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The Gibran Furor Continues
August 15th, 2007

The apparently forced resignation of principal Debbie Almontaser had done little to silence the tabloid frenzy over the Kahlil Gibran Academy, a new city school focusing on Arab culture and language. In fact the controversy seems to have gotten a second wind with the naming of Danielle Salzberg, a Jewish educator who does not speak Arabic, as interim principal.

The schools opponents, such as Daniel Pipes in the Sun, still want the school closed. In support of his argument today Pipes notes, The school has only an interim, non-Arabic-speaking principal something he helped bring about. And he cites the outspoken opposition of politicians such as Assemblyman Dov Hikind, whose previous support for extremist rabbi Meir Kahane apparently makes him, in Pipes view, ideally suited to comment on this.

But even more bizarre has been the Post, which following yesterdays headline “Jew Turn” today prints a column by Andrea Peyser. In called for the schools closing, she describes Salzberg as a “jewess” and “token Chosen Person.”

Others survey the weeks of disputes and wonder how things got so out of hand. Progressive Muslima blames rabble rousers who tried to portray Almontaser, a longtime educator and civic activist, as a wild-eyed radical bent on the destruction Western Civilization. They wanted her out, they dont want this school to open and they finally found a flimsy pretext to get rid her.

In Ed Notes, Steve Quester, a chapter leader for the United Federation of Teachers, faults his union for its role in forcing Almontaser’s ouster. “Our union could have stood with Arab-American and Muslim students and educators against the onslaught they have endured since 9-11, but instead we joined the chorus of racists, led by the teacher-hating, Arab-hating New York Post and Fox News,” he writes. Describing himself as “as a white, Jewish anti-racist educator,” Quester said he heartsick over the role [the] union played in this sordid affair.

In an article reviewing the events in todays Times, several critics faulted the Department of Education, some for the schools concept but others for their mishandling of what was certain to be a controversial situation. According to the article, school officials did little to help and defend Ms. Almontaser, or even pave the way for the school with parents, many political figures and education officials said.

I believe there is nothing wrong with having a school related in Islamic culture, former Mayor Edward Koch was quoted as saying, but he added that the administration was too quick to fire Almontaser. And now, he continued, To put a principal totally unimmersed in the culture seems like spitting in their eye.”

Meanwhile, the school is set to open in Boerum Hill in less than a month. Reportedly only six of the 44 enrolled students were expected to enter school this fall with the ability to speak Arabic. The majority of enrolled students were black children interested in graduating from a NYC public school with fluency in more than one language.

By Gail Robinson on August 15, 2007, 10:26 am
In category: Civil Rights, Education | 7 Comments »

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7 Responses to “The Gibran Furor Continues”

  1. Rich T. Says:
    August 16th, 2007 at 8:59 pm

    Just kill it. It was an awful idea to begin with. We don’t need the balkanization of our ed. system. Organize it around subject matter not ethnicity.

  2. brooklynjustice Says:
    August 17th, 2007 at 5:13 am

    This *is* a school organized around subject matter. Language study! What could be better for city students preparing to be global citizens?!? I wish I had had that opportunity to have immersion instead of two years of easily forgotten language that leaves me able to say ‘hello’, and count to ten.

    I’m glad the teacher’s union has owned up to its roll in this episode. The NYPost continues to baldly show its racist self – now attacking the \

  3. Jonathan Berlyne Says:
    August 17th, 2007 at 10:02 am

    What became of the concept of separation of Church and State? While it is true that people need to become global citizens, it is not the responsibility of the Department of Education to provide linguistic and cultural oriented education. I would, in this spirit, like to see a Punjab Culture School. What would be so wrong to provide a Norwegian Culture Studies Institute?

    Since there is no Jewish and Hebrew Language School, there should be no school that elevates the education of one culture or ethnicity over another in our so-called \

  4. brooklynjustice Says:
    August 17th, 2007 at 10:41 am

    There’s many different language schools in this exact same model in NYC – Chinese. Russian, Greek, Korean, Spanish . . .

    Language has nothing to do with religion in this case — and for the record, Khalil Gibran was a Christian.

  5. Some New York Common Sense Says:
    August 17th, 2007 at 10:55 am

    Since this is a school beginning in the 6th grade and that 11 year olds mostly aren’t sophisticated enough to be objective; it seems to me that a Junior High School Program specializing in the Arabic language and Islamic culture is \

  6. Amanda Hickman Says:
    August 17th, 2007 at 3:07 pm

    On a purely technical note, New York Common Sense, brooklynjustice and Jonathan Berlyne, if you have any insights about how your comment got cut off, please email me (amanda AT gothamgazette DOT com).

  7. Konrad Aderer Says:
    August 20th, 2007 at 9:25 am

    I live blocks from the school and I’m disgusted by the open hate speech unleashed in this controversy, fueled by an outsider network of professional right-wing anti-Muslim pundits, many of whom are funded by Daniel Pipes.

    There is a rally in support of the school today, Monday 8/20, at 6pm at the Tweed Courthouse at 52 Chambers Street. If you value cultural education, or at least the right of a community to decide on its own schools, please attend.

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