ADAMS STREET -- The defamation lawsuit against the founding principal of the Khalil Gibran International Academy in Boerum Hill was adjourned Tuesday after the judge recused himself from the case.

At press time, the reason why Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Larry D. Martin recused himself was not immediately available. The case against Debbie Almontaser, which was scheduled for motions Tuesday, will be reassigned to a new judge in Brooklyn.

Plaintiffs Sara Springer, Irene Alter and Pamela Hall are seeking punitive damages from Almontaser for defamation they claim occurred when Almontaser said that members of the Stop the Madrassa Coalition “stalked� her.

The Stop the Madrassa Coalition had protested the Khalil Gibran school, which opened in Boerum Hill last year and subsequently moved near the Navy Yard in Brooklyn. Almontaser resigned as principal of the school even before it opened after a highly publicized controversy over her statements regarding the slogan “Intifada NYC,� which in Arabic refers to an act of rebellion and is often associated with the Palestinian uprising.

Almontaser claims she was forced to resign and has sued the Mayor’s Office and the Department of Education. That suit is still pending in federal court.

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