Manhattan: Principal of Arabic School Sues City

[Harold F. Schiffman]

November 20, 2007

Manhattan: Principal of Arabic School Sues City

By JENNIFER MEDINA

The founding principal of the city's first Arabic-language school has
filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court against the city's Education
Department, Chancellor Joel I. Klein and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg,
claiming that they violated her right to free speech and conspired to deny
her the opportunity to regain her position as principal of the Khalil
Gibran International Academy, in Brooklyn. The principal, Debbie
Almontaser, resigned under pressure this summer, following a furor that
erupted after she was quoted in The New York Post defending the use of the
word intifada on a T-shirt sold by a Brooklyn-based organization of Arab
women. Last month, Ms. Almontaser said she was a victim of a smear
campaign by conservatives and would apply to get her job back. But
Education Department officials said they would not consider her
application among the 25 others that were submitted at the time.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/20/nyregion/20mbrfs-speech.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion&oref=slogin
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