Glamorous DEI manager Mashal Sherzad who was fired by university for
posing in front of Israeli flag emblazoned with swastikas SUES college
for $75k in damages... and her job back
She accused the University of Minnesota of violating her First Amendment rights
Daily Mail
Apr 27, 2024
Sherzad has been pictured at multiple pro-Palestinian protests since the war started last fall.
A glamourous model-turned DEI manager who was fired because she posed in front of an Israeli flag emblazoned with swastikas is now suing the University of Minnesota for $75,000 in damages.
Mashal
Sherzad, 29, alleges that her First Amendment rights were violated,
demanding reinstatement to her job and more than $75,000 in damages.
Sherzad
was fired from her position as the diversity, equity and inclusion
manager at the school in January after she accidentally uploaded photos
of her posing in front of the controversial flag.
During a news conference Friday, Sherzad insisted the flag emblazoned with swastikas belonged to someone else.
'I
cannot be responsible for somebody else's intellectual property,' she
said, as she fought back tears while explaining how the firing has
affected her.
Mashal Sherzad, 29, a glamourous
model-turned DEI manager who was fired because she posed in front of an
Israeli flag emblazoned with swastikas is now suing the University of
Minnesota for $75,000 in damages
Sherzad, 29, alleged her First Amendment rights were 'violated', demanding her job reinstated and more than $75,000 in damages
Sherzad
was fired from her position as the diversity, equity and inclusion
manager at the school in January after she accidentally uploaded her
posing in front of the controversial flag
The activist showed up to the news
conference in a tight bodycon dress with risqué cut-outs to make her
case and beg for her job back.
'I'm
really, really scared for myself for many reasons,' Sherzad told
reporters inside the Coffman Memorial Union. 'What happened to me was
wrong, legally, factually, emotionally. It was horrifying for me, my
family, and my loved ones.'
Sherzad's
lawsuit against the university said she 'posted the photographs on her
private Instagram account, but unbeknownst to her, they were
automatically re-posted on her Facebook account.'
The pictures showing her at a December protest in Barcelona, Spain, have since been deleted from her Facebook.
Sherzad,
who identified as Muslim, and who is in a relationship with a woman,
began her role in October 2023, and travelled to Barcelona to attend the
pro-Palestinian rally just two months later.
She shared pictures of herself from the rally - including snaps of her posing in front of the swastika-embezzled Israeli flag.
She
was removed from her DEI manager job for the university's School of
Public Health on January 16 after the Dean, Melinda Pettigrew, said her
employment would create a 'real risk of significant disruption.'
'I did nothing wrong. They discarded a proud Queer, Muslim, Afghan and SWANA woman,' she has claimed.
The
29-year-old model uses Instagram to share pro-Palestinian content to
her 4,000 followers. Her biography section suggests she has worked for
famed modeling agency Ford - and Sherzad has shared scores of photos of
her striking good looks.
She appears to
have modeled herself on Kim Kardashian, with one snap showing a collage
of her face next to that of the reality star, who has long denied
rumors that her looks are the result of extensive cosmetic surgeries.
Sherzad
has posted videos of herself chanting at rallies in support of
Palestine, pictures comparing Nazi occupied Poland to Israeli occupied
Palestine and plenty of pro-Palestine infographics and protest pics.
She
also shared an array of glamorous selfies, bikini pics, couples-content
with her girlfriend Ralena Young, a restaurateur and glamorous photos
from her endless travels.
The activist showed up to the
news conference on Friday in a very tight bodycon dress with risqué
cut-outs to make her case and beg for her job back - explaining that the
vandalized flag she posed in front of was 'somebody else's intellectual
property'
During Friday's news conference,
supporters of Sherzad claimed that people who support Palestinians and
speak out against violence against them are being unfairly targeted
The 29-year-old model uses
Instagram to share pro-Palestinian content to her 4,000 followers. Her
biography section suggests she has worked for famed modeling agency Ford
- and Sherzad has shared scores of photos of her striking good looks
Sherzad also shared an array of
glamorous selfies, bikini pics, couples-content with her girlfriend
Ralena Young, a restaurateur and glamorous photos from her endless
travels
'The caption on said post was, "This is not a conflict. This is not a war. This is genocide,"' Sherzad explained.
A university spokesman, Jake Ricker, says the school doesn't typically comment on active lawsuits, according to Star Tribune.
However,
in a January letter School of Public Health Dean Melinda Pettigrew told
Sherzad she respects employees' rights 'to comment on matters of public
concern' but 'your conduct directly undermines your credibility in this
role.'
'I find that continuing your
employment would create a real risk of significant disruption to School
and University activities,' Pettigrew wrote.
'This
is particularly true given the current climate around the
Israeli/Palestinian conflict, within the University community and around
the globe, and the highly inflammatory nature of the image you
posted.'
During Friday's news
conference, supporters of Sherzad claimed that people who support
Palestinians and speak out against violence against them are being
unfairly targeted.
The executive
director of Minnesota's Council on American-Islamic Relations, Jaylani
Hussein, has said: 'The facts of this case are completely unbelievable.
It is a dark day for freedom of speech.'
Sherzad vehemently denies any wrongdoing on her part and created a GoFundMe to ask for 'financial resources' amidst the legal battle following her 'wrongful firing,' according to the page.
Sherzad has posted videos of
herself chanting at rallies in support of Palestine, pictures comparing
Nazi occupied Poland to Israeli occupied Palestine and plenty of
pro-Palestine infographics and protest pics
Sherzad is seen pictured with her girlfriend Ralena Young, who owns a restaurant and bar in Minnesota
'My
name is Mashal. I was pictured at this pro Palestinian demonstration, a
peaceful protest, where many from all backgrounds and walks of life
came together to express solidarity around the demand for peace and
liberation of Palestine,' she wrote.
'This
event occurred in Barcelona, off work time, and on a weekend. December
9, to be exact,' she wrote on the GoFundMe, which has garnered $1,300 in
donations.
'I was pictured in front
of a Jewish man we had been chatting with who was holding a flag of
Israel, with two swastikas drawn on either side of the Star of David.
'It
was not my property. It was not the way I would have expressed my
feelings of concern and anger towards what has happened to Palestine and
its People,' she further explained.
DailyMail.com has contacted Mashal Sherzad for comment.
1 comment:
How can she get her job back. It no longer exists, by statute.
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