South Florida dentist Ahmed Elkoussa fired after video shows him with ripped posters of kidnapped, murdered Israelis
MIAMI -- A South Florida dentist has been fired after he was seen on a video that has gone viral of him walking in Brickell, apparently with crumpled posters of photos of Israelis who have been kidnapped and murdered.
Ahmed Elkoussa, 31, was seen in the video along with Xave Ramoul, an Instagram influencer, with what appears to be a ball of papers in his hand as the two men walked through the neighborhood sometime Tuesday.
By Wednesday morning, CG Smile, the dental office where he worked, announced that Elkoussa had been fired from the practice.
"We are very sad to see this situation," the office said in a written statement. "CG Smile is not in favor of any of the actions of Dr. Elkoosa. We do not support terrorist groups' actions or supporters."
It appears that the Instagram accounts of both men have been deleted as of Wednesday evening.
The video of the two men that has been shared on social media by stop_antisemitism has generated around 11,000 interactions and nearly 1,300 comments on Instagram alone.
CBS News Miami spoke to Elkoosa's attorney Wednesday night, and he said the matter has been blown out of proportion.
"I tell you I spoke to the man in detail and he loves all Jewish children, all Muslim children and he thought the posters would escalate conflict and he was just trying to de-escalate." said lawyer Hassan Shibley, adding that his client has apologized for his actions.
The video was taken by the owner of The Blakery on Drexel Avenue in Miami Beach. Since it was posted, the bakery has been being targeted with negative reviews on Yelp in an effort to destroy its reputation.
The negative reviews pretty much all have the same complaints; the cookies tasted horrible, and the store was dirty, smelled bad, or some other unsanitary item.
To each of these negative reviews the owner, Blake Warman, posts a reply calling them out.
"Your review is completely fabricated, you were never a customer- after you saw my video circulate on the news of two men tearing down hostage posters in Miami. Instead of trying to tear down a 24-year-old-owned small business, I recommend you do something to make the world a better place."
Other recent reviews have been very positive, most likely to present a fairer perspective and help drown out the trolls.
President Biden flew to the Middle East Wednesday to help broker a solution to the ongoing crisis there following the Hamas attack on Israel two weeks ago.
The flyers have been erected again in Brickell, in other areas of South Florida, and around the country.
