SUNRISE, Fla. – Ahmed ElKoussa, a South Florida dentist, who was seen on video in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood taking down posters of Israelis kidnapped by Hamas is telling his side of the story. He said what was seen on video was “taken out of context” and that he was trying to help.
There was outrage over the video that showed him and another man crumpling up posters.
The 31-year-old Muslim, originally from Lebanon, says he took down the posters to protect both Jews and Muslims. He felt the posters of missing women, children and infants could trigger people and feed into hate.
“Anything inciteful is not the answer right now,” he says.
He cites a recent case in Illinois where a 71-year-old is charged with fatally stabbing a 6-year-old Muslim child because of his faith amid the ongoing war in the Middle East.
ElKoussa was swiftly fired from his job at CG Smile and says he now wants to take legal action against his former employer.
UPDATE: Dentist Ahmed ElKoussa has been let go from CG Smile dental practice in Miami, FL. https://t.co/BHFZThr1cU pic.twitter.com/4nLVP1DRGE
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) October 18, 2023
“Unfortunately, my video of four seconds got taken way out of context as well as the way my former employer had portrayed it as an act of supporting terrorism and it’s very contrary,” he said.
A statement from the dental office where he worked after the video went viral stated on Wednesday: “Our office CG Smile is not in favor of any of the actions taken by Dr. ElKoussa. We do not support terrorist groups, actions, or supporters. He has been removed from our staff, all of our social media pages and groups.”
“It all boils down. If you can show those posters and if anyone can help find those people then please help the people in Israel and help the people in Palestine,” said ElKoussa.
He claims he asked law enforcement and that they gave him permission to take the posters down. He also said that if there were posters of Palestinian children impacted by the war, he would take those posters down as well, and that he is looking into all legal options when it comes to his former employer.