today’s weather
Partly cloudy with a high of 43 degrees
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