BIRMINGHAM — Two Arab American families in Oakland County say they have faced ongoing harassment and threats after officials from the school district attended by their children publicly described their conduct as “discriminatory” and “anti-Semitic” following their participation in a school cultural event.

The families, both of Palestinian origin, had volunteered to participate in the annual “Multicultural Night” event hosted by Beverly Elementary School in the village of Beverly Hills. Their station focused on Arab and specifically Palestinian culture as part of the school’s celebration of diversity, inclusion and cultural exchange.

While preparing for the event, the families purchased a package of “Free Palestine” stickers online that had been marketed as “kid-friendly” and “appropriate for teachers.” However, among the more than 100 small stickers included in the package were two undisclosed designs that neither family realized had been included: one depicting an AK-47 rifle and another bearing an obscene anti-Zionist slogan.

The two stickers were immediately removed once discovered, but that did not prevent what civil rights advocates described as a sweeping backlash intensified by a public condemnation issued by the Birmingham Public Schools before a full investigation had been completed or the families had been contacted directly.

The Birmingham School District serves several communities in southeastern Oakland County, including Birmingham, Bingham Farms, Beverly Hills, Franklin and portions of West Bloomfield, Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township, Southfield and Troy.

The American Arab Civil Rights League (ACRL) criticized the district’s statement as unbalanced and not grounded in facts, emphasizing that the families “never intentionally exposed any child to profanity or images of firearms” and had never engaged in such conduct during prior school events.

According to the ACRL, district administrators, local officials and outside organizations — including the Jewish Federation of Detroit — quickly issued public statements describing the incident as “anti-Semitic” and “discriminatory.”

“We do not tolerate intimidation, bullying, threats, discrimination or anti-Semitism in our schools,” the Birmingham Public Schools declared in its statement.

Some officials went further, accusing the families of “posting obscene stickers and hate symbols throughout the school.”

The ACRL argued that the consequences of such “premature and inaccurate characterizations” have been severe. Since the statements were released, the organization said, the families have faced threats and harassment and even had their home addresses publicly shared online.

“The families are now living in fear for their personal safety, and their children no longer feel safe going to school,” the organization stated.

The situation escalated further when an individual who had not even attended the event reportedly filed a police complaint demanding the matter be treated as a hate crime.

The ACRL condemned what it described as the district’s rush to judgment, saying school officials failed to take meaningful steps to correct the narrative, clarify the facts or protect the affected families. According to the organization’s attorneys, the district also failed to address the threats and harassment directed toward them.

Although the ACRL sought immediate communication with school administrators and requested an emergency meeting, the district initially delayed its response before scheduling a meeting for May 11. Meanwhile, district officials reportedly met promptly with representatives from the Jewish Federation of Detroit regarding the same incident.

The civil rights group stressed that public institutions — especially schools — have a responsibility to respond responsibly, conduct thorough investigations and communicate with accuracy and credibility. The ACRL called on the district to take “immediate steps to correct the situation, engage directly with the affected families and ensure equal protection for all members of the school community.”

“An unintentional mistake”

For Laila Bolbol and her family, participating in Beverly Elementary’s multicultural night was nothing unusual. The family had taken part in the event for years, routinely organizing the Palestinian and Arab cultural station to introduce students and families to Arab traditions through food, music, traditional clothing and educational activities.

But what began as a celebration of cultural diversity quickly turned into what Bolbol described as a nightmare for her family and another Palestinian family after the controversial stickers were discovered among a children’s giveaway table. According to the ACRL, the situation rapidly evolved into a social media controversy accompanied by public outrage, official statements, security investigations and waves of threats and public targeting.

Bolbol told The Arab American News the incident was “an unintentional mistake” that was exaggerated before investigators completed their work or fully heard the family’s account.

She explained that she had participated in the multicultural event for several years to introduce people to “our warm and welcoming culture and our traditional foods.” She added that she is of Palestinian Syrian heritage, her husband is Palestinian, and their children proudly carry that cultural identity, which she has always tried to present at the school in a spirit of openness and diversity.

The station included traditional Arab foods, clothing, educational displays, heritage items, musical instruments and a children’s giveaway table containing pens, arts-and-crafts supplies, candy and stickers. According to Bolbol, the booth had always been popular with both students and families.

The night of the incident

According to Bolbol, participating families arrived around 5 p.m. on April 28 to prepare their cultural stations before the event officially began at 6 p.m.

She said six stations representing different cultures were set up with food, displays and gifts for children. The school principal also toured the stations before the event to ensure the materials were appropriate, raising no concerns about the Palestinian display.

About halfway through the evening, however, the principal informed Bolbol that some parents had complained about “inappropriate” content on the children’s giveaway table.

“I was completely shocked when I was informed,” she said. “I didn’t even know those stickers were there.”

She explained that the stickers came in a bulk online package purchased through Amazon and advertised as suitable for children and teachers. Because of the product description and images online, she said she did not feel the need to inspect every individual sticker.

Bolbol stressed that she had no idea the package contained a sticker featuring a Kalashnikov rifle or the offensive anti-Zionist phrase, insisting she would never intentionally bring such material into an elementary school. She said that once informed, she immediately went to inspect the table herself, but the stickers had already been removed.

Rapid escalation

Bolbol said some parents photographed the stickers and shared the images in parent groups and on social media, quickly turning the incident into a public controversy that generated outrage within the local community.

“Within less than an hour, the photos were everywhere,” she said. “We were accused of promoting violence and political messages inside an elementary school, which is completely untrue.”

Bolbol also rejected online claims that the stickers had been spread “throughout the school”, emphasizing that the issue was limited to the unopened sticker pack that had not been fully reviewed.

“What happened was simply an unintentional mistake,” she said. “But the way the situation was handled caused it to escalate dramatically.”

As anger from some parents intensified, Bolbol said she offered to speak directly with upset families to explain the situation.

“I told them I was willing to speak with anyone who was angry and explain what happened,” she said. However, school administrators informed her they would handle the matter themselves.

That same night, the school district released a statement condemning what it described as “harassment, bullying, violence and anti-Semitism.”

Although Bolbol said she unequivocally rejects hatred and violence in all forms, she argued the district’s statement was rushed because it failed to explain that the incident had been unintentional or that she herself had been unaware of the stickers’ contents.

“I felt betrayed and abandoned,” she said. “They could have clarified that this was an unintentional mistake, but they didn’t.”

According to Bolbol, that omission intensified public anger toward her and her family.

She added that the controversy quickly expanded beyond the school and turned into a widespread online targeting campaign that made the family fear for its safety.

“I was attacked from every possible direction,” she said. “I faced threats, harassment and attempts to damage my reputation.” She added that some individuals even contacted her employers in an apparent attempt to pressure her professionally.

Civil rights response

For her part, Houda Berri-Harajli, executive director of the ACRL, said the organization worked directly with law enforcement agencies from the beginning and confirmed that the investigation was officially closed without any criminal charges being filed.

“The investigator explicitly stated that this is not a criminal matter,” Berri-Harajli told The Arab American News, adding that police and prosecutors found no legal basis to classify the incident as a hate crime, racial intimidation, harassment or any other criminal offense.

Berri-Harajli said the ACRL conducted its own independent review and concluded the incident was “completely unintentional”, with no evidence that the families knowingly distributed offensive or inflammatory material.

She also revealed that the consequences extended beyond multicultural night itself. Bolbol’s family had been scheduled to participate in another school arts-and-crafts event but ultimately withdrew because of fears and targeting following the controversy, despite the children’s excitement about participating.

Berri-Harajli criticized the district’s handling of the situation, arguing that issuing a public statement condemning anti-Semitism before the investigation concluded helped inflame community anger and amplified an unverified narrative.

She added that the ACRL is not currently pursuing legal action but is instead focused on calming tensions and ensuring the safety of the children and families involved. According to Berri-Harajli, the organization attempted to contact district administrators “from the earliest days of the crisis” and requested an urgent meeting, but school officials initially proposed meeting on May 11 — a timeline Berri-Harajli described as unacceptable given the ongoing harassment and targeting.

Berri-Harajli also criticized the district for arranging a prompt meeting with the Jewish Federation of Detroit while offering the Palestinian families a delayed response. She noted, however, that the district later agreed to meet with the ACRL and the families on Friday, May 8.

Finally, Berri-Harajli said the families’ home addresses, workplaces and personal information had been circulated online.

“That is completely unacceptable,” she said.

She emphasized that a fair and responsible response requires “neutrality, fact-finding and protection for all affected students and families”, adding that the district had an obligation to protect everyone involved from threats and public targeting while the investigation was ongoing.