An Arab Israeli university lecturer who was dismissed over social media posts her employer deemed to be supportive of Hamas and the October 7 attacks will be paid over $70,000 in compensation, an Israeli court ruled last week.
Dr. Warda Sada was working as a lecturer in education at Be’er Sheva’s Kaye College during Hamas’ surprise attack on October 7, 2023. Sada, who was abroad at the time, published several posts on her Facebook page, which has over 11,000 followers.
Among other posts, she wrote against the occupation, linking the suffering of Palestinians to Hamas’ attack. The occupation, she wrote, creates a situation in which “the occupied rise up against ongoing cruelty and daily [acts of] murder. The Palestinians no longer have anything to lose.”
She later told Haaretz that she had been unaware of the scope of Hamas’ attacks when she made the posts.
In the following days, she continued to post about Israel’s subsequent military campaign in Gaza, including calling for talks to secure the release of the hundreds of people taken hostage. A picture of Sada began circulating on social media on October 15, with users – some of whom were employees of Kaye College – calling on the board of directors to oust her.
That day, she was suspended from her position, receiving a summons to a pro-termination hearing that would eventually end with her dismissal after 28 years with the college.
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Dr. Sada sued the college for wrongful termination, demanding to recover two years’ salary and additional compensation totalling 674,353 shekels (around $225,000). Last week, a Be’er Sheva Labor Court judge chastised both the college and Dr. Sada, but ultimately ruled in favor of compensating the former lecturer at a rate of 211,451 shekels (around $71,000).
“The decision to dismiss [Sada] runs counter to freedom of speech in general and academic freedom of speech specifically,” the judge wrote in her decision, adding that the college erred by not giving more consideration to Sada’s seniority, age or her defense for posting the content.
Citing the fact that firing an employee is the “most far-reaching step” that can be taken by an employer, the court charged that the college had chosen “in advance and decisively” to fire Sada, jumping immediately to the step which is usually left as a last resort. “Therefore, we determine that the decision to dismiss the plaintiff was made unlawfully,” the ruling says.
Despite ruling in favor of Sada, the court said she didn’t “show the required sensitivity and did not take responsibility for her actions.”
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“It is impossible to ignore [Sada]’s failure to take responsibility, for not apologizing for her mistake or publishing an admission of error for sharing a screenshot from a video taken on October 7, depicting the body of an Israeli soldier being kidnapped to Gaza and beaten,” the judge wrote in her decision.
“Like the college, which dug its heels in, the plaintiff also displayed no sensitivity and did not take responsibility for the mistakes she made,” the ruling states.
The college said it intends to appeal the ruling, according to Be’er Sheva Net, citing a statement from the college.
Sada told Israel’s public broadcaster Kan that “I did not support violence … I support innocent people on both sides and an end to the war,” adding that “Today, thousands are saying what I said: October 7 did not begin on October 7.”