Seth Boyden teacher accused of removing student's hijab during class

This is presumably what the lawsuit is about: 

"Meanwhile, at a press conference in Newark on Jan. 6, Tarver explained that the Wyatt family’s lawsuit “alleges violations of New Jersey’s law against discrimination because it is unlawful under statute for an individual, whether it be a teacher or anyone else, to discriminate on the basis of religion of religious expression, which is exactly what Ms. Herman did when she deliberately, intentionally and forcefully moved the child’s hijab from her head.”

https://villagegreennj.com/police-and-fire/lawsuit-filed-in-south-orange-maplewood-school-hijab-incident/


This since seems an appropriate time for some enterprising journalist to track down Mrs. Wyatt and nail down the apology story.

Until then, we're all just spinning our wheels.


drummerboy said:

This since seems an appropriate time for some enterprising journalist to track down Mrs. Wyatt and nail down the apology story.

Until then, we're all just spinning our wheels.

Village Green is on it. They're trying. 


Alls I remember is a video of a poor, traumatized tyke, giggling while being coached by her mother about the incident. 

Like I said, she thought she had a winning lottery ticket.


Morganna said:

It is possible that the incident might have been settled quietly, with less serious consequence if it had not been broadcast by someone with celebrity status.

It might have made it to MOL and we might have all shared our opinions, but it could have blown over.

Teaching high school students, I saw my share of misunderstandings involving students, teachers and parents. But this was not the usual way these things play out.

Exactly.  This is the sort of incident that should have started with a parent-teacher-principal meeting.  If subsequent escalation to the BOE or Superintendent was requested, fine.  But this incident made it to the court of public opinion really quickly and now, nobody really benefits.


tjohn said:

Morganna said:

It is possible that the incident might have been settled quietly, with less serious consequence if it had not been broadcast by someone with celebrity status.

It might have made it to MOL and we might have all shared our opinions, but it could have blown over.

Teaching high school students, I saw my share of misunderstandings involving students, teachers and parents. But this was not the usual way these things play out.

Exactly.  This is the sort of incident that should have started with a parent-teacher-principal meeting.  If subsequent escalation to the BOE or Superintendent was requested, fine.  But this incident made it to the court of public opinion really quickly and now, nobody really benefits.

No one benefits but one person got destroyed. 


Tamar Herman has filed a defamation lawsuit for causing irreparable harm against Ibthihaj Muhummad and the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Rights and its director. 

"Her mother recounted the story on Facebook, and Ibtihaj Muhammad, an Olympic medalist who fences in a hijab, immediately denounced it as abuse in an Instagram post that went viral. By the next day, Gov. Philip D. Murphy had weighed in on Twitter, and a statewide Islamic organization was calling for the teacher’s “immediate firing.”

"In her lawsuit, she claims that Ms. Muhammad, the fencer, and CAIR-NJ were “motivated by a combination of greed and a fierce desire to burnish their brands as fighters against Islamophobia,” and that her reputation was so damaged that she can never be hired by another public school district."

"The legal papers also cite Governor Murphy’s social media commentary, but he is not named as a defendant."

"The lawsuit, filed on Oct. 5 in Union County Superior Court, also alleges that Ms. Herman is so afraid for her safety in the community where she taught for 20 years and also lived that she has had to permanently move out of her home."

"The teacher has not been permitted to return to the classroom and remains on administrative leave, according to the lawsuit. A spokeswoman for the district said she had no immediate information about the teacher’s job status."

"Mr. Maksut (executive director of CAIR-NJ) who wrote on Twitter that “racist teachers like this cannot be trusted around our children,” appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America” to discuss his organization’s demand that Ms. Herman be immediately terminated."

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/18/nyregion/nj-teacher-hijab-ibtihaj-muhammad.html

eta - There are a lot of people who owe Ms. Herman an apology, including Murphy. 


Such a disgrace. I hope Tamar Herman wins. 


Meanwhile Ibtihaj Muhammad is on social media as an influencer and promoting brands (like this for Sleep Number). I'm sure she's getting paid big bucks. It's disgusting. No accountability.


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