Arabic school off to great start - "INTIFADA NYC" t-shirts..

'INTIFADA' PRINCIPAL RESIGNS
By CHUCK BENNETT
Debbie Almontaser resigned today.
August 10, 2007 -- The principal of the city’s controversial, new Arabic academy resigned this morning in the wake of her comments that condoned "Intifada NYC" T-shirts.

Debbie Almontaser’s resignation comes just days after The Post reported that the inflammatory shirts were being sold by an Arab activist group headquartered in the same storefront as a Yemeni-American association that Almontaser heads.

Instead of condemning the shirts, Almontaser attempted to justify them, provoking a huge outcry from residents and elected officials who said she would not be appropriate to head the Khalil Gibran International Academy, which will focus on Arabic culture, history and language.

Her resignation was announced by Mayor Bloomberg on his weekly WABC radio show.

"I think she felt that she had become the focus of, rather than having the school the focus, and so today she submitted her resignation, which is nice of her to do and I appreciate all her service," Bloomberg said.

The furor broke Monday when Almontaser tried to explain away the shirts’ message.

"The word [intifada] basically means ’shaking off.’ That is the root word if you look it up in Arabic," she told the Post. "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."

She backpedaled the next day but the outcry didn’t die.

The Post also reported in this morning’s editions that the Brooklyn school was running short of its enrollment goal and that only a handful of Arab-speaking students had joined.