In a letter to NYC Department of Education Chancellor Joel Klein, Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) called the Khalil Gibran School tainted by former-principal Almontaser’s comments. “She said that ‘intifada’ means to ‘shake off.’ We know that ‘intifada’ means the killing of innocent men, women and children,” Hikind said. “And now, the sponsors and organizational endorsers of the school advance a boycorinated?” Adalah-NY, which rallied in favor of the school, was an organizer of Israeli Apartheid Week in New York and supports divestment from Israel.
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In the letter, Hikind asks, ?Instead of enriching our students? grasp of diverse cultures, will this school become a morass of polarization and justification of terror tactics? Establishment of an Arab school is a misguided and dangerous idea. I am calling on you, as Chancellor, to abolish this school before it becomes firmly entrenched. At first I embraced the idea (of a school which teaches the Arabic language) albeit, somewhat less than enthusiastically, but nevertheless, I felt the country needed skilled students steeped in Arab language and culture. If you still feel this school is a good idea, I have an even better idea. How about a school dedicated to Hebrew language, Hebrew culture, and the history of anti-Semitism throughout the ages? After that we can go on to a school to explore the rich Irish heritage, and their history of potato famines and the troubles with the British.
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?All signs point to this concept as being a precarious mistake. Do we want a school to teach its students that Hamas militants are freedom fighters, and that Israel is an apartheid state? This school is ill-advised. It will not, as suggested, be a hope for peace; it is a blueprint for anti-Israel and anti-U.S. extremism. As per their website mideastjustice.org, Adalah-NY ?supports boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel.? The school should not be opened for the September term.?
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