A glamourous model-turned DEI manager who was fired because she posed in front of an Israeli flag emblazoned with swastikas is now suing the University of Minnesota for $75,000 in damages.
Mashal Sherzad, 29, alleges that her First Amendment rights were violated, demanding reinstatement to her job and more than $75,000 in damages.
Sherzad was fired from her position as the diversity, equity and inclusion manager at the school in January after she accidentally uploaded photos of her posing in front of the controversial flag.
During a news conference Friday, Sherzad insisted the flag emblazoned with swastikas belonged to someone else.
‘I cannot be responsible for somebody else’s intellectual property,’ she said, as she fought back tears while explaining how the firing has affected her.
Mashal Sherzad, 29, a glamourous model-turned DEI manager who was fired because she posed in front of an Israeli flag emblazoned with swastikas is now suing the University of Minnesota for $75,000 in damages
Sherzad, 29, alleged her First Amendment rights were ‘violated’, demanding her job reinstated and more than $75,000 in damages
Sherzad was fired from her position as the diversity, equity and inclusion manager at the school in January after she accidentally uploaded her posing in front of the controversial flag
The activist showed up to the news conference in a tight bodycon dress with risqué cut-outs to make her case and beg for her job back.
‘I’m really, really scared for myself for many reasons,’ Sherzad told reporters inside the Coffman Memorial Union. ‘What happened to me was wrong, legally, factually, emotionally. It was horrifying for me, my family, and my loved ones.’
Sherzad’s lawsuit against the university said she ‘posted the photographs on her private Instagram account, but unbeknownst to her, they were automatically re-posted on her Facebook account.’
The pictures showing her at a December protest in Barcelona, Spain, have since been deleted from her Facebook.
Sherzad, who identified as Muslim, and who is in a relationship with a woman, began her role in October 2023, and travelled to Barcelona to attend the pro-Palestinian rally just two months later.
She shared pictures of herself from the rally – including snaps of her posing in front of the swastika-embezzled Israeli flag.
She was removed from her DEI manager job for the university’s School of Public Health on January 16 after the Dean, Melinda Pettigrew, said her employment would create a ‘real risk of significant disruption.’
‘I did nothing wrong. They discarded a proud Queer, Muslim, Afghan and SWANA woman,’ she has claimed.
The 29-year-old model uses Instagram to share pro-Palestinian content to her 4,000 followers. Her biography section suggests she has worked for famed modeling agency Ford – and Sherzad has shared scores of photos of her striking good looks.
She appears to have modeled herself on Kim Kardashian, with one snap showing a collage of her face next to that of the reality star, who has long denied rumors that her looks are the result of extensive cosmetic surgeries.
Sherzad has posted videos of herself chanting at rallies in support of Palestine, pictures comparing Nazi occupied Poland to Israeli occupied Palestine and plenty of pro-Palestine infographics and protest pics.
She also shared an array of glamorous selfies, bikini pics, couples-content with her girlfriend Ralena Young, a restaurateur and glamorous photos from her endless travels.
The activist showed up to the news conference on Friday in a very tight bodycon dress with risqué cut-outs to make her case and beg for her job back – explaining that the vandalized flag she posed in front of was ‘somebody else’s intellectual property’
During Friday’s news conference, supporters of Sherzad claimed that people who support Palestinians and speak out against violence against them are being unfairly targeted
The 29-year-old model uses Instagram to share pro-Palestinian content to her 4,000 followers. Her biography section suggests she has worked for famed modeling agency Ford – and Sherzad has shared scores of photos of her striking good looks
Sherzad also shared an array of glamorous selfies, bikini pics, couples-content with her girlfriend Ralena Young, a restaurateur and glamorous photos from her endless travels
‘The caption on said post was, “This is not a conflict. This is not a war. This is genocide,”‘ Sherzad explained.
A university spokesman, Jake Ricker, says the school doesn’t typically comment on active lawsuits, according to Star Tribune.
However, in a January letter School of Public Health Dean Melinda Pettigrew told Sherzad she respects employees’ rights ‘to comment on matters of public concern’ but ‘your conduct directly undermines your credibility in this role.’
‘I find that continuing your employment would create a real risk of significant disruption to School and University activities,’ Pettigrew wrote.
‘This is particularly true given the current climate around the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, within the University community and around the globe, and the highly inflammatory nature of the image you posted.’
During Friday’s news conference, supporters of Sherzad claimed that people who support Palestinians and speak out against violence against them are being unfairly targeted.
The executive director of Minnesota’s Council on American-Islamic Relations, Jaylani Hussein, has said: ‘The facts of this case are completely unbelievable. It is a dark day for freedom of speech.’
Sherzad vehemently denies any wrongdoing on her part and created a GoFundMe to ask for ‘financial resources’ amidst the legal battle following her ‘wrongful firing,’ according to the page.
Sherzad has posted videos of herself chanting at rallies in support of Palestine, pictures comparing Nazi occupied Poland to Israeli occupied Palestine and plenty of pro-Palestine infographics and protest pics
Sherzad is seen pictured with her girlfriend Ralena Young, who owns a restaurant and bar in Minnesota
‘My name is Mashal. I was pictured at this pro Palestinian demonstration, a peaceful protest, where many from all backgrounds and walks of life came together to express solidarity around the demand for peace and liberation of Palestine,’ she wrote.
‘This event occurred in Barcelona, off work time, and on a weekend. December 9, to be exact,’ she wrote on the GoFundMe, which has garnered $1,300 in donations.
‘I was pictured in front of a Jewish man we had been chatting with who was holding a flag of Israel, with two swastikas drawn on either side of the Star of David.
‘It was not my property. It was not the way I would have expressed my feelings of concern and anger towards what has happened to Palestine and its People,’ she further explained.
DailyMail.com has contacted Mashal Sherzad for comment.
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