A South Florida dentist has lost his job after a video surfaced online showing him ripping down flyers about kidnapped Israelis.
The cellphone video shows two men taking down and trashing several flyers in Miami’s Brickell section. The flyers feature the faces of the missing in the wake of the Oct. 7 terror attack in Israel.
The man in the left of the frame in the video, Dr. Ahmed Elkoussa, has since been fired by his employer, CG Smile, a dental clinic in Coral Gables.
Elkoussa was spotted at a pro-Palestine rally in Miami last Friday.
The dentist has also been seen on clips posted on CG Smiles’ Instagram page.
The clinic confirmed Elkoussa is no longer employed there. Its owner, Juan Carlos Izquierdo, spoke with 7News on Thursday.
“We take the stance with Israel. We will always support that,” said Izquierdo.
A social media post from CG Smile on Wednesday reads, “We are very said to see this situation upon waking up. 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.”
“Our stance is pretty clear: CG Smile is never going to support anything or anyone that is related to any action that will go against our beliefs,” said Izquierdo.
Meanwhile, through a statement from his attorney, Elkoussa is demanding an apology from his former employer. He also wants his job back.
Elkoussa’s attorney, Hassan Shibly, claims his client’s actions were prompted by the horrific stabbing death of a 6-year-old Muslim boy in Illinois.
Police said the child’s landlord committed the crime, and it is being investigated as a hate crime.
Shibly’s statement reads in part, “Dr. Elkoussa was simply motivated by fear of copycat acts given that investigators said the landlord had been radicalized by emotionally-triggering images from the terrorist attack on Israel. That was the sole intention in removing [the flyers].”
Izquierdo said CG Smile does not accept Elkoussa’s explanation.
“Yeah, that’s not what we saw in the video,” he said.
When asked whether there is any chance Elkoussa will be rehired, Izquierdo replied, “Not with us.”
At a news conference held late Thursday afternoon, Elkoussa commented on the video that led to his termination.
“That video of four seconds got taken way out of context, as well as they way that my former employer had portrayed it, that it’s an act of supporting terrorism, and it’s the very, very, very contrary,” he said. “It’s to promote peace, it’s to deescalate the situation that we’re going through and make sure that our communities are safe.”
Elkoussa and Shibly will be holding a news conference on Thursday evening.
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