Who is Ahmed Elkoussa? Miami dentist fired as video of ripping down posters of kidnapped Israelis goes viral

On Wednesday, October 18, Ahmed Elkoussa, a Miami dentist lost his job for ripping down posters of Israeli hostages, kidnapped by Hamas, that were put out all over the streets of South Florida. The footage of the dentist and one male companion tearing down posters was shared by @StopAntisemites on X.

Online users expressed their fury over the dentist's and Instagram model buddy Xave Ramoul's activities, putting Ahmed under intense scrutiny. The 31-year-old lost his job at the dental clinic CG Smile. On Wednesday, October 18, CG Smile posted a statement on Instagram confirming his termination.

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Ahmed Elkoussa claims that law enforcement had permitted him to take down posters

In the footage posted by @StopAntisemites on X, Ahmed Elkoussa and Xave Ramoul were seen walking down the streets of Miami with crumpled-up posters of the Israeli hostages captured by Hamas. Elkoussa could be seen smiling at the beginning of the footage. According to Blake Warman, who shot the video, the men had allegedly ripped down and crumpled the posters.

The footage went viral across multiple platforms. Netizens were outraged at the actions of both men. Elkoussa's social media handles were immediately taken down and his Yelp profile was bombarded with 1-star reviews. People called the dentist a racist and condemned him for his "disgusting behavior".

Here are a couple of reviews from his Yelp page:

The dentist's Yelp page was bombarded with negative reviews (Image via Yelp)

Ahmed Elkoussa used to work at the CG Smile dental clinic in Miami and even made reels for their Instagram page. However, when the clinic got to know of his actions, he was immediately fired from his position.

CG Smile confirmed his firing through an Instagram statement. The clinic condemned his actions and stated that they do not support terrorist groups.

The clinic revealed:

"He has been removed from our staff, all of our social media pages, and groups."

However, according to The New York Post, Elkoussa was "compelled" to do so as he had just heard about the fatal stabbing of a six-year-old Palestinian-American child, Wadea Al-Fayoume. The dentist's representative, Hassan Shibly, told NBC Miami that he had taken down the posters to prevent escalation of conflict in his community.

The representative told the outlet that Ahmed Elkoussa had even allegedly gotten police permission to do so.

He told the outlet:

"He removed them after speaking to law enforcement saying, 'Listen there's a lot of tension in the country right now, I don't necessarily think that there should be pro-Palestinian or pro-Israeli posters hanging around they may spark conflict'."

After asking law enforcement what should be done, Hassan Shibly revealed that the law enforcement had allegedly given Ahmed Elkoussa permission to remove them if they made him feel unsafe.

The attorney further stated:

"He was well-intentioned with his actions but he genuinely does apologize to those who misunderstood his intentions."

Hassan Shibly also told The New York Post that the dentist did what he did as he feared an "endless conflict" of hate crimes and counter-hate crimes. He said that even though his analysis can be critiqued, it was something he came up with on the sport after hearing of Wadea Al-Fayoume's murder. The attorney stated that Elkoussa would try to get his job back as he felt that he was wrongfully dismissed.