The mother of two Birmingham Public Schools elementary students says her family has faced harassment and doxxing due what she calls “an innocent mistake” in which stickers with inappropriate messages were distributed to elementary students during a multicultural night event.
During the April 28 event at Beverly Elementary School, children were given stickers with different messages, including at least one that included an image of a gun and another that said “(expletive) Zionism,” Birmingham Public School previously said in a statement.
Laila Balboul said she and another mother provided the stickers, which they had purchased from Amazon. They had no idea the stickers included the inappropriate imagery and messages, she said.
“It was an innocent mistake that could have happened to anybody,” Balbous said.
Following the event, Birmingham Public Schools Superintendent Embekka Roberson issued a statement addressed to district families, in part stating that “we do not tolerate intimidation, bullying, threats, discrimination, or antisemitism in our schools.”
Since then, the women have faced intense online backlash. On Tuesday, the Arab-American Civil Rights League (ACRL) held a press conference addressing the claims of threats and harassment.
ACRL Founder and Chair Nabih Ayad said all parties involved agree that the stickers should not have been distributed to kids. But he said the school district’s statement painted the mothers as antisemites, opening to door for online bullies to attack them.
“My whole life has been flipped upside-down,” Balbous said. “People have been calling my employer, asking that I be fired. I’ve had my face and address plastered on websites. It’s just disheartening.”
She feels as though the district made her a scapegoat. She said her 10-year-old son was bullied by some older children in a public park over the incident and now doesn’t want to go outside and play.
“We want the school district to do the right thing and put out a statement saying that they investigated the incident, found it was an innocent mistake and the family is apologetic,” Ayad said.
Birmingham Public Schools officials didn’t return a message seeking additional comment.
Balbous thinks Amazon and the third-party retailer should be held accountable as well. She said she’s spoken with community members who have also purchased stickers online, only to find their selection also included inappropriate content.
“I would never bring inappropriate stickers into my children’s school,” Balbous said. “It makes no sense.”
mreinhart@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Anti-Zionist stickers given to kids ‘an innocent mistake,’ Michigan mom says
Reporting by Max Reinhart, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Max Reinhart, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
