Two members of a three-judge federal appellate court panel took the city to task yesterday for removing the principal of the Khalil Gibran International Academy. Debbie Almontaser, who helped found the dual-language school with an emphasis on Arab culture, stepped down before the school opened last fall, after controversy over remarks she made in the NY Post.
Last summer, Almontaser had commented on t-shirts with "intifada" printed on them, made by a youth group she shared office space with. At the time, she said, "The word [intifada] basically means 'shaking off.' That is the root word if you look it up in Arabic. I understand it is developing a negative connotation due to the uprising in the Palestinian-Israeli areas. I don't believe the intention is to have any of that kind of [violence] in New York City."
Yesterday, a lawyer for New York City conceded that Almontaser's remarks were correct - even a Dept. of Education monitor who was present during the interview thought the interview went well at the time - but explained the further public uproar generated (other critics characterized the school as a terrorist training school) forced them to fire her. Judge Jon Newman found that argument hard to swallow: "So if a city employee speaks to the press, they're at risk that the press garbles their remarks, and then they get fired? That's quite a position for the city of New York."
Almontaser is suing the city for violating her right to free speech. A lower court threw out the lawsuit, but the appellate court has not yet ruled on Almontaser's case.
