A federal court has ruled the founder of a Brooklyn Arabic school was not wrongfully fired for defending the word “intifada.”
Former Khalil Gibran principal Debbie Almontaser lost her suit against the city in which she said her First Amendment rights were violated when she was fired because she did not condemn a T-shirt that featured the Arabic word.
She said “intifada,” which means “uprising,” had non-violent origins.
According to Almontaser’s lawyer, the judge dismissed the case, ruling her speech was not protected by the Bill of Rights because she was acting as an employee.
“Our view is that it’s simply wrong. It’s a narrow definition of an employee’s right of free speech and we assume we are going to be vindicated eventually in the Court of Appeals and, in the meantime, we have pending a discrimination claim before the Equal Opportunity Commission,” said Almontaser’s lawyer, Alan Levine.
In a statement, the city says they are pleased with the decision.
