http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2015/09/controversy_over_islamic_holiday_jersey_city.htmlBy Laura Herzog
on September 18, 2015 at 11:07 AM, updated September 19, 2015 at 10:52 AM
JERSEY CITY — Jersey City's school board decided against adding an Islamic holiday to its official school closure list, according to NBC New York.
The board met on Thursday to discuss the vote on closing school on Sept. 24 for Eid al-Adha, an idea some school officials previously spoke of warmly, given the community's large Muslim population. The city has already established this holiday and Diwali as city holidays.
On Friday, Jersey City Schools Superintendent Marcia Lyles said board members were concerned that it would be too disruptive to declare a new school holiday without more advance notice.
"The concern voiced by most of the board members was that it was too short notice for parents to make arrangements if school was closed next week," she said. "However, they expressed a commitment to pursuing ways to demonstrate how much we respect all of our cultures.''
On Saturday, Jessica Abdelnabbi Berrocal, a Muslim parent in Jersey City who started the petition for the holiday in June, said she thinks the vote rather meant that "they aren't ready for the change."
She said she will keep working as an activist in the community.
"That (short notice) is not the complete truth. The Board of Education has have received letters since 3 years ago," she said. "This battle has been going on for 25 years... We the people believe in our rights that the constitution have gave us and we will stand up for our rights. I will not back down."
NBC New York reported that some Jewish members of the community who attended the meeting claimed discrimination, since they do not have off for the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
However, Lyles disputed that report. "I did not hear anyone suggest that they felt that the Jewish population was being discriminated against," she said. "Among students we do not have a large Jewish population, but that was not the factor."
She said that "despite the outcome, I believe the discussion re-affirmed our commitment to recognizing and honoring the rich cultural and religious diversity of the Jersey City community.
"As I stated following the public voices, no matter how the Board ultimately voted, we will continue to engage the entire Jersey City community in this important conversation," she said.
Lyles's Chief of Staff Maryann Dickar, who also attended the meeting, said it is inaccurate to characterize the debate on the holiday as "a conflict between Jews and Muslims." She said she recalled only one statement that referenced the Jewish holiday, among "hundreds" of other comments.
Matt Schapiro, a Jewish community member who was at the meeting, also disputed the report, saying that over more than three hours, there was "exactly one" Jewish person who spoke, and that person was "ambivalent" regarding closing school for the Muslim holiday.
"The board was very reluctant in its vote. It was a split vote," Dickar said. "Their real concerns were the impact it would have on some of these families (who need childcare)... We have a high-poverty community. Many of our parents have jobs where if they wont go to work they don't get paid."
"It was a very difficult and gut-wrenching decision, I think, for all of our board members," she added.
According to Dickar, the Jewish community has not been asking for Jewish holidays as the Mulsim community has. The board will be again reflecting on all the religious holidays for the 2016-2017 school year, she said.
Rabbi Debra Hachen of Jersey City's Temple Beth-El, which she said is the city's largest Jewish congregation, said "I personally plan to offer my assistance to the Muslim community to bring this up during the school year so that it can be discussed and considered fully in time to be incorporated into next year's school calendar."
"Our community is fully in support of religious freedom of expression and understands the desire of our Muslim friends and neighbors to have the schools closed for Eid El-Adha," Hachen said.
Laura Herzog may be reached at lherzog@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @LauraHerzogL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
