Fatima K., an elementary school teacher, Luxembourg resident, and survivor of the Bosnian genocide, has been dismissed by the Ministry of National Education over her online posts in support of Gaza and ending the genocide. The ministry allegedly argues that some of her Instagram content amounts to antisemitic expression. Fatima, who has more than 111,000 followers and frequently shares commentary critical of Israel’s actions, denies the accusations and feels her termination violates her freedom of expression.

Her dismissal comes amid heightened scrutiny of political activists in Luxembourg. In recent weeks, the media collective déi aner reported that it may face a lawsuit from Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel after publishing a digitally altered meme criticizing his lack of action in preventing the genocide in Gaza.

The ministry terminated Fatima’s contract without notice on the symbolic date of October 7, 2025. The decision followed an August summons in which she was questioned by the head of the ministry’s legal service about several Instagram stories deemed antisemitic. For two months afterward, she received no further communication and started the school year thinking nothing more would come, Fatima told déi aner. The case only surfaced publicly after the account @europe.palestine.network shared information about it.

According to Fatima, officials used screenshots of her personal Instagram page as grounds for dismissal. She said her lawyer reviewed the material from the disciplinary hearing and confidently took on her case.

Fatima publishes dozens of posts daily. A review of her content on Thursday (November 27) included condemnations of the genocide in Gaza from Jewish, Christian, and Muslim commentators, along with historical and academic materials, including work by philosopher John Dewey and historian Ilan Pappé.

She previously led a successful boycott campaign encouraging the Luxembourg food distributor Grosbusch to switch its date supplier from Israel to the West Bank. The company’s CEO, Goy Grosbusch, later described the change as an ethical improvement. déi aner reports that it has not identified posts on Fatima’s account explicitly targeting Jewish individuals or communities for their ethnoreligious identity at this time. Most of her content focuses on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, global protest movements, and solidarity with other crises, including in Congo and Sudan.

Fatima rejects any accusation of antisemitism and says her criticism is directed at the Israeli government, not Jewish people. She maintains a permanent Instagram highlight distinguishing between Zionism and Judaism and often shares work from Jewish activists and scholars, like Gabor Maté and Norman Finkelstein, who support Palestinian liberation. One image includes her alongside Martine Kleinberg of Jewish Call for Peace, who affirmed in a statement viewed by déi aner that Fatima is not antisemitic.

“I would never support a monster like Hitler, which every single one of my followers knows. I have friends who are descendants of Holocaust survivors. I constantly fight to differentiate between Jews and Zionists so that Jews will never have to experience hatred and racism again due to the actions of Israel. I am from Bosnia and know exactly what type of generational trauma genocide can spawn. I am against all genocides, no matter what nation, religion, or people”, Fatima said. She further acknowledged that antisemitism is still an issue and that she actively works to dispel narratives of Jewish conspiracies in her community.

Fatima’s personal history informs her activism. She lived through the siege of Srebrenica, spending parts of her childhood in destroyed buildings and enduring severe hunger. She recalls annual commemorations in which her family searched mass graves for relatives’ remains. Images from Gaza, she says, evoke memories of her past and make remaining silent impossible.

Fatima says her advocacy has never entered the classroom, and she has never faced complaints from coworkers or supervisors. She believes the decision to fire her came directly from the ministry’s leadership. She hopes for a fair trial and says she will accept the legal outcome if the judicial process finds genuine misconduct but maintains her firing is baseless.

Her case raises broader questions about the limits of free expression for public employees. The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights guarantees free speech, including online, while permitting restrictions grounded in national law. In Luxembourg, such restrictions apply to discriminatory speech and to expressions that threaten national security.

More than 100 organizations, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Médecins Sans Frontières, the International Association of Genocide Scholars, several UN bodies, and the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention, have described the onslaught in Gaza as genocide. As a signatory to the Geneva Conventions and the Genocide Convention, Luxembourg holds a legal obligation to help prevent and punish genocide. No sanctions have been adopted against Israel, a contrast to the swift sanctions imposed on Russia within a month of its invasion of Ukraine. Many of those organizations have also warned of the repression of freedom of speech and assembly in many EU member states when it comes to solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Fatima claims that she has previously faced multiple police complaints based on screenshots of her social media posts; those cases were dismissed due to insufficient grounds. Though déi aner does not have evidence of a direct link, similar screenshots appear in the 2024 RIAL (Recherche et information sur l’antisémitisme au Luxembourg) report, which names her in four instances, though none document clear antisemitic statements. Fatima has stated that she feels harassed by RIAL, for nearly 2 years, and is emotionally affected by repeatedly being characterized as an antisemite, claims that have now led to the loss of her job and sole source of income.

She alleges that the group closely monitors her online activity. A source familiar with the organization told déi aner that Fatima is not the first person to be monitored through personal Instagram stories.

Some activists and observers argue that recent events reflect a growing pattern of suppressing dissent in Luxembourg. They cite a draft bill known as “Platzverweis,” which would permit police to remove individuals from public spaces. The proposal has drawn criticism from human rights organizations and the Council of State for its potential to restrict protest and assembly rights. Amnesty International has received increasing concerns about restrictions to the right to freedom of expression in Luxembourg, the consequences of which have caused the firing of at least five people in the country over their advocacy for Palestine, according to anonymous sources. In addition, déi aner reports that it has been referenced over a dozen times in the press regarding a possible lawsuit but has not received any formal notification, which could be interpreted as a form of intimidation.

“You could see this simply as a politician bruised by satire, but this is not happening in a vacuum,” journalist Maura Lehmann wrote in an opinion piece for RTL Today. “Political dissent is facing increasing repression around the world, and Luxembourg is not exempt. I would urge those in power to think carefully before resorting to legal means to assert power over activists.”

Europe Palestine Network first reported on Fatima’s case. The media collective déi aner, which says it had already been aware of the situation, says it is sharing the story now to show the extent of the Luxembourg government’s actions.

Both RIAL and the Ministry of Education were asked for comment. No response was received.

CORRECTION 28.11.2025 12.44

The date of the August summons was removed as it was incorrect in addition to the reference of serious misconduct as grounds for termination as it was not specifically specified as such in the official papers.

Survivor of Bosnian genocide dismissed from Luxembourg teaching post as repression of Palestine activists heightens

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