Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

Conn. school district bid to demote Rosh Hashanah fails to pass board vote

The board voted 5-3 to remove Veterans and Columbus Days as official holidays.

Rosh Hashanah
Apples, honey and pomegranate, which are traditionally eaten on Rosh Hashanah. Credit: Miriam Alster/Flash90.

Stamford Public Schools, a school district in Stamford, Conn., voted 5-3 last week to remove Columbus Day and Veterans Day as official holidays that require the school to be closed, the Stamford Advocate reported.

Joshua Esses, who pushed to have the days removed for the next two school years, said the school year was otherwise ending too late, in mid-June.

He also sought to downgrade Eid al-Fitr, a Muslim holiday, and the second day of Rosh Hashanah as official school holidays. That motion “received no support from the rest of the board,” per the Advocate.

In rabbinic tradition, Rosh Hashanah is considered a yomah arichtah, or one long day, rather than two days.

Two major steel plants were targeted, as well as critical production facilities of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear and munition programs.
Two Israeli officers were critically wounded during ground operations in Southern Lebanon.
The slain victim guarded residential buildings in Tel Aviv that were damaged in a previous strike.
The Iranian-backed terrorist group fired a ballistic missile at Israel’s south.
Children are being enrolled for checkpoint duty and logistics.
The campaign, named for slain farmer Omer Weinstein, aims to place protective shelters on agricultural land as “Operation Roaring Lion” continues.