[NYTr] Anti-Arab Racism: In New York, Word "Intifada" Starts a Fire

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

sent by rick kissell

The Washington Post - Aug 24, 2007

In New York, a Word Starts a Fire

Arabic Educator's Brief Defense of 'Intifada' T-Shirts 
Makes Her a Target

By Robin Shulman

NEW YORK -- The goals were clear when Sheneen Jackson enrolled her son 
in one of the first public schools in the nation to focus on Arabic 
language and culture. First, her 11-year-old would master Arabic.
Later, doors would open for him in government and diplomacy -- maybe a
job at the United Nations, international travel, the prospect of
contributing to Middle East peace.

Instead, Jackson discovered that the distrust and tension that infuse 
many Middle East issues had tainted the Brooklyn middle school.

"It's unfortunate, but I know a lot of people in New York are 
sensitive," Jackson, 33, a Verizon technician, said of the controversy 
over the school. "That's the whole premise of the school."

Officials had no sooner announced in February the formation of the 
Khalil Gibran International Academy than conservative columnists and 
media outlets attacked, suggesting the principal -- an observant Muslim 
Arab woman -- might push an agenda of Islamist extremism.

Principal Debbie Almontaser said her mission was to foster tolerance
and understanding. But she resigned Aug. 10 after the /New York Post/
quoted her talking about definitions of the word "intifada."

Almontaser's critics say she failed to immediately condemn the slogan 
"Intifada NYC" on a T-shirt displayed by a group with no connection to 
the school. She later condemned it.

"You don't want to have a school that confirms people's worst fears," 
said Randi Weingarten, president of the United Federation of Teachers.

Supporters of Almontaser, who wears a hijab, the traditional head 
covering, say she has been hounded and misinterpreted.

"Sadly and unfortunately, Debbie was singled out and attacked because 
she's a religious Muslim," said Rabbi Andy Bachman of Congregation Beth 
Elohim, who is part of an informal clergy advisory group for the
school. "Everything in her career, from what we can see, has
demonstrated she's a peaceful person who has been the center of
dialogue."

At core in the debate is a linguistic disconnect. The word "intifada" 
crystallized in its current Arabic meaning during the first Palestinian 
uprising in the late 1980s and early '90s. It is seen by many Arabs as
a valid term for popular resistance to oppression, while for many
English speakers it has come to conjure images of violent attacks on
civilians.

City officials commended Almontaser's educational record while 
suggesting that her comments made her an inappropriate principal.
"She's very smart," said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. "She's certainly
not a terrorist." But it was "nice of her" to step down, he said.

The school, named for a Lebanese Christian poet and artist who lived in 
New York, will eventually teach sixth through 12th grades and offer 
classes such as math and science in both Arabic and English. It will 
join more than 60 existing city dual-language schools that teach in 
languages including Russian, Spanish and Chinese.

Almontaser, a Yemeni immigrant with a long record in city schools, is 
fluent in Arabic and has led interfaith and peace efforts. She seemed 
the ideal choice for principal, said Taoufiq Ben Amor, who helped 
interview candidates as a representative of the Arab American group 
Alwan for the Arts.

"We chose Debbie exactly because she's a very open person," he said.

But parents at the school that was to house the academy campaigned 
against it, saying there was no room, causing officials to eventually 
find another location. Then the columnists lit in.

Daniel Pipes, a pro-Israel conservative who created Campus Watch, a Web 
site dedicated to exposing alleged bias in university Middle 
East-studies programs, wrote in the New York Sun that the school would 
cause problems because "learning Arabic in [and] of itself promotes an 
Islamic outlook."

A group called the Stop the Madrassa Coalition coalesced in Brooklyn to 
fight it. Various blogs, Fox News, the /New York Post/ and the /New
York Sun/ variously probed Almontaser's background and editorialized
against the school.

Almontaser was silent this summer until the school board suggested that 
she grant an interview to the /New York Post/, in which the reporter 
asked about the slogan on the now-infamous T-shirts displayed by
members of Arab Women Active in the Arts and Media.

"The word basically means 'shaking off,' " Almontaser was quoted as 
saying in the Aug. 6 article. "That is the root word if you look it up 
in Arabic."

"I understand it is developing a negative connotation due to the 
uprising in the Palestinian-Israeli areas. I don't believe 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."

The next day, Almontaser issued a statement through the press office: 
"The word 'Intifada' is completely inappropriate as a T-shirt slogan."

"By minimizing the word's historical associations, I implied that I 
condone violence and threats of violence. That view is anathema to me 
and the very opposite of my life's work," the statement continued.

But the damage was done. The New York Post called her "Intifada 
Principal" and published an editorial with the headline "What's Arabic 
for 'Shut It Down'?" Others, including Weingarten, condemned her
statements.

Almontaser did not respond to requests for an interview.

After her resignation, officials named as interim principal Danielle 
Salzberg, who is experienced in setting up new schools. But some 
supporters of the academy said they fear she, too, will be a divisive 
figure, because she does not speak Arabic and happens to be an Orthodox
Jew.

"It's a slap in our face," Wael Mousfar, president of the Arab Muslim 
American Federation, said of Salzberg's inability to speak Arabic. "I 
think she has great abilities, as I read about her -- but it's not the 
right choice for this school."

The school is set to open in September, but its troubles may not be 
over. "The next step is to get the academy itself canceled," Pipes
wrote in the Aug. 15 /New York Sun/.