U.S. Rabbi Michael Feinberg defended a planned Arab school in New York on Monday, despite charges by a state legislator that the school could teach anti-Israeli extremism.
Addressing a rally in front of the New York Department of Education, Rabbi Feinberg called on elected officials to come forward in support of the Khalil Gibran International Academy, which is scheduled to open on September 4.
Rabbi Feinberg called the virulent Internet campaign against the school “the lowest of McCarthyite tactics.”
State Assemblyman Dov Hikind, however, slammed the school as a breeding ground for extremism.
“It will not, as suggested, be a hope for peace; it is a blueprint for anti-Israel and anti-U.S. extremism,” Hikind said, adding that the school has been endorsed by radical groups.
Education Department officials have said religion will not be taught at the school, which will focus instead on Arabic language and Arab culture. Schools that specialize in a specific topic or culture are common in New York.
“Unless we all send a clear message that racist comments associating Arabic language and culture with terrorism will not be tolerated, we will continue to hear them again and again,” the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee and other community groups said Monday in a statement.
Earlier this month the school’s original principal, Debbie Almontaser, resigned due to criticism after she failed to condemn the use of the word intifada, an Arabic term for the Palestinian uprising against Israel, at the school.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently said on his radio show that Almontaser is certainly not a terrorist, but he called her resignation the right thing to do.
The schools supporters praise what they said was the school’s message of inclusion.
“It’s about appreciating differences. It’s not about indoctrinating students for conformity,” said Deborah Howard, a community member who was on the planning committee for the school.
Some supporters argued Monday that education officials’ quiet persistence in opening the school is not enough.
‘Welcoming’ Ms. Almontaser’s resignation and remaining silent on the underlying anti-Arab, anti-Muslim bigotry has the effect of legitimizing the very thing that should be condemned, the groups said in a statement.
The Education Department did not return an Associated Press telephone call seeking comment.
