Back on June 18th, I reported that Resolution 1281 was passed overwhelmingly by the New York City Council Education Committee. It called on the “New York City Department of Education to incorporate the Muslim holidays of Eid Ul-Fitr and Eid Ul-Adha as observed school holidays in the school calendar for the city school district of the city of New York” and also asked that the state legislature “pass, and the Governor to sign into law," a measure calling for this. CAIR was euphoric. It was absolutely silent on the mullahs murdering Iranians who were fighting and dying for freedom in Iran, but positively giddy on the news that the NYC Council had caved on Muslim holidays.
Today Bloomberg said no to Muslim school holidays.
Atlas readers know that I have my issues with Mayor Bloomberg and I have been vocal about it. I was outraged that Bloomberg would not remove CAIR-New York President Omar Mohammedi from the New York City Commission on Human Rights. Mohammedi was appointed to the Commission in October of 2002. We protested the Mayor's appointment here, after Mohammedi took after the Jane and the John Does in the "flying Imams" episode.
Terror lawyer Mohammedi represents a number of organizations that are the defendants in a 9/11 lawsuit for the murder of 3000 innocent people. One of the organizations he is the lawyer for is the World Assembly for Muslim Youth (WAMY), a Saudi-based group with offices around the globe that publishes incendiary materials against Jews and openly supports Hamas and violent jihad. Mohammedi also represents the six imams who were removed from a plane that was headed for Arizona in November of 2006, in a lawsuit against the airline (and originally also the passengers who reported the imams’ suspicious behavior).
Mayor Bloomberg has stated that he disagrees with Mohammedi's private actions in exposing the "John Does" in the "Flying Imams" lawsuit, but a human rights commissioner is appointed by the mayor and serves at the mayor's pleasure.
Another member of the Human Rights Commission, Rabbi Haskell Lookstein, raised questions about Mr. Mohammedi's appointment.
"If in fact CAIR does have close ties to known terrorist organizations, then the presence of its general counsel on the Human Rights Commission of New York City would seem to me very problematic," said Rabbi Lookstein. "The most elementary human right is the right to live and not to be blown to bits."
BUT he did the right thing in this case. Separation of church and state. Bravo Bloomberg.
NEW YORK (AP) -- New York's City Council has passed a nonbinding resolution asking the Education Department to observe two important Muslim holidays. But Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the city is so diverse schools can't observe every holiday.
The city has the nation's largest school system. A 2008 study by Columbia University's Teachers College estimates at least 10 percent of its 1.1 million students are Muslim.
The resolution was passed Tuesday. It asks the Bloomberg administration to observe the holidays in schools and for the state to require it by amending education law.
