Adam Dickter in New York

It’s been over 50 years since New York City began closing public schools on Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. Now the city’s Muslim community, said to be a million strong, wants the same courtesy for two festivals which occur around the same time, which could make for a slow start to the school year come September.

Nothing doing, says Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who says kids can’t afford to lose any more classroom time. His argument slightly misses the mark since the new days off would mean new days added at the end of the calendar. But his position against bringing the city to a halt for religious observance is consistent. In 2005, he vetoed a bill adding new days to suspend alternate side parking for holidays, including Purim.

But there’s more at stake than whether an estimated 120,000 Muslim kids will have to make up classwork after Eid al-Fatr. Politically active Muslims say Bloomberg is tone-deaf to their community and have even hinted that he’s trying to score points with Jews by keeping Muslims from gaining power. Bloomberg’s history with the Jewish community suggests otherwise. See my story for the details.