Central Bucks School District parents fighting against antisemitism in their kids’ schools have an ally in Accuracy in Media (AIM).
On Wednesday, AIM brought its billboard truck to Central Bucks West High School, where Youssef Abdelwahab teaches Spanish and is the advisor for the Muslim Student Association. Both are part of a U.S. Department of Education Title VI Civil Rights investigation.
Abdelwahab runs an online business, AragApparel, selling A-rags and other apparel. He has allegedly posted several antisemitic comments online since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7 and the war in Gaza began. The issue of social media posts continues to roil the district.
Posts on the business’s Facebook page claim “Gazan children are being actively starved/killed by Israel & the U.S.” and that “Zionism=Nazism.”
Shortly after the billboard truck featuring Abdelwahab’s photo arrived at Central Bucks West, the police came and told AIM president Adam Guillette, his cameraman, and driver they needed to move. Guillette said they found a parking place for the billboard on the street near the school.
Many people honked, gave them the thumbs up and spoke to them, saying they were “unhappy with the district,” said Guillette.
“Imagine being a young Jewish girl in his class,” said Guillette.
Furlong resident Inna Pyatetsky can imagine it. Her daughter will attend CB West in the fall, and Pyatetsky requested that she not be placed in his class.
She was surprised and happy to see the billboard and stopped to talk to Guillette.
“I said, ‘Thank you for doing this,’” said Pyatetsky. She’s complained about Abdelwahab to the school administrators and the school board, but she does not think they’re listening. An immigrant from Uzbekistan, she is shocked by the sudden rise in antisemitism she’s been encountering. This May, she attended the March of the Living at Auschwitz and said protesters shouted at the visitors, some whom had survived the Holocaust. Several of her family members died in the Holocaust.
“I have this dreadful feeling,” she said. “How is this happening in America? I’m shellshocked.”
Seeing Guillette and his billboard truck, “I felt for once there’s a voice.”
But Guillette said one woman started yelling and banging on the billboard truck windows as it was parked outside Central Bucks West.
“She tried to grab my microphone,” he said. She said she was calling the police and went into the school. Guillette called the police instead. When officers came, Guillette did not press charges against her.
“These are people who have never had their views challenged,” he said.
Later, they drove the billboard truck and parked it outside Abdelwahab’s house in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. They “chatted with passersby” about why they were there. Eventually, Abdelwahab came home.
“He said we were harassing him,” said Guillette. “And he would call the police.” But then, Abelwahab “told some homeless people nearby that we hate Muslins.”
“It got a little hairy,” said Guillette. “They threatened us, and we got into our car. There was one rowdy person.”
Asked to comment, Abelwahab said, “There is no evidence to back the untrue statements displayed on the billboard truck. They are all simply lies. The billboard truck pulled up to the front entrance of the school for all of CBW to see, an act of clear defamation of character and slander.
“Later the same day, I found the same truck parked outside my home in Germantown, Philadelphia, almost an hour away from CB West High School. They were spreading lies and false information about me to every passerby. Then they came up on me after I parked, breathing down my neck with ridiculous questions, microphone in my face, walking with me up to the doorstep of my home.
“This is harassment. I have a wife and little kids at home that I love and care about. They do not feel safe and nor do I by such aggressive and inappropriate behavior. I am being targeted and harassed by individuals filled with hate and bigotry towards people who come from different religious and ethnic backgrounds and have different views on what’s happening in the world.
“I continue to appreciate the support of my school’s senior administration, the school board, and superintendent. They see and understand what is happening for what it is.
Central Bucks School District Acting Superintendent Jim Scanlon sent a note to parents condemning AIM’s actions.”
Scanlon wrote, “It is with regret that I am contacting you at this time to make you aware that a political advocacy group brought a truck with an electronic billboard to CB West High School today, and that is making news headlines. District security staff asked the truck and the two occupants to leave our property, but we have no ability to regulate its presence near our schools and the truck remained nearby on a public street. Our standard procedure at graduation is that security is present, we have set an expectation that no organization will disrupt the ceremonies. As always, we do not condone hate speech of any kind, and our school board and administrative team have issued a statement to this effect. The matter referenced in the messages by this group is one that is the subject of a legal matter and has been discussed publicly, at length, at our school board meetings. We are not aware of a new development that may have prompted the presence of this advocacy group.”
Mara Witsen, a resident, believes a spotlight on the district is needed.
“I am glad that someone called attention to the CB West teacher’s behavior,” said Witsen. “Sunlight is the best disinfectant, and parents and taxpayers in the district deserve to know what is going on in their schools, and who they pay tax dollars to employ. Hopefully the additional media interest will cause the school board and administration to stop playing games and kicking the can down the road. Antisemitism from school district staff deserves to be addressed swiftly, and politics should play no part in the response.”
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