Spackling Compound
08-11-2007, 11:19 AM
Seems there's an Arab school (publicly funded) in NY that bears the name of Kahlil Gibran (a poet with Christian background) that is now under fire for the ex-principal's non-action on the promulgation of a tshirt that reads "Infitada NYC".
The tabloid asserted the shirts had a subversive meaning: "The inflammatory tees boldly declare 'Intifada NYC' - apparently a call for a Gaza-style uprising in the Big Apple."
Almontaser, a public school teacher with 15 years of experience, told the paper that was a stretch. She said the word, which is most commonly associated with the violent Palestinian uprising against the Israelis, "basically means 'shaking off."'
"That is the root word if you look it up in Arabic," she said. "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."
http://news.aol.com/story/ar/_a/principal-resigns-over-intifada-t-shirts/20070810190909990001
And there is also some outrage over a public Hebrew school. Named for a rabbi, the school is adamant that it will not teach religion...
http://news.aol.com/story/_a/with-kosher-lunch-hebrew-charter-school/n20070810122609990001
To me, it's very obvious that we're not teaching religion," said Rabbi Adam Siegel, the school's director. He previously directed two private Jewish day schools in Miami Beach. "Religion is prayer, it's God, it's Bible. And so if you stay away from there, you're not teaching religion."
This seems mighty strange to me. Aren't even the dietary laws (kosher) religious?
The tabloid asserted the shirts had a subversive meaning: "The inflammatory tees boldly declare 'Intifada NYC' - apparently a call for a Gaza-style uprising in the Big Apple."
Almontaser, a public school teacher with 15 years of experience, told the paper that was a stretch. She said the word, which is most commonly associated with the violent Palestinian uprising against the Israelis, "basically means 'shaking off."'
"That is the root word if you look it up in Arabic," she said. "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."
http://news.aol.com/story/ar/_a/principal-resigns-over-intifada-t-shirts/20070810190909990001
And there is also some outrage over a public Hebrew school. Named for a rabbi, the school is adamant that it will not teach religion...
http://news.aol.com/story/_a/with-kosher-lunch-hebrew-charter-school/n20070810122609990001
To me, it's very obvious that we're not teaching religion," said Rabbi Adam Siegel, the school's director. He previously directed two private Jewish day schools in Miami Beach. "Religion is prayer, it's God, it's Bible. And so if you stay away from there, you're not teaching religion."
This seems mighty strange to me. Aren't even the dietary laws (kosher) religious?