NYers Rally in Support of Debbie Almontaser

Two hundred or so protesters gathered outside NYC Department of Education Monday evening in support of the Khalil Gibran International Academy.

These are excerpts from Jennifer Medina's write-up (Protesters Seek Leader’s Return to Arabic School, NYTimes - 8.21.07):

The group — a mix of students, parents, teachers and activists from a wide range of organizations — blamed Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel I. Klein for the school’s struggles, saying they did not do enough to help the founding principal, Debbie Almontaser.

“This is nothing more than demonizing and vilifying a woman and an entire group of people. Anyone who knows Debbie knows that she is a woman of peace. I am furious that the Department of Education did not support her.” parent Deborah Howard

To that, people in the audience began chanting “bring Debbie back.”