About 200 demonstrators gathered in front of the headquarters of the city's Department of Education last evening, voicing their support for the beleaguered Khalil Gibran International Academy. Many of them called for the reinstatement of the school's founding principal, who resigned under pressure this month after she defended the word "intifada" as a T-shirt slogan.
The group — a mix of students, parents, teachers and activists from a wide range of organizations — blamed Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel I. Klein for the school's struggles, saying they did not do enough to help the founding principal, Debbie Almontaser.
Ms. Almontaser, an immigrant from Yemen who had worked in the school system for many years and was known for her work with groups that promote interfaith religious dialogue, was repeatedly portrayed by some in the news media as an extremist.
"This is nothing more than demonizing and vilifying a woman and an entire group of people," said Deborah Howard, a speaker at the protest and a parent who had worked with Ms. Almontaser on the plans to open the middle school in Brooklyn. "Anyone who knows Debbie knows that she is a woman of peace. I am furious that the Department of Education did not support her."
To that, people in the audience began chanting "bring Debbie back," as they did several times during the hourlong protest, which brought several school officials out of their offices at Tweed Courthouse headquarters. Danielle Salzberg, an educator who is Jewish and speaks no Arabic, was appointed last week as the interim principal.
A department spokeswoman said officials were focused only on opening the school in the fall.