The question came up on another list, does anyone know that Danielle Salzberg is a Zionist?
Especially given the following >"the Arab-American Family Support Center, a Brooklyn > social service agency that will provide the Arabic language instruction, > said its staff was pleased with the selection." Steffie Brooks On 8/14/07, Louis Proyect <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > NY Times, August 14, 2007 > New Leader Picked to Run Arabic School > By JULIE BOSMAN > > An education official experienced in starting new schools in New York > City, but not in speaking Arabic, will take over immediately as the > interim acting principal of the city's first public school dedicated to > the study of Arabic language and culture, Chancellor Joel I. Klein said > yesterday. > > The official, Danielle Salzberg, 35, a senior program officer at the > nonprofit group New Visions for Public Schools, will replace Debbie > Almontaser, the founding principal of the school, the Khalil Gibran > International Academy. Ms. Almontaser resigned under pressure on Friday. > > The Department of Education frantically scoured for a replacement > principal after Ms. Almontaser announced her resignation, partly to > quiet the furor that has surrounded the school since it was created. > > "Danielle is a strong leader and an excellent educator who knows what it > takes to help our students succeed," Mr. Klein said in a statement > announcing Ms. Salzberg's appointment. "With her leadership and the > commitment renewed today by teachers and staff, Khalil Gibran will add a > new, important option for our students who are interested in a rigorous > academic program with an international and Arabic theme." > > Ms. Almontaser's leadership of the school became an issue after she was > quoted last week in The New York Post defending the use of the word > "intifada" as a T-shirt slogan. The word has come to be associated with > Palestinian attacks on Israel. > > Ms. Salzberg's résumé, provided by the Education Department, shows that > she earned degrees from New York University and Teachers College at > Columbia University. She also did graduate work at the Hebrew University > of Jerusalem. > > Department officials said that she did not speak Arabic and that they > did not know what she studied in Jerusalem, or whether she had a > background in Arabic culture. Ms. Salzberg did not return phone calls > seeking comment. > > She joined the Education Department in December 1996, working as a high > school English teacher. She has been an assistant principal at > Millennium High School in Manhattan since 2004. > > Ms. Salzberg was selected partly "on the basis of her experience and her > work with the school," said Debra Wexler, a department spokeswoman. > Along with Ms. Almontaser, Ms. Salzberg has spent the past several > months preparing for the school's opening this fall. > > Khalil Gibran will open in partnership with New Visions, which has > helped create dozens of small schools in recent years. Robert L. Hughes, > the president of New Visions, called Ms. Salzberg "a committed educator > with a proven track record in the public school system." Another partner > in the school, the Arab-American Family Support Center, a Brooklyn > social service agency that will provide the Arabic language instruction, > said its staff was pleased with the selection. > > At a news conference yesterday morning, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg > reiterated his support for the school, following his remarks on Friday > in which he said he welcomed Ms. Almontaser's resignation. "We're > confident the school will continue," he said. >
