Muslim CFO Of New York Jewish Museum Sues Over Religious Discrimination
Image by Museum of Jewish Heritage/Facebook
(JTA) — The chief financial officer of New York’s Museum of Jewish Heritage said he was pushed out of his position because he is Muslim.
Mohad Athar filed a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court alleging that he received false poor performance reviews after new CEO Michael Glickman took the helm of the museum in 2016. He said Glickman also made racial slurs, the New York Post reported.
“I am a Muslim. This is a Jewish institution. I never discussed my religion with anyone at the museum,” Athar told the Post in an article published Saturday.
Athar had been the chief financial officer of the museum for seven years when Glickman was hired.
The lawsuit said that Glickman immediately created a new financial position and hired one of his friends and required Athar to report to her, the Post reported.
Glickman also said that Athar did not know how to process payroll, according to the lawsuit, something Athar said he has been doing for 21 years, 11 of them at the museum.
The museum did not respond to the newspaper’s request for comment.
Did you know that only 2% of Forward readers donate to support our nonprofit newsroom? That 2% make it possible for millions to read the Forward without a paywall or subscription — removing any barriers to the full and fair Jewish story.
But while the Forward is free to read, it isn’t free to produce. Big stories — like deep dives into the antisemitism data, political scoops or reporting trips to college campuses — take months of research and fact-checking. All while we keep you informed of what you need to know each day.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Forward Publisher & CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
