Sheikh Wesam Charkawi returns to Granville Boys High after student protest

School support officer and The Muslim Vote founder Wesam Charkawi, who was ordered to work from home after defending two nurses, has been ‘cleared to return’ to his position.

Sheikh Wesam Charkawi addresses the crowd. Picture: Jane Dempster/The Australian.

School support officer and The Muslim Vote founder Wesam Charkawi, who was ordered to work from home after defending two nurses who allegedly threatened to kill Israeli patients and refuse to treat them, has been “cleared by the department to return” to work.

It followed a protest at Granville Boys High School, where students and staff demanded the return of Sheik Charkawi, who was ordered by the NSW Education Department to work from home following his response to the now-viral video of the two nurses.

The NSW Department of Education said in a statement on Friday morning that it had “counselled” Sheik Charkawi over his actions and “reminded of his obligations as a department employee”.

One of the nurses in the anti-Semitic video Sarah Abu Lebdeh has been charged with three offences including threaten violence to a group and use carriage service to threaten to kill. Her colleague Ahmad Rashad Nadir has not been charged.

In an Instagram video posted on February 16, Sheik Charkawi said the nurses’ comments were “never meant to be ­literal or intended to be a threat to patient care” and criticised the “hypocrisy” of Anthony Albanese and NSW Health Minister Ryan Park for remaining silent “when confronted with the most egregious acts of violence committed by Israel”.

He also criticised “selective outrage”, saying “We refuse to accept a political and media landscape where Muslims are only visible when are being condemned, but invisible when they are being killed”.

The Muslim Vote convener was ordered to take down the posts and work from home for allegedly breaching the department’s social media policy and code of ethics.

The NSW Education Department told The Australian Sheik Charkawi’s Instagram post supporting the nurses had been taken down, but on Thursday it reappeared on the Instagram page Unseat Jason Clare, an account run by Sheik Charkawi and targeting the minister in the traditionally safe Labor seat.

In a statement on Friday morning, the Department of Education said: “Following meetings with senior officials, Mr Charkawi has been cleared by the department to return to work as a school learning support officer.”

“He has been counselled over his actions and reminded of his obligations as a department employee. Mr Charkawi has removed the social media video and agreed to adhere to the Code of Ethics and Conduct.”

Section 5.13 of the Code of Ethics and Conduct notes that employees are able to participate in public debate on political or social issues, but must not act in a way that casts doubt on their ability or the ability of the department to act impartially, apolitically and professionally.

Charkawi’s lawyer, Majed Kheir, has previously said his client did not breach the department’s social media policy.

“Our feeling was that there’s a level of ambiguity and uncertainty in what is required of public servants and that the department has capitalised upon that level of ambiguity and uncertainty to place pressure on the sheikh to remain silent in this instance,” Mr Kheir told The Guardian.

The Instagram page Teacher for Palestine NSW, wrote: “Sheikh Wesam Charkawi has been reinstated!!!! Huge protest win!!! We can defeat repression. Palestine will be free from the river to the sea”. Some members of Teachers for Palestine attended the rally at Granville.

In the caption, the group wrote: “The very strong response from the community has put pressure on the government to back off and reinstate him. This is how we fight the anti-Palestine witch hunts”.

On Thursday, senior NSW Education Department officials addressed students at Granville Boys High School, warning they would be reviewing video footage from the protest. Anyone found to have flouted directions from school staff would be subject to disciplinary action, the students were told.

The Department issued comments by Acting Principal Maina Ram, where she said on Thursday afternoon, without making mention of the Sheikh’s reinstatement.

“Students are here to learn and the expectation is that they behave in an appropriate manner,” Acting Principal Ram said.

“This school has worked tirelessly over the past decade to be a leading educational facility in the region and the boys here understand that yesterday went too far.”