New York School Principal Quits over Intifada T-shirts

Embattled Al Montaser's abrupt departure raises doubts over opening of Arabic-themed public school next month.

11 August 2007

New York: The embattled principal of an Arabic-themed public school in New York resigned on Friday after coming under fire for failing to condemn the use of the highly charged word "intifada" on T-shirts.

Debbie Al Montaser was supposed to oversee the Khalil Gibran International Academy in Brooklyn. Her abrupt departure brings the launch of the middle school - slated for September - into question.

"This morning I tendered my resignation to Chancellor Klein, which he accepted," she said in a statement. "I became convinced yesterday that this week's headlines were endangering the viability of Khalil Gibran International Academy, even though I apologised."

A number of conservative websites, blogs and other publications have come out against the school. Some have questioned Al Montaser's character and tried to paint her as a radical Muslim with a dangerous agenda.

She has said the school will be teaching culture, not religion. The academy, named after the famed Lebanese-American poet who promoted peace, would be one of a few in the country that incorporate Arabic culture.

Al Montaser's departure comes on the heels of an editorial flaying in the New York Post and an article this week that connected Al Montaser to Arab Women Active in Art and Media.

That group is selling shirts imprinted with the words Intifada NYC. It shares office space with the Saba Association of American Yemenis, which counts Al Montaser among its board members.

The tabloid asserted the shirts had a subversive meaning: "The inflammatory tees boldly declare 'Intifada NYC'" - apparently a call for a Gaza-style uprising in the Big Apple."

Al Montaser, a public school teacher with 15 years of experience, told the paper that was a stretch and defined the word, which is most commonly associated with the violent Palestinian uprising against the Israelis.

"The word [intifada] basically means 'shaking off'. That is the root word if you look it up in Arabic," she said.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on his radio show that "she's certainly not a terrorist" but called her resignation the "right thing to do".