Controversy Surrounding New Arabic Public School Continues

New York, NY —

The controversy surrounding a new public school that aims to teach children Arabic language and culture is far from over. This afternoon supporters will rally for the school and its original principal - who resigned after defending the use of the word intifadah on a Brooklyn youth group's t-shirt. She told the New York Post that, at root, intifadah means 'shaking off.' WNYC's Marianne McCune reports.

First, Principal Debbie Almontaser apologized, saying she'd minimized the word's historical associations -- violent uprisings by Palestinians against Israel. Then she resigned, saying outraged headlines were endangering the viability of the school. Now supporters of the school are criticizing the City for letting the misunderstanding bring Almontaser down. Erica Waples of the youth group Arab Women Active in the Arts and Media - which made the Intifadah t-shirt - says Debbie Almonstaser had nothing to do with it.

That's my biggest regret, that we got pulled into the fray, that a word has led to this. And most importantly because we had no connection to the school and we had no direct connection to Debbie.

Waples says the pink and brown t-shirts that say 'Intifadah NYC' were meant to refer to Arab and Muslim girls shaking off the discrimination they experience and pressure from their families to be silent about it. She says the controversy highlights a lack of understanding of Arab culture and words - and the city should have stood by Almontaser's attempt to explain. The Khalil Gibran International Academy is set to open this Fall in Brooklyn's Boerum Hill neighborhood. A school official says most of the 40 plus students enrolled so far are Black and Latino - only a handful speak Arabic.

For WNYC, I'm Marianne McCune