Seattle high school teacher who believes men can have babies and mocked a student for identifying as straight is finally suspended for saying the October 7 Hamas attack was justified

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A Seattle high school teacher has been placed on leave after footage emerged of him agreeing that the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel was justified.

Ian Golash, the social studies department chair at Chief Sealth International High School, was placed on leave last week according to the district.

The move to have him suspended came after conservative advocacy group 'Accuracy in Media' exposed his social media posts outside of the school. 

In a video clip released this month, Adam Guillette, the president of the group, asked Golash whether what happened to Israel in October was justified. 

After considering his answer for a few seconds, the teacher responds, 'Yes', and later adds that: 'I think resistance against Israel is justified.' 

Ian Golash, the social studies department chair at Chief Sealth International High School, was placed on leave last week according to the district 

Guillette then asks him whether the rape of women at the Re'im festival that was attacked by Hamas was justified. He responds: 'Where is the evidence that there was rape?'

Guillette then asks 'The murder of innocent women just attending a music festival, that was justified in your opinion.'

'No', Golash responds, 'I think resistance against Israel is justified, yes.'

During an interview with KOMO News, Golash's father Mike Golash confirmed that his son had been placed on paid leave for the remainder of the semester. 

His father told the outlet that he was instructed not to speak with any teachers or students.

Seattle Public Schools said in a statement that the district 'does not tolerate anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, or any kind of hate speech in its schools or offices.'

It continued:' The circumstances surrounding a conversation between an Accuracy in Media representative and an SPS teacher on April 1 are deeply concerning.

'We are conducting an immediate, appropriate investigation into this event.'

In a text message to The Seattle Times, Golash told the outlet that he does not support the killing or terrorizing of anyone.

In a text message to The Seattle Times , Golash told the outlet that he does not support the killing or terrorizing of anyone 

Golash seen here in a mugshot from a prior arrest in Oregon, he has previously been arrested numerous times for assault, violating parole and criminal harassment 

He wrote: 'I think any atrocities that happened on October 7th including rape, mutilations or killings of civilians committed by Hamas fighters or Gazans or Israeli citizens or Israeli Defense Forces are deplorable and worthy of condemnation.' 

Social media posts shared by Golash include statements like: 'I believe that resistance against colonialism – and yes I believe Israel is a settler colonial state – and all forms of oppression is justified. People who are being oppressed get to decide what forms of resistance works best for them, not me or anyone else — especially not the oppressors.'

In another post, Golash declares that he is a communist. 

In January, Golash blasted a student who said he was  'straight' and told the boy to use a less 'offensive' term.

Social media posts made by Golash include statements that he is a communist and supports the resistance against Israel

The boy's mom claimed that he provided students with a 'Social Identity Wheel' worksheet asking 10th graders to reflect on various identities including racial, ethnic, gender and sexual orientation.

The parent previously complained that Golash failed her son on a quiz for saying men cannot get pregnant and that women do not have penises.

She aired her concerns with Golash and Principal Ray Garcia-Morales in an email in September.

'It is completely inappropriate to dictate what terms a student can and cannot use to identify themselves with,' the mom wrote on September 24.

Golash thanked the woman for her feedback but denied singling out her son.

'I did not tell anyone what words they should use to identify themselves. In fact, I stated explicitly that I was not going to tell them how they should identify except to explain the difference between race, ethnicity and nationality,' Golash responded.

Israeli authorities say 364 people were shot, bludgeoned or burned to death and some were sexually assaulted at the 'peace festival' in Re'im on October 7. 

About 40 were also taken hostage to Gaza.

Sitting on the back of a terrorist's motorcycle, her outstretched arms pointing towards her helpless boyfriend, student Noa Argamani pleads for her life

Some tourists come on visits organized by civil society groups, others come independently to pay tribute to those killed at the Nova festival.

It was the single most deadly incident in a shock cross-border assault by Hamas in which 1,200 people were killed and 240 were taken hostage.

Amongst those still unaccounted for are Noa Argamani and her boyfriend Avi Nathan. 

Heartbreaking footage showed the 25-year-old student screaming 'Don't kill me! N, no, no' as she was forced onto the back of a motorcycle just meters away from her helpless boyfriend who was held at gunpoint. Both remain missing. 

Widely shared on social media, the footage of Noa's kidnapping is almost too distressing to bear.

Some of the survivors who have been released from Gaza during the hostage exchange and ceasefire deal in November have described being tortured, sexually assaulted and starved in captivity.