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A 16-year-old Palestinian-American student is suing a Southern California school district after a teacher allegedly called him a “terrorist,” and school administrators dismissed the remark as a joke.
Yousef Abdullah, who was 14 at the time, approached his Cypress High School English teacher in February 2025 to discuss his rejection from the Advanced Placement English program. In front of other students, the teacher allegedly told him, “I don’t negotiate with terrorists, that is people under the age of 18.”
His lawsuit against the Anaheim Union High School District alleges the remark subjected him to racial discrimination and humiliation because of his Muslim and Palestinian heritage. The complaint also claims administrators repeatedly downplayed the incident, even though an investigation found the comment violated district policy.
Abdullah’s attorney, Samer Habbas, said the teenager was so traumatized that he now wants to go by “Joseph,” a less Arabic-sounding name.
“When you’re calling a Palestinian child of Muslim descent a terrorist … it is completely inappropriate, it dehumanizes a kid,” Habbas told the Orange County Register Thursday.
The dispute is now before Orange County Superior Court Judge Kimberly A. Knill, who recently rejected the district’s push to have the lawsuit dismissed on legal grounds.
