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In a sequence of reckless and deeply disturbing decisions, the Broward County School Board has embraced individuals with records of antisemitism and radical Islamic affiliations.
First, School Board member Dr. Jeff Holness appointed Muslim activist Naima Khan-Ghany to two key School Board committees. Following public outrage over her anti-Semitic social media activity, Holness removed her – only to replace her with Corey Shearer (a.k.a. Kareem Saalam), a figure with ties to an Islamist political network connected to pro-Hamas advocacy. Now, Khan-Ghany has been quietly reinstated by another School Board member, Nora Rupert.
This revolving door of extremism on the School Board is not only shameful – it is dangerous.
Khan-Ghany’s Anti-Semitic Record
Khan-Ghany’s removal came after this author exposed her virulent anti-Semitic posts online. Her offenses included sharing a video referring to Jews as “Satanic,” calling for the destruction of Israel, and dismissing Israel’s right to self-defense as a mere “usual excuse.” There was also a concern regarding the terror-related groups and individuals she was associating with.
In June 2023, Khan-Ghany was stripped of her roles on both the Diversity Committee and the Human Relations Committee – the latter of which she chaired. The decision was announced by Dr. Holness’s Executive Secretary, who made clear that Khan-Ghany’s duties would be “put on hold” and that she would be replaced by other appointees.
Corey Shearer and Emgage
The case was seemingly closed. but instead of distancing the School Board from extremism, Holness then appointed Corey Shearer, the Florida Organizer for Emgage, an Islamist political advocacy group that disguises its radical agenda as civic engagement. Holness had previously thanked Emgage for its “endorsement and support” of his re-election campaign.
The move appointing Shearer should have raised immediate red flags.
Emgage, despite its mainstream packaging, is rife with extremist affiliations. Its former South Florida Director, Syed Ammar Ahmed, once joked that he “should have threatened to blow up” a school following a debate there. Its founder and former Chairman, Khurrum Wahid, is a South Florida attorney who has defended some of the most notorious convicted terrorists and was reportedly placed on a federal terrorist watch list, himself, in 2011.
Emgage is a member of the South Florida Muslim Federation (SFMF), a network of extremist organizations that has organized multiple pro-Hamas conferences in South Florida.
Ties to Pro-Hamas Activity
In 2024, this author successfully led the effort to shut down SFMF’s annual conference due to its radical content and affiliations. Advertised featured speakers for the event had glorified Hamas murderers and kidnappers following the October 7 massacre in Israel that took the lives of roughly 1200 Israelis, mostly civilians.
In 2025, as exposed by this author, SFMF’s annual conference shockingly featured the sale of merchandise bearing the image of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the October 7 massacre. The conference enlisted Naima Khan-Ghany as a moderator for at least one of the conference’s sessions.
Shearer’s Expanded Role and Reappointment
Despite the growing body of evidence connecting Shearer and Emgage to this radical movement – in addition to other concerning activity coming from Shearer – Holness doubled down.
In August 2023, immediately after Khan-Ghany was removed, the School Board announced that Shearer had been appointed to the Diversity Committee for the 2023–2024 term, in addition to being placed on the Nominating Committee, which reviews and vets individuals seeking appointments to various School Board advisory groups. In short, Shearer helped decide who was to shape Broward’s education system.
In August 2024, Holness reappointed Shearer for another full year. Shearer’s record should have disqualified him outright.
Shearer’s Personal Extremism
In November 2021, Shearer promoted Islamic Relief, a charity banned in multiple countries for alleged terrorism links. Israel has labeled the group a front for Hamas, and in 2014, HSBC Bank in the U.K. severed its ties to the organization over concerns of “terrorist financing.” Islamic Relief’s U.S. chapter’s then-Chairman, Khaled Lamada, used social media to promote Hamas and said it was “absurd” to list the group as a terrorist entity.
And in August 2022, at a School Board meeting in Palm Beach County, which this author attended, Shearer publicly praised individuals associated with the South Florida Muslim Federation, who had publicly maligned Jews and members of the LGBT community.
In any rational system, such a record would preclude someone from serving in any government capacity – let alone one that deals with children.
Khan-Ghany’s Quiet Return
Yet, in Broward County, not only has Shearer been empowered, Khan-Ghany is now back.
In an outrageous and apparently unpublicized decision, School Board member Nora Rupert reinstated Khan-Ghany to one of the very committees she was previously removed from due to her hate-filled rhetoric. There was no indication of any apology or changed behavior – just a quiet reinstatement, despite her history of anti-Jewish vitriol and ongoing association with pro-Hamas events.
Rupert has been honored at different functions run by Khan-Ghany via Khan-Ghany’s Muslim Students Association (MSA) Broward County Council, where she serves as Executive Director and Advisor to high schools and middle schools. A photo containing both Rupert and Khan-Ghany is found atop the MSA’s web page, which is part of the website for Friends of Humanity International Inc (FHII). Khan-Ghany has sat on the board of FHII. Like Emgage, FHII is a member of the South Florida Muslim Federation.
In April 2021, Khan-Ghany created this MSA with her daughter, Afeefa Abdool-Ghany, who is President of the group and – much as her mother and sister Faheema – currently serves on a Broward School Board committee.
Rupert was first elected to the School Board in November 2010 and has been there ever since. Indeed, she was there, when Khan-Ghany was removed in 2023.
Betrayal of Public Trust
This is not simply political negligence – it is a betrayal of the community’s trust. Jewish families, LGBT students, and all those who value tolerance and safety in schools should be appalled.
These appointments and reappointments reveal a broader infiltration of Broward County’s institutions by activists seeking to normalize and mainstream Muslim extremism under the guise of diversity and equity. The School Board is becoming a platform for those who sympathize with or promote organizations that support Hamas – a U.S.-designated terrorist group responsible for the kidnapping and murder of civilians, including Americans.
To allow individuals like Khan-Ghany and Shearer to influence school policy – especially under the guise of “diversity” and “human relations” – is a grotesque insult to the principles of inclusion, education, and safety. It is time for Broward County residents to demand answers from their elected officials.
Who exactly are Jeff Holness and Nora Rupert trying to serve: our students and teachers or an ideological agenda that enables hate and extremism?
Beila Rabinowitz, Director of Militant Islam Monitor, contributed to this report.
