Almontaser Will Not Return to Khalil Gibran

Pleas to return a former principal to Brooklyn's Arabic-language middle school will not be answered, a spokeswoman for the department, Melody Meyer, said.

The principal, Dhaba "Debbie" Almontaser, resigned after describing the T-shirt slogan "Intifada NYC" as a call for empowerment.

A group — which included Muslim groups; the president of Brooklyn, Marty Markowitz; advocates for immigrants; some Jewish groups, and family members with children at Khalil Gibran — said Ms. Almontaser's return would help students at the Khalil Gibran International Academy and denounced her departure as a forced push following a "smear campaign."

Ms. Meyer said there are no plans to reinstate Ms. Almontaser and defended the city's support for the school.

"Unlike some who promote it today, we defended the school when it came under intense attack," she said.