NY: Khalil Gibran International Academy in Jeopardy; Almontaser Forced to Resign

Debbie Almontaser has stepped down as Principal of the Khalil Gibran International Academy, the Arabic language & culture school due to open this September in New York City.

Having read the account in the New Times (below) and the inflammatory NY Post articles Intifada Principal Resigns and Intif-adios, it really seems to me that this woman was unfairly hounded from her job. From the very beginning, she has been accused of opening a “radical madrassah” in the heart of New York. The school has been forced to relocate (and may be forced to relocate again), and now this nonsense. The honest players in this little drama (as opposed to the rabble rousers) admit that Almontaser is not a wild-eyed radical bent on the destruction Western Civilization. Let’s face it: they wanted her out, they don’t want this school to open and they finally found a flimsy pretext to get rid her.

Head of City’s Arabic School Steps Down Under Pressure

Julie Bosman (NY Times)

The principal of New York City’s first public school dedicated to the study of Arabic language and culture resigned under pressure yesterday, days after she was quoted defending the use of the word “intifada” as a T-shirt slogan.

Debbie Almontaser, a veteran public school teacher, stepped down as the principal of Khalil Gibran International Academy, a middle school that is to open this fall in Brooklyn.

“This morning I tendered my resignation to Chancellor Klein, which he accepted,” she said in a statement, referring to Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein. “I became convinced yesterday that this week’s headlines were endangering the viability of Khalil Gibran International Academy, even though I apologized.”

Those headlines had become impossible for Ms. Almontaser and the Department of Education to ignore. On Wednesday, a headline in The New York Post called Ms. Almontaser the “Intifada Principal.” Yesterday, an editorial in the paper had the headline, “What’s Arabic for ‘Shut It Down’?..”

For an explanation and the origin of the “Intifada NYC” tee-shirt slogan (which has nothing to do with Almontaser!), see also:

Principal at New NYC Arabic-Language School Forced to Resign

Interview by Amy Goodman (Democracy Now)

The principal of New York City’s first public school dedicated to the study of Arabic language and culture resigned under pressure after she was quoted explaining that the word “intifada” literally means “shaking off” in Arabic. Debbie Almontaser’s remarks were in response to a question over the phrase “Intifada NYC,” that was printed on T-shirts sold by AWAAM, a Brooklyn-based girl’s empowerment organization. The shirts have no relation to her school. [includes rush transcript]…