Controversy surrounds new school that features Arab culture, language BY DEEPTI HAJELA The Associated Press
NEW YORK — It is a school named after a Christian Lebanese poet who promoted peace and published his most famous work while living in New York. But life at the city’s Khalil Gibran International Academy has been far from peaceful — and the place hasn’t even opened yet. With only a few weeks remaining until the academic year starts, the Brooklyn school — announced in February as the first in the city to offer instruction in Arabic and on Arab culture — is already on its second location and second principal, after public furors forced the changes. An Internet search of the school turns up references to “madrassa” and “jihad” from its very vocal critics, who portray it as a potential radical Islam training ground. The latest controversy flared up earlier this month when the school’s original principal, Debbie Almontaser, failed to condemn the use of the highly charged word “intifada.” She was replaced by acting interim principal Danielle Salzberg. However, the appointment of a Jewish woman who does not speak Arabic to replace an Arab woman also garnered its share of sensational tabloid headlines, like “Taking a Jew Turn” and “School bad idea even before Hebrew-haha.” Supporters have been taken aback by the controversy. “I was surprised, what the people talked about it,” said Shamsi Ali, imam at the Islamic Cultural Center in Manhattan, who served on an interfaith advisory council for the school. “In fact it is a regular public school, the only difference is they’re going to use Arabic as a medium,” he said. “It is absolutely not a religious school and no one has any intention of teaching religion.” When the city’s Department of Education first announced the school, it was as one of 40 new schools opening this fall. But clearly, none of the others have gotten this level of attention. Khalil Gibran is slated to start with sixth-graders and then expand with one additional class every year to end up with 500 to 600 students in grades 6-12. It joins a number of small public schools in New York City that are themed — covering areas from the arts to social justice to Chinese language. The school was originally going to take space in an elementary school in Brooklyn. Parents at the school objected for a number of reasons, including whether there would be enough space in the building and whether the ideological controversy would create a security risk. The Department of Education changed the school’s location, and it is now residing in the same building as a high school and middle school in Brooklyn. That would probably be enough controversy for any new school. But there’s more. Almontaser, a longtime public school teacher, abruptly resigned this month after coming under fire over the “Intifada NYC” T-shirts. The uproar started after an article connected Almontaser to Arab Women Active in Art and Media, a group that produced shirts imprinted with the words “Intifada NYC.” The group used office space shared by an organization that counts Almontaser among its board members. The word “intifada” has come to represent the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians. Almontaser got caught in the controversy when she tried to explain the origins of the word rather than condemn its usage outright. Almontaser was soon replaced by Salzberg, of the New Visions for Public Schools nonprofit, which has been involved in the creation of the school. The school has attracted several opponents, including an organization called “Stop the Madrassa” that would rather the school not open at all. The group calls the school “badly managed and inflammatory.” Members say the city has not been upfront about details of the curriculum and the content of the textbooks, and they believe the school will have a hard time keeping Islam out of the classroom. This week, Salzberg met with some of the 44 students who have enrolled so far at the school, most of them not Arabic-speakers or even Arab.
This school is a very bad idea, I'd be worried about the school being turned into a tool to teach it's students to hate Americans instead of educating us about Muslim culture.
This school is a very bad idea, I'd be worried about the school being turned into a tool to teach it's students to hate Americans instead of educating us about Muslim culture.
The government would then step in like Ruby Ridge and WACO Texas......that is--after we got out of our 'PC way'
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
My grandparents came here from Italy. They were not the only ethnic group that migrated to this county. Public schools were just that, public. Ethnic schools were private schools that were usually a spin off of a church, such as St. Adalberts Church which was primarily Polish.
Ethnic or Religious schools, churches or organizations were not publicly funded. They were privately funded through donations or tuitions. It was their personal decision based on their personal choice.
If our tax dollar is not allowed, by law, to fund an ethnic or religious school, than our tax dollar should not be funding this one either!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Debate heats up over Arab school The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Friends and foes of an embattled Arabic-themed public school kept the volume of their rhetoric high on Monday, with critics warning students could be “indoctrinated” with radical Islamic beliefs and supporters calling such statements “racist.” “Unless we all send a clear message that racist comments associating Arabic language and culture with terrorism will not be tolerated, we will continue to hear them again and again,” the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee and other community groups said in a statement in support of the Khalil Gibran International Academy. Meanwhile, state Assemblyman Dov Hikind said the school’s children could be “indoctrinated” and warned in a statement that “establishment of an Arab school is a misguided and dangerous idea.” “It will not, as suggested, be a hope for peace; it is a blueprint for anti-Israel and anti-U.S. extremism,” he said, adding that the school has been endorsed by “radical” groups. School organizers have said religion will not be taught at the school, which will focus instead on Arabic language and Arab culture. There are a number of city schools that focus on a specific topic or culture. Supporters rallied Monday in favor of the school, gathering in front of the city’s Department of Education. Officials there have said they plan to open the academy on schedule on Sept. 4 despite statements by its vocal critics equating it with a madrassa, an Islamic religious school, and portraying it as a potential radical training ground. The supporters praised what they said was the school’s message of inclusion. “It’s about appreciating differences. It’s not about indoctrinating students for conformity,” said Deborah Howard, a community member who was on the planning team that helped form the school. Rabbi Michael Feinberg, who spoke at the rally, said elected officials should come forward to defend the school. “It’s really the lowest of McCarthyite tactics,” he said of the virulent Internet campaign against the academy, which was named after a Lebanese-American Christian poet. Earlier this month, the school’s original principal, Debbie Almontaser, resigned after she failed to condemn the use of the highly charged word “intifada,” an Arabic term for the Palestinian uprising against Israel. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on his radio show that Almontaser is “certainly not a terrorist,” but he called her resignation the “right thing to do.” Some of the school’s supporters argued Monday that education officials’ quiet persistence in planning to open the school is not enough.
Earlier this month, the school’s original principal, Debbie Almontaser, resigned after she failed to condemn the use of the highly charged word “intifada,” an Arabic term for the Palestinian uprising against Israel.
Sorry folks....but this is NOT what you want to be in schools today. It is highly sensitive. After hearing this statement...I say, 'close it down'! It's a no brainer!
And to think Imus got fired for saying 'nappy headed ho's' AND they are suing him as well! It's all nonsense!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Main Entry: in·ti·fa·da Pronunciation: "in-t&-'fä-d& Function: noun Etymology: Arabic intifAda, literally, the act of shaking off: UPRISING, REBELLION; specifically : an armed uprising of Palestinians against Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
EDITORIALS Arab culture school in New York City deserves a chance
Yes, there is a danger that a new school to open in Brooklyn next month, featuring Arab culture and language, will become a radical Islam training ground, as its critics claim. But it doesn’t have to; and many people, incwluding New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, will be watching to make sure it does not. The school, one of hundreds of new theme schools the city has created in the last few years, at least deserves a chance. One good sign is that it will be named after Kahlil Gibran, the Lebanese poet/philosopher, who was not even Muslim but Christian. And, far from being a radical, he was a promoter of peace. In addition, the school, which will start with grade six and eventually grow to include grades 6 to 12, has a board of directors that includes people involved in interfaith work, and conflict resolution will be part of its curriculum. Nor should there be much time for “madrassa” and “jihad.” This is a public school, which means students will have to pursue the usual Regentsbased curriculum. But their experience will be enhanced by intensive instruction in Arabic and the study of Middle Eastern history and culture. That’s a good thing, especially since most of the 44 students enrolled in the school so far are not Arabic speakers or even Arabic. The school will increase their understanding of another culture — one that Americans don’t understand at their peril — as well as prepare them for careers in diplomacy, international affairs and business, among others. A close eye should be kept on the school to make sure it doesn’t teach religion or push an ideology. It should educate, not indoctrinate. Otherwise, it should be shut down.
The Daily Gazette should be thanked for its [Aug. 22] editorial discussing the plan of the New York City Board of Education to open an Arabic language school next month in the public school system. This decision requires thoughtful scrutiny by observers everywhere. First, if the purpose of the plan is to promote the teaching of Arabic, it would be far less expensive and less hazardous simply to offer Arabic as a language in the existing school. Second, why go to the lengths of creating a separate school focused on Arabic language and culture, which will strongly draw Muslims of New York City, when our entire purpose as an American society is social integration? Third, if authorities believe they can create this Muslim enclave without drawing the extremists among them to enter it and use it as a propaganda focal point, they are naive indeed. Fourth, picture the problems that soon could arrive. In the interest of Arabic culture, will it be required to separate girls and boys in class? Will girls be required to be covered from head to foot? Will foot baths be required at each class doorway? Will students be allowed to pause in class work, three times daily, in order to pray, bowing low, toward Mecca? And what about head scarves? Will they be allowed? Over in France, that battle in the schools is still going on. These are elements of Muslim religion, obvious parts of Arabic culture, in which religion dictates how one shall act and dress in public. Remember, if you teach Arabic culture, you automatically teach the Muslim religion, because in that society Sharia — religious law — governs both the culture and state. There is no distinction between church and state. What then about the separation of church and state? The ACLU, and other groups, have battled for decades to eliminate any vestige of religion in the public schools? Where are they now when the New York City Board of Education is committed to a program that is going to bring religion back into the public schools through an Arabic back door? ELIZABETH M. WEBER RICHARD O. WEBER Niskayuna
Opening a school like this one in NYC is like inviting a fox into the hen house, putting possible terrorists in the middle of where they can do the most damage.
Thank you Mr. and Mrs Weber for you eloquent article. First, instead of teaching Arabic, why not teach ENGLISH....ya know, the language of the land? And second...where is the ACLU ALMIGHTY?
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
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