Emory University said Thursday it no longer employs an assistant professor who was placed on leave last month amid an investigation into “antisemitic comments” posted to a private social media account.
In a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Emory spokeswoman Laura Diamond said: “Dr. Abeer AbouYabis is no longer employed or practicing at Emory, including the Winship Cancer Institute. We are working with all affected patients to facilitate their uninterrupted access to high-quality care at Emory Healthcare.”
Diamond declined to answer questions about the status or results of the investigation and whether AbouYabis, a Palestinian American doctor, was terminated or resigned.
“As this is a personnel matter we have nothing to add beyond the statement,” Diamond wrote.
AbouYabis did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Emory announced Oct. 17 that it had placed an assistant professor on leave. At the time, the university said: “We are aware of the recent antisemitic comments made on a private social media account by one of our assistant professors. We condemn such comments in the strongest possible terms and have immediately placed this individual on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.”
The university did not detail what was in the posts.
The AJC obtained screenshots of several Facebook posts expressing support for Palestine. One post, dated Oct. 8, the day after Hamas militants attacked Israel, included a poem with the lines: “They got walls we got gliders Glory to all resistance fighters.”
AbouYabis worked in the Emory medical school’s department of hematology and medical oncology. The doctor, who began working at Emory in 2018, previously told the AJC she has a record of trying to build bridges between faith groups and support diversity efforts.
The Israel-Hamas war was triggered by the Oct. 7 Hamas attack into southern Israel. The Associated Press reported the number of Palestinians killed in the war has risen to 10,818, including more than 4,400 children, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.
In the occupied West Bank, more than 160 Palestinians have been killed in the violence and Israeli raids. More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, most of them in the Hamas attack, and 239 hostages were taken from Israel into Gaza by the militant group.
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