That's when I started crying. When I reached that sentence.
It's like, wow, alert a few feet and Lena Arshroff
say it's still tough to read what their 13 year
old daughter went through.
You read it and you feel like you're looking at
a horror movie,
one that unfolded in the halls of a middle school
in central Georgia.
One month ago, 51 year old social studies teacher Benjamin
Reese was arrested for allegedly threatening to behead their daughter
and slit her throat after she told him she found
his display of the Israeli flag in the classroom offensive.
More than 20 witnesses were listed in a lengthy sheriff's
incident report.
The adults recounted seeing Reese follow three young girls down
the hall,
shouting violent threats like she is a stupid mother.
Effer and I will drag her by the back of
my car and cut her effing head off.
Disrespecting my Jewish flag, Reese was charged with making terroristic
threats,
a felony, and cruelty to children in the third degree.
He was released on a $7500 bond.
As a father, I felt quite over is not safe.
And I don't know that she's not safe.
I cannot even protect her.
Hi. We visited Reese at home,
but he declined to comment,
saying his attorney would reach out.
So far, that has not happened.
And court records do not show a listed attorney for
Reese.
Houston County Schools tell CNN that Reese is no longer
an employee with the district,
something else Roof says she appreciates,
but she still fears for their daughter's safety.
You always have this. What if if these threats,
you know, carried on and he show up in my
house?
The Palestinian American says the war in Gaza has never
felt far away for their family,
but they didn't expect the ripple effect to reach them
in their beloved Warner Robins community.
A small community loving community.
We never have any, you know,
any problem. But civil rights advocates say what happened to
their daughter,
while extreme, fits into a pattern that's emerged in Georgia,
mirroring a national trend with a spike in anti-Semitic,
anti Muslim and anti Arab reports in the months following
Hamas October 7th attack and amid Israel's continued deadly siege
of the enclave.
The numbers have skyrocketed in the Peach State.
When you compare the three months of 2022 to 2023,
the increase is 1100%. That's astonishing.
It's shocking. We we have never been busier.
Meanwhile, Ashruff and Afifi are busy trying to keep things
feeling normal at home while working to ensure this isn't
a long term threat to their child's self worth.
I wanted her to be confident,
to love who she is and stand up for the
right things,
and to not to let this change her.