Arlington preschool teacher fired over ‘Kill some Jews’ tweet

An Arlington preschool teacher has been fired over a series of anti-Semitic posts on social media, including a tweet that said “kill some Jews.”

Nancy Salem, who was fired from The Children’s Courtyard, once also retweeted: “How many Jews died in the Holocaust? Not enough!”

Salem has since released a statement that said she was “truly sorry for the pain and hurt my words caused, especially to members of the Jewish faith.”

Tweets by Salem and several University of Texas at Arlington students were made public after the watchdog group Canary Mission reported that 24 current and former students had made anti-Semitic comments online.

Salem was not enrolled at UTA, but the the report said she was involved in the school’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, which Canary Mission said was a “focal point for campus anti-Semitism.”

A university spokeswoman on Thursday said that Salem was not a member of the student group, and the group also denies she was ever part of SJP.

Salem, who formerly attended Tarrant County College, has since deleted her social-media accounts.

In a prepared statement Thursday, she apologized. Salem said she made comments “that I deeply regret and believe are not a reflection of the beliefs I hold today.”

“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 released a statement explaining Salem’s termination.

“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.”