
Municipality suspends employee for praising Hamas leader
Aarhus Municipality has suspended social educator Simon El-Zeinab after discovering a Facebook post in which he praised deceased Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, reports DR. El-Zeinab, who worked in the department for social affairs and employment, was responsible for various crime prevention tasks, primarily in the Gellerup area. Anders Winnerskjold, the councilman for social affairs and employment, expressed strong disapproval of El-Zeinab’s statements and has started a legal process to investigate any conflicts. The municipality emphasizes that El-Zeinab will have the chance to explain himself during this process. Following the controversy, El-Zeinab resigned from the International Integration Council. He had referred to Hamas’s Haniyeh as ‘a great leader’ and offered condolences. El-Zeinab, previously selected for the council by the minister of immigration and integration, had worked for the Palestinian government in diplomacy. Kaare Dybvad Bek, the responsible minister, distanced himself from El-Zeinab’s remarks and approved of his council resignation.