A Seattle high school teacher previously accused of berating a student for describing himself as “straight” has been suspended for making pro-Hamas comments – including that the terror attack on Israel was justified and questioning whether women were raped.
Ian Golash, social studies chairman at Chief Sealth International High School, was placed on administrative leave on April 11 after Accuracy in Media, a conservative group that exposes antisemitism on campuses, distributed a video interview with him, the Seattle Times reported.
Adam Guillette, president of AIM, asked Golash whether what happened to the Jewish state on Oct. 7 was justified. The teacher told him it was.
When asked whether the rape of women at the Nova music festival in the Negev desert also was justified, Golash responded: “Where is the evidence that there was rape?”
Guillette then asked him whether women were murdered at the festival and whether their deaths were justified.
“Yes,” Golash replied.
“The murder of innocent women just attending a music festival, that was justified in your opinion?” Guillette asked him.
“No, I think resistance against Israel is justified, yes,” the teacher said.
Golash, who had already been facing criticism over Facebook posts questioning the Hamas attacks, released a statement Wednesday saying he does not support any killings.
“I think any atrocities that happened on October 7th including rape, mutilations or killings of civilians committed by Hamas fighters or Gazans or Israeli citizens or Israeli Defense Forces are deplorable and worthy of condemnation,” he wrote, according to the outlet.
The embattled teacher said he has tried to navigate the “information landscape” about the Oct. 7 attack, adding that he wants to differentiate fact from fiction.
He argued that while “Palestinians were justified in resistance to Israel in support of their liberation from an apartheid state,” he hoped the resistance would be peaceful.
Golash also said he has received bomb threats and had strangers appearing at his home — calling the harassment “deeply troubling” and “antithetical to the kind of spirited debate and examining of different perspectives and dialogue in the interest of deeper understanding that I hope to have in my classroom.”
His father, Mike Golash, said on Facebook that his son “has been placed on paid administrative leave for the rest of the semester for speaking out against genocide in Gaza.
“He has been told not to speak to any students or teachers in the Seattle school system,” he wrote, adding that this occurred after his son was “attacked by the Zionists.”
Mike told KOMO News that he believes his son’s First Amendment rights have been violated.
In a statement, the school district said it “does not tolerate antisemitic, Islamophobic, or any kind of hate speech in its schools or offices.
“The circumstances surrounding a conversation between an Accuracy in Media representative and an SPS teacher on April 1 are deeply concerning,” SPS said. “We are conducting an immediate, appropriate investigation into this event.”
The district added that it cannot comment on personnel matters while a review takes place.
News of the suspension comes three months after Golash allegedly berated a student who described himself as “straight.”
The student’s mom claimed that in the beginning of the school year, Golash provided students with a “Social Identity Wheel” worksheet asking them to reflect on various identities — including race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation.
After the 10th-grader labeled himself as “straight,” the teacher allegedly told him the term is “offensive.”
“It is completely inappropriate to dictate what terms a student can and cannot use to identify themselves with,” she wrote in an email to Golash and Principal Ray Garcia-Morales.
The teacher denied singling out her son, but confirmed saying he prefers not to use the term “straight” because “it implies that to not be straight is to be ‘crooked,’ which could have a negative connotation.”
The mother said she has since pulled her child from Golash’s class.
In a previous statement, Seattle Public Schools said it is “committed to fostering inclusive environments that encourage the exploration of contemporary issues.
“Our district has a formal process for student complaint resolution and citizen concerns about employee actions. We take issues dealing with discrimination, harassment or bullying seriously,” it said.
