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| NYC school has ties with intifada promoters |
| 2007-08-07 |
| Activists with ties to the principal of the city's controversial new Arabic-themed school are hawking T- shirts that glorify Palestinian terror, The Post has learned. The inflammatory tees boldly declare "Intifada NYC" - apparently a call for a Gaza-style uprising in the Big Apple. The organization selling the shirts, Arab Women Active in Art and Media, shares office space on Brooklyn's Third Avenue with the Saba Association of American Yemenis. Dhabah "Debbie" Almontaser, principal of the Khalil Gibran International Academy - which is scheduled to open in Brooklyn next month - is a board member and spokeswoman for Saba. Members of AWAAM refused to comment. But Almontaser downplayed the significance of the T-shirts. "The word [intifada] basically means 'shaking off.' That is the root word if you look it up in Arabic," she said. "I understand it is developing a nega tive connotation due to the uprising in the Palestinian-Israeli areas. I don't be lieve the intention is to have any of that kind of [violence] in New York City. I think it's pretty much an opportunity for girls to express that they are part of New York City society . . . and shaking off oppression." AWAAM's co-founders, Rama Kased and Mona Eldahry, are also active in the more militant pro-Palestinian group, al-Awda, whose main U.S. office is in California. That organization, according to the Anti-Defamation League, is an active supporter of the terrorist groups Hezbollah and Hamas. "The T-shirt is a reflection of a movement that increasingly lauds violence against Israelis instead of rejecting it. That is disturbing," said Oren Segal, a spokesman for the ADL. Almontaser, a community activist and Muslim, has said the new grade 6-12 public school will be modeled on other dual-language city schools and have no religious component. But the shirt sales are giving new ammunition to critics who fear Almontaser's school will teach a biased view of Middle Eastern history. "Intifada is a war. Isn't that what Arafat had?" said Pamela Hall, a Manhattan mom opposed to the academy on the grounds that it violates separation of church and state. A Department of Education spokeswoman defended Almontaser, saying her link to the T-shirt was tenuous. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #3 You know, about 20 yrs ago, a group of nazi skins tried to 'muscle in' to NYC. I think they were the confederate hammers, but I'm not sure about that. Set up shop here in the East Village. Within a week, there were gang-bangers down here playing 'knock-down' (where you run down the sidewalk as fast as possible and utterly DECK motherf*ckers- in this case any skinhead.) Cops just laughed. Skins left in about a week or so. (heh) Is it too much to hope for a repeat? |
| Posted by: Free Radical 2007-08-07 19:51 |
| #2 Oh. That...ummmmmmmmmmm...pisses people off? Oh. Ummmmmmmmm...sorry. The principal of an Arabic-language public school due to open next month is under fire for taking what several Jewish groups are condemning as a soft stance on the violent Palestinian Arab uprising known as the intifada. The principal, Debbie Almontaser, was quoted yesterday interpreting T-shirts that say "Intifada NYC" as not an endorsement of violence but rather "an opportunity for girls to express that they are part of New York City society ... and shaking off oppression." She followed the word's literal Arabic meaning, which is "struggle" or "uprising." In a statement late yesterday afternoon, Ms. Almontaser backed away from her comments, reported by the New York Post, saying she regretted suggesting the T-shirt slogan was appropriate. "By minimizing the word's historical associations I implied that I condone violence and threats of violence," she said. "That view is anathema to me and the very opposite of my life's work." Can I keep my job now...INFIDEL! |
| Posted by: tu3031 2007-08-07 10:18 |
| #1 And these are the same sort of people who go apes**t when the word "crusader" is bandied about? |
| Posted by: Sgt. Mom 2007-08-07 07:20 |