NYC faculties Chancellor David Banks and a bunch of high-ranking metropolis Division of Schooling officers attended an occasion at a mosque run by an anti-Israel imam who cheered encampments at Columbia College, outraging Jewish lecturers and households.
Banks joined principals and superintendents to fulfill Zakir Ahmed on the Islamic Cultural Heart of New York on the Higher East Aspect.
Additionally there have been Ahmed’s spouse, a Bronx public college director, and the controversial former “Intifada Excessive” principal, Debbie Almontaser.
Zakir Ahmed attended anti-Israel protests at Columbia College and Metropolis Faculty in April. “What you guys are doing is one thing so unimaginable,” he informed protesters at CCNY’s encampments, in keeping with an Instagram video. “Just remember to proceed to unfold the phrase and convey extra individuals to those gatherings.”
One metropolis instructor bashed the problematic audio system and assembly.
“The chancellor is just too targeted on checking off bins and appeasing teams than he’s in really fixing antisemitism and Islamophobia,” he stated.
The occasion got here a day after the group visited the Nova Music Pageant Exhibition in Decrease Manhattan.
Additionally talking on the occasion was Afaf Nasher, govt director for the New York chapter of the Council on Islamic Relations.
The NYC Public Faculties Alliance not too long ago blasted the town Division of Schooling utilizing CAIR as a useful resource in knowledgeable growth workshop.
“The inclusion of a company with such a contentious historical past and up to date pronouncements selling divisiveness and hostility is inappropriate and counterproductive to the targets of fostering a balanced and inclusive academic surroundings,” the antisemitism advocacy group wrote.
Tova Plaut, founding father of the alliance, stated the DOE is failing to “meet the second.”
“They only hold getting it unsuitable, and after eight months, it feels purposeful,” she stated.
The DOE didn’t instantly reply to questions.
Extra reporting by Susan Edelman
