NYC Mayor Bloomberg Says No to Muslim School Holidays

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.

Bloomberg: Schools Can't Observe Muslim Holidays

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.

Comments

[Madeline Brooks]

That's good news about Mayor Bloomberg, but it doesn't matter in terms of the resolution. Bloomberg was against it when it first came out, according to the news I've seen.

The important thing now is to block it at the state level, where it is headed next. In the Assembly it is called A 8108 and in the Senate, S 5837. You should call and write the sponsors and tell them not to vote for it. One argument you can use is that children need to be supervised or they get into all kinds of trouble: accidents, sex abuse, pregnancy, drug abuse, violent crime as either victims or perpetrators. With children out of school all day and parents at work, they will be on their own. Only the schools would be closed, but work places would not be (please G-d, let it remain that way!)

This is common sense of course and there are also lots of studies about unsupervised children, 'latch key kids,' getting into trouble after school lets out and before their parents return from work. Here's one study you can use from the Department of Justice:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/tjvfox.pdf. And if the kids were to be supervised in some way by the city, think of all the additional expense and red tape it would involve.

Your opinion counts for something even if you are not a NY State resident. If NYC falls into this trap, you can be sure that smaller cities will be at even greater risk of having the same thing done to them, citing NYC as a precedent. So spread the word and contact all the sponsors to tell them NO!

The main sponsor in the Assembly is Michael Benjamin. He's got a track record of supporting other pro-Muslim issues. But anyway, here's his contact info.
BenjaminM@assembly.state.ny.us.
Bronx office: 718 589 6324
Albany office: 518 455 5272

Co-Sponsor:
J.Gary Pretlow
PretloJ@assembly.state.ny.us
Yonkers office: 914 375 0456
Albany office: 518 455 5291

Multiple Sponsors:
William F. Boyland Jr.
BoylandW@assembly.state.ny.us
Brooklyn office: 718 498 8661
Albany office: 518 455 4466

Michael N. Gianaris
GianarM@assembly.state.ny.us
Astoria office: 718 545 3889
Albany office: 518 455 5014

Carl E. Heastie
HeastieC@assembly.state.ny.us
Bronx office: 718 654 6539
Albany office 518 455 4800

[miira]

The New Duranty Times spin:

The resolution’s advocates said that since about 12 percent, or more than 100,000, of the city’s public school students are Muslim, they deserved recognition.

It was unclear on Tuesday whether Mr. Bloomberg would continue to have final say on the issue, because the State Legislature still has not passed a bill to extend his control over the schools. But some officials said that even if the bill did not pass, he would be able to exert indirect control through appointments to the Board of Education.

The Council resolution also urged the Legislature to pass two pending bills that would amend state education law to require the holidays in the city’s school calendar. That could allow the move without the mayor’s approval, said Councilman Robert Jackson of Manhattan, a co-sponsor of the resolution and a Muslim.

[aprilnovember811]

Finally, common sense prevails. Yes, let's honor the religion that murdered 3000 people here. Makes perfect sense, if you're mentally ill, that is.

[tanstaafl]

10% of the school population is Muslim? And where did this data come from? I thought the percentage of Muslims in the US (in aggregate) was less than 1%?