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Anti-dhimmitude? Or just a failure to recognize the way the winds are blowing? We'll see in the coming days, as the reaction to this unfolds.
"Mayor: Muslim Holy Days Shouldn't Be School Holidays," by Benjamin Sarlin in the New York Sun (thanks to Writer Mom):
Mayor Bloomberg is rejecting calls from lawmakers to make two Muslim holy days official school holidays, saying students cannot afford more days off."The truth of the matter is we need more children in school," Mr. Bloomberg said yesterday. "More, not less."
Council Member Robert Jackson of Manhattan, who is Muslim, and 12 co-sponsors introduced a resolution this year calling on the state to require that New York City students be given days off for the Muslim holidays of Eid Ul-Fitr, typically in October, and Eid Ul-Adha, which falls in December this year. [...]
State Senator John Sabini, who has sponsored legislation that would require city schools to recognize the two holidays, cited the growing Muslim population as the primary reason for the proposed changes.
"I think that the Muslim population in schools is now large enough that we need to talk about it," Mr. Sabini, who represents parts of Queens, said in an interview.
Mr. Bloomberg said that adding holidays could be a slippery slope that may lead students to miss too much school.
"When you have a city as diverse as we do, with virtually every religion known to man practiced, if we closed school for every single day there wouldn't be any school," he said.
Posted by Robert at March 7, 2008 4:25 PM
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Bloomberg is going to take a beating for those comments, unless of course he capitulates and/or agress to eliminate the school holidays of Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah as a token of fairness.
Countdownn to CAIR labeling Bloomberg a bigoted Zionist in 5...4...3...2...1.
This is going to get ugly...fast.
Posted by: awake![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/nav-commenters.gif)
at March 7, 2008 4:35 PM
Do I hear a Bloomberg apalogy a coming?
Why do we let this rabble migrate to our countries?
at March 7, 2008 4:42 PM
Yup. Say goodbye to Christmass and Easter holidays! You see thier numbers are growing so someone has to prepare the way for future muslims.
at March 7, 2008 5:41 PM
I think he should sign up for this.
http://www.religionnews.com/press02/PR030508.html
at March 7, 2008 5:48 PM
If some country decided to ban Islam, and make it an illegal religion, the way that Scientology is in Germany and France; if they decided to ban all muslim immigration, and deport all muslims, even the ones who have citizenship; if they decided to pull down all the mosques, and to pulp all the koran, then I bet you any amount of money that there would be huge numbers of people from the west wanting to immigrate to that country.
Imagine if some poor country in South America decided to do that, then the best and brightest of all the western democracies would beat a path to that country's door and try to settle there.
Some day, some country will wake up to that fact, and do just that.
Posted by: Voltaire at March 7, 2008 6:35 PM
Unfortunately I think it is a failure to see which way the winds are blowing.
From the Article:
"A 2004 Columbia University study estimated that 102,000 Muslim children attended city public schools, making them about 10% of the city's student population."
Posted by: irish_infidel at March 7, 2008 6:51 PM
You watch...this is specifically designed to get rid of Christmas. Easter vacation morphed into spring break a long time ago, but the Muslims' real goal here is to eradicate any reference to the birth of Christ.
Eliminating Christmas would be a real stupid thing to do. People comment on how much kinder other folks are to their neighbors at Christmastime and we could use a big dose of brotherly love injected into our societies at other times of the year too. We won't get anything like that if Sharia creep does its job and Islam comes to fruition.
Of course, there are other things to consider. I'm positive retailers don't do anywhere near the business they do during Ramadan or Eid as they do during the blitz at the end of the year due to Christmas. Shall we give in to the Muslims while gaining the wrath of out of work toy makers, candy makers, card makers, tree salesmen, bubble bath and jewelry peddlers and horror of horrors, Chia Pet pitchmen, to name a few? (Those guys can be really scary!) I wonder what the unions will say?
As for me, nothings going to stop me from going to midnight mass and they'll have to pry my Christmas lights out of my cold, dead fingers.
Posted by: Isabellathecrusader at March 7, 2008 7:34 PM
"I think that the Muslim population in schools is now large enough that we need to talk about it,"
This is the statement of the century, fully predicted here and elsewhere, as the population grows, watch out, there will be attempts to trump western traditions with Islamic ones, as this is just the beginning, take that to the bank, sharia bank as a matter of fact, thank you dhimmis.
Posted by: Sounder at March 7, 2008 8:21 PM
This will not stop in NYC, nor will it stop with just two muslim holidays. They will want all muslim students excused from any class work or testing during ramadan also. It's been requested elsewhere already.
Posted by: Rucker at March 7, 2008 8:26 PM
'Awake' in his comment suggests that Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are official school holidays in NY, NY. Are they? They certainly aren't in Canada. Toronto has a very large Jewish population but there's no accommodation, according to their school calendar: http://www.tdsb.on.ca/communications/calendar.htm
As far back as I can remember, if you needed a day off for religious observance, there was never a problem. The student was still responsible for catching up with work missed etc., but how's that any different than being away for any other reason?
If it's worked for Jews it'll work for any one else.
Posted by: DaninVan at March 7, 2008 8:35 PM
DaninVan -
'Awake' in his comment suggests that Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are official school holidays in NY, NY. Are they?
A number of school districts in New York State do accomodate religious observance by closing schools. It just so happens that last September 13th, school was closed coincidentally for both Rosh Hashanah and Ramadan in several.
It depends on whether there is a significant population affecting the smooth running of academic programs. This is one example of a New York State School District which does not offer the day off.
Posted by: miira at March 7, 2008 9:27 PM
Isabella,
I'll tell you how my union handles things. Their latest round of negotiations ended last November.
We now get Martin Luther King Day off. However, we no longer get Memorial Day off. I doubt that was what they were aiming for, but it's what they accepted.
It wouldn't surprise me if Bloomberg capitulated to a similar "compromise".
Posted by: Abscedere at March 7, 2008 10:55 PM
DaninVan,
Apparently, after checking, I misspoke. Yom Kippur is not recognized with a school closing this year in NYC. It definately has in the past. Two days for Rosh Hashanah are or according to the NYCDOE link, were in 2007.
I personally live just outside the NYC limits, on the Queens side, in Nassau county. My children attend local public schools where the aforementioned holiday was also accommodated in 2007, in kind. Actual days vary according to location and year.
This year, Good Friday is actually a holday with a school closing that has not occured with any regularity in the past.
That being said, Bloomberg will surely come under fire in the press and probably through some form of indirect litigation, due to his comments.
you wrote:
"If it's worked for Jews it'll work for any one else."
Unfortunately, I concur with that statement and the Islamists damn well know that too.
The Islamists will almost assuredly be accommodated under this scenario, whether begrudgingly or not.
'miira' provided some excellent examples validating the varying degrees of school closings in NY due to religious accommodation, as well.
Posted by: awake at March 7, 2008 11:23 PM
Abscedere,
That's a tough break, losing Memorial Day. The three-day weekend at the end of May far outweighs the three-day weekend in January, at least in NY.
MLK day definately deserves national holiday status at this point, but employers seem to be reluctant to grant one additional day to the late-comer holiday for MLK without an offset The alternative sacrifice does vary as well.
I now have MLK but lost Columbus.
Cest la Vie.
Posted by: awake at March 7, 2008 11:29 PM
This year in NYC, Spring recess is simultaneous with Passover, whereas in Nassau County, Spring recess coincides with pre-Easter week, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and ironically, the Monday after Easter Sunday.
The variation is apparent, like the accommodation to Islamic religious holidays that is sure to follow in short detail.
"As for me, nothings going to stop me from going to midnight mass and they'll have to pry my Christmas lights out of my cold, dead fingers."
Posted by: Isabellathecrusader at March 7, 2008 7:34 PM
Thanks Izzy, I needed that. :)
at March 7, 2008 11:38 PM
Abraham Lincoln and George Washington have to share 'Presidents Day' with Millard Fillmore and Warren G. Harding while Martin Luther King Jr. gets his very own day which is celebrated by people in government not working and by kids not going to school (insert sarcastic comment here). MLK (a staunch Zionist by the way) would have been more amused than honored by this liberal sop of a 'holiday'.
Posted by: poetcomic1 at March 8, 2008 12:24 AM
"MLK day definately deserves national holiday status at this point,..." ~ awake
Whoa, there. "Definitely deserves"? Why is that? Do we want an academic fraud and known womanizer to have a national holiday in his name? So we should all lie on our resumes and cheat on our wives because MLK did it and he's a
'national icon' with his own Federal holiday? Is that a message we want to send/are sending?
Is MLK Day more important than Memorial Day? I think not.
Posted by: Rick at March 8, 2008 4:05 AM
Does anyone know how many religious holidays Muslims have ?
I suggest we give them all their holy days off as long as they celebrate them in Saudi or somewhere equally far away - perhaps the north pole.
Posted by: ericthekuffar at March 8, 2008 4:18 AM
Hey Mike! You're all in favor of mass immigration and diversity. So what were you expecting?
Posted by: RBLA at March 8, 2008 9:40 AM
Posted by: Rick at March 8, 2008 4:05 AM
MLK day is still not observed like Memorial Day. Yes, both are national bank holidays, but I will not get into specifics about any potential character flaws that you deem MLK to have had.
I do not feel that outweighs his histoical contribution, unless of course you deem the civil rights movement to be unneccesary.
Abscedere's situation and why he was forced to choose MLK day over Memorial is an odd one. Pehaps he can elaborate more on the subject.
Like I said, in my profession, MLK day is now observed at the expense of Columbus Day.
Posted by: awake at March 8, 2008 10:58 AM
"Abscedere's situation and why he was forced to choose MLK day over Memorial is an odd one. Pehaps he can elaborate more on the subject."
No, I really can't elaborate. No one understands the UAW less than I do.
UAW for us is United Aerospace Workers, but it's a branch of the United Auto Workers. The real UAW, auto workers, is much stronger than our sister union.
I think it's just a sign of the economic times. My union, a weak sister to the original, is trying to maintain what we have bargained for and won, in the past. Unfortunately, there have been few new gains in the past twelve years or so.
So, we get one requested holiday off. But we lose another. Maintenance, but no gain.
Posted by: Abscedere at March 8, 2008 1:09 PM
I don't know how many holidays Muslims have, but we Hindus have a bunch. We would do much better if we got off for all Hindu holidays - no school! ;)
Posted by: Blue at March 8, 2008 6:33 PM
'Awake'; I originally wrote "If it's worked for Jews it'll work for any one else."
I hope I wasn't misunderstood. I meant that (we) Jews have been able to co-exist within the majority's preference for school calendars' holidays. We ask for, on an individual basis, religious time off, and make up the study time and assignments missed.
It's a relatively painless accommodation and doesn't inconvenience anyone.
The various parochial schools of course operate independently of the public school calendars.
Here (in B.C.) at least, all schools are obligated by Provincial Legislation to operate for a minimum number of days per year, and of course Labour codes require employers to recognize Statutory Holidays.
(time off or days in lieu of).
at March 9, 2008 6:21 AM
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