Intifada NYC Principal "Regrets" Remarks

They always regret their words once they come to public attention. Now Arabic School principal Debbie Almontaser is furiously backtracking and offering mealy-mouthed explanation for her actions, which, quite frankly, ring hollow.

Arab School Principal Says She Regrets Intifada Remarks

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."

Sure. What a pile of drivel.

Meanwhile, the ADL, which had supported the notion of an Arabic School, has done a 180.

"I feel like a fool. I think Abe Foxman should feel like a fool. And certainly Joel Klein if he sponsors it will be a fool," a CUNY board member who had decided to support the school, Jeffrey Wiesenfeld, said.

Watch it guys, there's only one fool around here...

Today's New York Post editorial reminds NYC school's Chancellor Joel Klein he has a choice to make. Does he have the guts?

Dhabah "Debbie" Almontaser is to be principal of Khalil Gibran Interna tional Academy, New York City's new Arabic-centered public school, when it opens in the fall.

Either she is a fool or she thinks New Yorkers are morons. Regardless, she has no business running a public school.

Almontaser, as The Post's Chuck Bennett and Jana Winter reported yesterday, sits on the board of an organization that shares office space with a group called Arab Women Active in Art and Media, which has been selling T-shirts proudly proclaiming "Intifada NYC."

What does that mean, exactly?

Is it meant to support the Palestinian intifada, which has killed thousands of innocent people over the years?

Is it an incitement to such deadly violence here in New York City?

Neither, according to Almontaser.

"The word basically means 'shaking off,' " she tells The Post. "That is the root word, if you look it up in Arabic."

And while she says that intifada "is developing a negative connotation" because of its murderous anti-Israeli violence, Almontaser claims the shirts are merely "an opportunity for girls to express that they are part of New York City society . . . and shaking off oppression."

And the moon is made of green cheese.

No doubt, Almontaser is right about the literal definition of "intifada."

But if its generally accepted meaning were as benign as she insists, you can bet no one would be wearing it on a T-shirt.

You can further bet that she knows it.

Now, if Dhabah Almontaser is going to be as disingenuous about something like this, why should New Yorkers believe her claim that "you won't find religious or political indoctrination or anti-Americanism" at her Khalil Gibran school?

She's got to go. Of course, the goons from CAIR will file lawsuits in the blink of an eye, but we're used to that. What you don't get through craven acquiescence, you go for through intimidation in the courts.

For background on this school, check out the NY Sun's special page on the Khalil Gibran International Academy.

Previously: Intifada NYC.