CHAMBERS STREET — Hundreds of supporters of Brooklyn’s Arabic-themed Khalil Gibran International Academy called for the return of founding principal Debbie Almontaser at a rally at the headquarters of the New York City Department of Education Monday evening.
Almontaser, the visionary behind the public upper school, was pressured into resigning on Aug. 10 after not immediately condemning another organization’s use of the phrase “IntifadaNYC” on T-shirts. This followed a rising crescendo of attacks on the school — and on Almontaser herself — from conservative Web sites and newspapers, including the New York Sun and the New York Post.
Following Almontaser’s resignation, the city’s Department of Education appointed Danielle Salzberg as interim principal of the school. Though she does not speak Arabic and is, in fact, Jewish, Salzberg had been working with the Khalil Gibran planning team throughout the summer and has received the support of the Arab-American Family Support Center.
Supporters at the rally carried signs saying, “NYC Needs Multicultural Education,” “Mr. Mayor, who runs this city — you, or the New York Post?” and “Stop the Racist Hysteria.” Others carried signs protesting United Federation Teacher’s president Randi Weingarten’s recent statement opposing Almontaser.
Church and Synagogue Leaders Back Arabic School and Almontaser
Speaking at the rally, Rabbi Michael Feinberg of the Greater NY Labor-Religion Coalition said, “No person is better qualified than Debbie to lead Khalil Gibran International Academy.” Feinberg noted that the school’s principal opposition group, the Stop the Madrassa organization, is backed by three extremist right-wing organizations: the confrontational Gathering of Eagles; NY-ICE (New Yorkers for Immigration Control and Enforcement); and The United American Committee.
Rev. Clinton M. Miller of Brown Memorial Baptist Church, who attended the rally along with church members, many of whom acted as security backup, told the Brooklyn Eagle Monday that “it remains to be seen if New York City supports the school. It supports it in word, but history shows that the best way for a vision to be realized is for the visionary to participate.
“Debbie Almontaser has to have the opportunity to help drive and contribute to the curriculum and activities of the school. Whether she’s reinstated or not, as Mayor Bloomberg said himself, everybody knows she’s not a terrorist.
“We’re pushing for the option for her to be involved,” Rev. Miller added. “Because of the hysteria, we don’t even know if that’s what she wants.”
‘We Need a School That Teaches about Arab Culture’
Sarah Said Alkhulaidi, whose brother will be attending Khalil Gibran Academy, said she was “disappointed about Debbie stepping down from her position. She worked hard. To be attacked in the media was shocking to me.”
Her friend Myisha El Sayed, who hopes to someday be a teacher at the school, said she was excited that the city was opening “a bridge between the Arabic and the New York City community. “With the climate we face in America, we need a school that teaches about Arab culture,” she said. “People need to learn the real meaning of ‘Intifada.’”
Extremist groups have attempted to portray the school as a training ground for Islamic-style terror. PipelineNews.org, often quoted, set off an outcry among its readers with an article called “New York Set to Open a Public Jihad School.” In the story, author Daniel Pipes claims that “imbuing pan-Arabism and anti-Zionism, proselytizing for Islam, and promoting Islamist sympathies will predictably make up the school’s true curriculum.” Pipes is listed as a member of the advisory board of the Stop the Madrassa group.
Contrary to Pipeline’s statements, Khalil Gibran’s curriculum will be in line with New York City’s regular public school curriculum while integrating elements of the Arabic theme, according to DOE documents. New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Donna Lieberman issued a statement Monday saying, “It is indeed ironic that a school funded in part by a federal program to meet a pressing need for Arabic studies, should be the target of attack because it seeks to do just that.”
