A Virginia high school teacher who went on a 12-minute classroom rant claiming the United States is funding “genocide” in Gaza will not be returning to her post at Deep Run High School.
After an exclusive report from the Washington Examiner detailed history teacher Catherine Massalha’s rant, which included attempts to convince students to become activists, Henrico County Public Schools conducted an investigation into Massalha, concluding she had violated school policy.
“Massalha’s remarks were not part of the HCPS curriculum and contradicted guidance provided to all high school history departments earlier this school year,” HCPS spokeswoman Eileen Cox confirmed to the Washington Examiner in a statement Tuesday evening. “The school division does not condone the manner in which her comments were delivered, and we apologize for the pain and distress our students and school community have experienced.”
The district said that Massalha remains employed by Henrico County Public Schools, but it is unclear in what capacity. Deep Run High School did not return a request for comment.
In the recording of her comments to students, Massalha can be heard accusing Israel of committing war crimes, calling Hamas terrorists “resistance fighters,” and claiming the United States is “funding a genocide in Gaza.”
At the time, the school district defended Massalha’s statements to the Washington Examiner, characterizing them as part of a normal classroom discussion and an example of using current events in an age-appropriate way to provide “real-world learning opportunities.”
Initial reporting on Massalha’s rant sparked consternation and protest among school district parents, roughly 30 of whom protested outside the high school on Feb. 8.
“She was completely sharing one side of information based on her religious political beliefs,” Deep Run parent Tiffany Sweetser said at the time, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “Hamas is a designated terrorist organization. She didn’t share that information.”
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Robert Eitel, president and co-founder of the Defense of Freedom Institute, which was originally sent the audio by the father of the student who recorded it, told the Washington Examiner, “We are thankful that Henrico Schools listened to parents and protected students by removing this teacher from the classroom.”
“By delivering an unrelenting pro-Hamas, anti-American, anti-Israeli rant to a captive classroom, this teacher ignored school district guidance that requires conscientious efforts to present facts objectively and impartially in the teaching of high school history,” Eitel said. “The audio recording reveals a passionately pro-Hamas teacher interested in intimidation and indoctrination, not classroom debate and discussion.”
