Saskatoon principal, student bombarded with messages after keffiyeh-inspired scarf incident at graduation

The Saskatoon high school principal who removed a student’s keffiyeh-inspired scarf during a graduation ceremony on June 23 has received tens of thousands of hurtful emails and voicemails, some of which threaten her safety, her lawyer told CBC.

“The messages have come literally from all around the world. There’s a bunch of burner accounts, so fake accounts, fake emails, calling her all sorts of just horrific names,” said Brian Pfefferle, a lawyer representing Wendy Benson, the now-retired principal.

“I would say without any hesitation that Miss Benson is concerned for her personal safety.”

Videos of the incident has been viewed millions of times online.

Alyson Edwards, a spokesperson for the Saskatoon Police Service, confirmed they’ve launched an investigation into the incident and social media fallout.

Viral video shows Saskatoon grad’s Palestinian-support scarf being removed

Pfefferle said he’s monitoring his client’s inbox and sees dozens of emails every hour, along with online posts that include Benson’s contact information and encourage people to reach out to her.

He also referred to emails cc-ing other school division staff.

“It’s for a calculated purpose, to bombard the e-mail addresses of these individuals and essentially shut down normal functioning communication, and it’s criminal,” he said.

Pfefferle says hateful messages serve no purpose.

“To those people continuing to bombard Wendy, I just encourage them to focus their energy on people that are actually against their cause that actually have ill feelings toward them that actually have caused issues for them.”

In war-torn Gaza, students strive to study and professors are compelled to teach

Some schools in Canada avoid discussing Israel-Hamas war, leaving students on their own

Colleen Cameron, a spokesperson for Saskatoon Public Schools, said some messages indicate the sender is not from Saskatchewan or Canada.

“Many of the messages we have received contain references that suggest the individual is unfamiliar with the local context,” she wrote in a statement to CBC.

She said some invoke the “First Amendment,” and others believe the high school is a post-secondary institution, referring to “Centennial College” instead of “Centennial Collegiate,” and “faculty” instead of “school staff.”

The school division said staff told students not to wear personal items during the ceremony.

Shaimaa Al Jamous, the 18-year-old student who put the scarf on while walking across the graduation stage, said she has also received offensive messages and is avoiding social media for her mental health. 

“While it’s been difficult, I’ve been focusing on the overwhelming support I’ve received from my community and from people who believe every student should be able to celebrate their culture without being publicly humiliated,” she told CBC in a text message.

Al Jamous grew up in war-torn Syria and said it was important for her to wear the scarf to show solidarity with Palestinians who can’t receive an education because of the conflict there.

Al Jamous said she isn’t sure who’s behind the offensive messages she’s received or where they’re from. 

“The video has been going viral around the world and everyone is posting it so I honestly have no idea,” she said.