Middle East studies in the News

Ex-Arabic Principal Suing City [on Dhaba "Debbie" Almontaser, Khalil Gibran International Academy]

by Yoav Gonen
The New York Post
November 17, 2007

http://www.nypost.com/seven/11172007/news/regionalnews/ex_arabic_principal_suing_city_23915.htm

http://www.campus-watch.org/article/id/4486

The ousted principal of an Arabic academy in Brooklyn will file a federal lawsuit against the city Monday, her supporters said yesterday.

Debbie Almontaser has said her right to free speech was violated when she was forced to resign in August as principal of the Khalil Gibran International Academy for failing to condemn "Intifada NYC" T-shirts sold by a group with links to her.

Less than a week after defining "Intifada" as a "shaking off" of oppression - which led to public admonitions from the head of the teachers' union and other groups - she resigned.

Almontaser is naming Mayor Bloomberg, Schools Chancellor Joel Klein and the city's Department of Education in the First Amendment lawsuit.

Her lawyer, Alan Levine, declined to provide specifics on the suit.

Last month, Almontaser, a Muslim and a fluent Arabic speaker, announced that she was reapplying to serve as principal of the academy.

Since her departure, Danielle Salzberg, a Hebrew speaker with no Arabic skills, has been serving as interim principal.

The search for a permanent principal is down to fewer than five candidates from an initial group of 25, a Department of Education spokesperson said. Almontaser is not among the remaining candidates, according to her lawyer.

Note: Articles listed under "Middle East studies in the News" provide information on current developments concerning Middle East studies on North American campuses. These reports do not necessarily reflect the views of Campus Watch and do not necessarily correspond to Campus Watch's critique.

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