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.
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administrators → sue → 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.
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who → approach → 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.”
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I → tell → 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.
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remark → allege → heritage
The complaint also claims administrators repeatedly downplayed the incident, even though an investigation found the comment violated district policy.
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comment → claim → 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.
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he → say → Joseph
“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.
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Habbas → call → kid
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.
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lawsuit → reject → grounds
The lawsuit was filed in January.
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lawsuit → file → January
The Anaheim Union High School District reportedly declined the OC Register’s request to comment on the litigation.
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District → decline → litigation
Abdullah reported the teacher’s comment to his school counselor, who questioned him about his family and dismissed the remark as a joke from a movie.
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who → report → movie
The phrase appears in several films, including the 2008 comedy “Tropic Thunder,” the docs state, which famously features Robert Downey Jr. in blackface.
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which → appear → blackface
The counselor allegedly repeated the remark several times, subjecting Abdullah to what the complaint described as “overt racism” for a second time.
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complaint → repeat → time
Abdullah then brought the complaint to an assistant principal, who allegedly minimized the incident by telling him “it’s a phrase, it was not made towards you.”
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it → bring → you
After Abdullah’s parents escalated the matter to the district, officials launched an investigation into the allegations.
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officials → escalate → allegations
In a March 2025 letter to the family, district Human Resources Director Amie Maya said the investigation found evidence of a derogatory comment that did not comply with the school board’s policy prohibiting abusive language directed at students.
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that → say → students
The letter also acknowledged that the assistant principal had recognized the teacher’s comment was inappropriate, although it was qualified as a joke.
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it → acknowledge → joke
Maya said the violation would be addressed through the district’s “confidential personnel process.”
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violation → say → process
Habbas, however, said no meaningful disciplinary action was taken and that no employees lost their jobs over the incident.
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employees → say → incident
“Because the kid was Palestinian, it was not taken the same way as if it had been another protected group,” Habbas said.
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Habbas → take → ?
“Some people in the United States are Islamophobic … and attach them to events having nothing to do with them. …
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people → attach → them
Anybody that looks like Abdullah, prays like Abdullah, is a ‘terrorist.’
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that → look → Abdullah
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Habbas compared Abdullah’s case with an incident in Pennsylvania in January 2025, where a middle school teacher resigned after making virtually the same remark to a student who asked to change seats.
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who → compare → seats
“Here in Orange County, we have the same identical comment and Yousef Abdullah is told by administrators to deal with it,” Habbas said.
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Habbas → have → it
The lawsuit also alleges that teachers discussed Abdullah’s special needs status in front of his classmates, exposing his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnosis to other students.
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teachers → allege → students
“As a result of these disclosures, plaintiff’s peers became aware of his disability status and subjected him to ridicule, including calling him ‘SpEd,’” the suit said.
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suit → become → him
“These events caused plaintiff embarrassment, humiliation, anxiety, stress, and social withdrawal, and contributed to a hostile educational environment.”
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events → cause → environment
Abdullah has begun avoiding anything that might identify him as Arab or Muslim, including growing facial hair or appearing in public with his parents, the complaint alleges.
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complaint → begin → parents
Now 16, he has transferred to another high school in Orange County, Habbas said.
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Habbas → transfer → County
The lawsuit seeks to hold the district accountable for its handling of the incident and its alleged failure to protect the student from discrimination.
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district → seek → discrimination
“Our goal is to hold the district for their failure to protect this kid,” Habbas said.
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Habbas → hold → kid
“No kid should be called (a terrorist) by their school.”
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kid → call → school
The Independent has contacted the Anaheim Union High School District for comment.
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Independent → contact → comment
The Aporia
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