'Uppity Muslim' ex-Principal sues city
The saga continues...
They thought she would roll over and play dead.
Little did they know - she's an uppity Muslim.
Now, let them answer in court.
Debbie Almontaser, the founding principal of the city’s first Arabic-language school, filed a federal lawsuit today against the city’s Education Department, Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, charging that they violated her right to free speech and “conspired to deny her the opportunity to regain her position as principal” of the school, the Khalil Gibran International Academy.Ms. Almontaser resigned under pressure in August, after a furor that erupted after she was quoted in The New York Post defending the use of the word “intifada” on a T-shirt. Last month, Ms. Almontaser said that she was a victim of a right-wing smear campaign, that she had been forced to resign and that she would apply to get her job back. But Education Department officials said that they would not consider her application among the 25 others that were submitted at the time.
The Education Department did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
Ms. Almontaser’s lawyers gathered affidavits from a number of supporters and provided excerpts from those affidavits, as quoted below.
From Ernest A. Logan, president of the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators, the principals’ union:
Given Ms. Almontaser’s obvious qualifications for the position as KGIA’s principal, including her long involvement with creating the school’s mission, developing its curriculum, and recruiting staff and students, the only plausible explanation for her exclusion from the group to be interviewed is the Chancellor’s unwillingness to allow her to be considered… Even more important than the legal issue is the implication of the Chancellor’s actions for all principals and administrators in New York’s public schools. … [P]rior to her leaving the school, Ms. Almontaser had the continuing support of all segments of the KGIA community, and the only controversy was that which was created by a few newspapers and bloggers. Under those circumstances, a decision by the Chancellor that public controversy trumps school support and professional qualifications sets a bad precedent that discourages independent and professional leadership.
From Michelle Fine, professor of psychology and urban education at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York:
The lack of an aggressive defense of Almontaser by the Department of Education signals an insidious nod to those extremists who seek to undermine public education by silencing, censoring, intimidating and demonizing many -– including disproportionately Arabs and Muslim Americans. These extremists pose a fundamental threat to democratic education, both in K to 12 and higher education. [The Education Department] has threatened every public school administrator and educator who dares to educate all children well, and in the process creates an intellectual environment in which controversial topics can be addressed. … Given her long history as a peace educator in New York City, and her vital role in coalition building post 9/11, the loss of Almontaser as principal of KGIA throws a shadow of shame on us all; what my mother, Rose Fine, a Jewish immigrant from Poland, would call a “shanda” –- a deep, penetrating shame that saturates the soul of our civic community.
From Jose Rolando Matalon, rabbi of Congregation B’nai Jeshurun:
It was … particularly gratifying that a group of my colleagues signed a letter to the mayor and to the chancellor expressing our view that those who had attacked Ms. Almontaser did not represent the views of the mainstream Jewish community. … There are regrettable antecedents to the litmus test to which the press and the DOE subjected Ms. Almontaser, most notably in the regularity with which African-Americans are asked to denounce outspoken members of their community. The idea that there is only one acceptable view on issues of public concern is not only at odds with our constitutional guarantees, but is a perversion of the Jewish tradition of vigorous debate and discussion on all questions of importance to our people. … I hope that this court will remedy the great wrong that has been done to [Ms. Almontaser].
Let the battle begin.
It is particularly encouraging to read that there are Jews who oppose the travesty committed against Ms. Almontaser.
The Zionist media (their monopoly would not have not been tolerated had they produced detergents or chewing gum) led the attack supported by Zionist bloggers.
Little do the Zionists care that they do not speak for other Jews or indeed for the population at large. They are habitually in the business of working behind human shields.
Indeed, let the battle begin!
Their days are numbered!
..that the first Arabic school to open in JYC should be run by a jew, is preposterous!
..oh, and it's illegal to support intifada, because shaking-off the vampires is ANTi-SEMiTiC!
..just ask Mahmoud 'push em into the sea' Ahmadinejad!
1) I just looked at a number of Internet articles connected with Ms. Almontaser. All support her except those on militant Zionist web sites, which continue to call her a terrorist. However, not even her supporters mention Jewish persecution of Muslims and Arabs. They talk about the need for “tolerance” and “cultural sensitivity.” No one dares mention that Jews own Herzlville (I mean Brooklyn), where the school is located (the Park Slope neighborhood). No one dares call Zionists “Zionists.” Everyone calls them “conservatives.” Jewish power must not be mentioned. Ever. There are no Zionist-owned newspapers in the USA. There are only “conservative” ones.
2) The smear campaign against Ms. Almontasser was long and extensive. Everything came to a head when an editorial in the Rupert Murdoch-owned New York Post denounced her, and Randi Weingarten (president of the United Federation of Teachers) wrote a letter supporting the editorial. When Almontasser resigned in August 2007, New York City Public Schools Chancellor Joel Klein said it was in the school’s best interest. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on his radio show that "she's certainly not a terrorist" but the resignation the "right thing to do."
3) Almontaser had no connection with the youth organization Arab Women Active In The Arts And Media (AWAAM) where the t-shirt was seen. (Photo below.) She merely sits on the board of the Saba Association of American Yemenis, which provides AWAAM free office space.
4) Almontasser’s entire career was dedicated to bridging gulfs between Jews and Arabs. This frightened Zionists, because it gave legitimacy to Arabs.
5) There are over 200 dual-language public schools in New York, which specialize in Asian culture, Latin American culture, Chinese language, and so on. The Gibran school (a charter school) was the first Arabic-themed public school in New York. It’s a middle school, grades 6-12. Zionists fear that such schools will prove to everyone that Muslims and Arabs are not terrorists. When Almontasser resigned, she was replaced by a Jew, Danielle Salzberg. A Jew who does not speak Arabic is now principal of an Arab language school. Cute.
6) Many public groups have publicly demonstrated in support for Almontasser. The only demonstration that counts are those by Daniel Pipes’ "Stop the Madrassa" organization, which held one small protest outside New York's city hall calling for the school to be shut down. Daniel Pipes says that any school that teaches in Arabic must be held under a "special scrutiny." He has called for profiling Muslims at airports and scrutinizing American Muslims in law enforcement, the military and the diplomatic corps. Pipes is Giuliani’s “foreign policy advisor.”
Below is the terrorist t-shirt...
