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A psychologist from Chicago, Celine Khalife, is causing an uproar online after she was seen ripping off posters of kidnapped Israelis. The incident came to light on Monday, November 13, 2023, when X user @StopAntisemites shared a post identifying Khalife.
Disclaimer: This article contains information about the Israel-Palestine conflict and refers to antisemitic sentiments. Readers' discretion is advised.
The caption to the post by @StopAntisemites read:
"Woman claiming Israeli kidnapped their own citizens vs. Hamas while destroying posters featuring the taken has been identified as Celine Khalife."
Celine Khalife is a mental health therapist and has a degree in counseling psychology from Adler University, as per a now-deleted page on the Grace Therapy and Wellness Center website.
On October 7, Hamas launched an attack on Israel, killing 1400 and taking around 200 hostages, sparking an ongoing conflict that has left over 11,000 Palestinians, including children, dead, and over 200,000 homeless. As the conflict turns dire, world leaders and organizations continue to debate over a humanitarian ceasefire. Citizens across the globe have come out rallying in an effort to save innocent lives on either side of the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
"Anti-Semitism IS racism": Internet users slam Celine Khalife
As the video showing Celine Khalife taking down posters of kidnapped Israelis went viral, netizens were quick to call her out for her actions. They harshly criticized her for making insensitive comments about Israelis kidnapping their own citizens.
After her comments were made public, she faced severe criticism online. Many called her a "therapist without empathy" and a "loser." Here are some comments seen under @StopAntisemites's post about Khalife on X:
This is not the first time @StopAniemtics has expressed distress over racial attacks on Jewish citizens. Earlier, they called out a UI/UX design professional, Amaury Letort - working with Punchcut - for his antisemitic remarks.
Screenshots circulating online of a private conversation show Letort stating:
"I hope your ancestors died in ovens and it will be the same for you and your family soon during a 2nd Shoah (fingers crossed). When that happens, I'm going to sh*t on Israeli flags while dancing."
As the news of Letort's messages went viral, he quickly deactivated his socials and the company stated that it condemns hate speech and was investigating the matter.
