Toronto-area teacher suspended after public raised concerns about conduct: board

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – A Toronto-area elementary school teacher has been suspended after at least one advocacy group alleged she participated in an anti-Israel protest.

The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board says Nadia Shoufani, a teacher at St. Catherine of Siena school in Mississauga, has been suspended with pay pending further investigation by the board.

The board says concerns were raised by “the community and public at large” over Shoufani’s “professional conduct,” and says it has brought those issues to the attention of the Ontario College of Teachers for investigation and review.

It would not, however, confirm a connection to the protest.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, the advocacy arm of the Jewish Federations of Canada-UIA, says the suspension was prompted by comments Shoufani made at the Al-Quds Day event at Queen’s Park in early July.

The group says it filed a complaint after Shoufani allegedly called on the public to “support the resistance (against Israel) in any form.”

“We applaud the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board for taking decisive action by suspending Shoufani,” said Berl Nadler, the organization’s co-chair in the Toronto area.

“It is disturbing to think that someone who is entrusted with the responsibilities of a teacher would be among the leading voices at a toxic, anti-Semitic event like Al-Quds Day.”

Shoufani did not immediately respond to a request for comment.