Today the City formally rejected an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission panel’s finding of discrimination against former Arabic-English school principal Debbie Almontaser. The founder and principal of the Khalil Gibran International Academy in Brooklyn was asked to step down after making remarks about the word “intifada,” but a lawyer for the city called the EEOC’s determination “totally unfounded.” According to the AP the city claims she resigned voluntarily. Still, The News reports that Almontaser supporters are urging the Justice Department to sue, based on the EEOC’s determination that “race, religion, and national origin,” motivated her ousting.
