Petition
To Make Jewish Day of Atonement Yom Kippur A US National Holiday
Being Jewish in America - must we hide our holidays?
By
Joel Leyden
Israel News Agency
New
York, New York --- September 16, 2012 ... Yom Kippur, the Jewish
Day of Atonement, the most holy day in the Jewish religion is
not recognized as a national holiday in the US. It is a day set
aside around the world for all Jews to afflict the soul,
to atone for the sins of the past year. But yet, the sacred holiday
of Yom Kippur has not been accommodated with the respect that
it deserves in the US.
We
are hoping that an online petition located at www.YomKippur.us
will reach thousands through the Internet, using social media
channels such as Facebook and Twitter to request of Congress to
make Yom Kippur a national holiday.
Yom Kippur
is a complete Sabbath; no work can be performed on that day. It
is well-known that you are supposed to refrain from eating and
drinking (even water) on Yom Kippur. It is a complete, 25-hour
fast beginning before sunset on the evening before Yom Kippur
and ending after nightfall on the day of Yom Kippur. The Jewish
Talmud also specifies additional restrictions that are less well-known:
washing and bathing, anointing one's body (with cosmetics, deodorants,
etc.), wearing leather shoes (Orthodox Jews routinely wear canvas
sneakers under their dress clothes on Yom Kippur), and engaging
in sexual relations are all prohibited on Yom Kippur.
In Israel,
the small, vibrant democratic nation comes to a stand still. A
complete freeze where cars, buses, trains and planes do not move.
The only sounds are those of people praying and the children who
take to the street on their bicycles. All is closed except for
the Beit Knessets (Temples), the Israel Defense Forces and the
police.
Most
of the holiday, whether in Jerusalem, New York or LA is spent
in the synagogue, in prayer. In Orthodox synagogues, services
begin early in the morning (8 or 9 AM) and continue until about
3 PM. People then usually go home for an afternoon nap and return
around 5 or 6 PM for the afternoon and evening services, which
continue until nightfall. The services end at nightfall, with
the blowing of the tekiah gedolah, a long blast on the shofar.
Yet,
this holiest of holy days is not honored in the US while other
religious holidays such as Christmas are. The Christmas Day holiday
includes decorations, emphasis on family togetherness, and gift
giving. Christmas was designated a federal holiday by Congress
and President Ulysses S. Grant in 1870. Yet, Jesus, who is celebrated
in Christmas was a Jew who observed Yom Kippur.
Other
US national holidays are January 1, 2012 - New Year's Day, January
16, 2012 - Martin Luther King Day, February 20, 2012 - Presidents
Day (also known as Washington's Birthday, May 28, 2012 - Memorial
Day, July 4, 2012 - Independence Day, September 3, 2012 Labor
Day, October 8, 2012 - Columbus Day, November 11, 2012 - Veterans'
Day, November 22, 2012 - Thanksgiving Day,
and December 25, 2012 - Christmas Day.
Yet
one of the oldest and holiest holidays known to man is not honored
- Yom Kippur.
Why?
It
appears that there has never been a formal request made to Congress
for Yom Kippur.
Perhaps those who wanted to sponsor Yom Kippur as a US National
Holiday never thought that it would be approved by a Congress
which is primarily made up of Christians, Protestants, Baptists
and Catholics. But if one looks at the record of who actually
supports the Jewish state of Israel - the Christians are among
Israel's greatest allies.
Imagine
a Christian or Protestant being in a Muslim country on Christmas
Day? They would feel alone, isolated. No Christmas carols, no
Christmas trees, no decorations of Baby Jesus - nothing. This
is the isolation that most Jews feel on Yom Kippur in the US.
Many
Jews are expected to be at work. Whether being an attorney, judge,
electrician, salesman, teacher or baseball player. The US calendar
which respects Christmas from Maine to Washington, and in several
states Easter and Good Friday, totally ignores Yom Kippur.
The
Israel News Agency is requesting that all Jewish organizations
in the United States support an effort to make Yom Kippur a national
holiday. It starts with the co-sponsoring of a petition which
will be sent to every Jewish member of Congress to support and
pass.
These
members include: Senate - Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal
(D-CT), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), Dianne Feinstein
(D-CA), Al Franken (D-MN), Herb Kohl (D-WI), Frank Lautenberg
(D-NJ), Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), Carl Levin (D-MI), Bernard Sanders
(I-VT), Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
In
the House - Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Shelley Berkley (D-NV), Howard
Berman (D-CA), Eric Cantor (R-VA), David Cicilline (D-RI), Stephen
Cohen (D-TN), Susan Davis (D-CA), Ted Deutch (D-FL), Eliot Engel
(D-NY), Bob Filner (D-CA), Barney Frank (D-MA), Gabrielle Giffords
(D-AZ), Jane Harman (D-CA), Steve Israel (D-NY), Sander Levin
(D-MI), Nita Lowey (D-NY), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Jared Polis
(D-CO), Steve Rothman (D-NJ), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Adam Schiff
(D-CA), Allyson Schwartz (D-PA), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Debbie Wasserman
Schultz (D-FL), Henry Waxman (D-CA), Anthony Weiner (D-NY) and
John Yarmuth (D-KY).
Yom
Kippur is the most important holiday of the Jewish year. As such,
it should have the respect and recognition of and by the American
people as a holiday observed and celebrated no less than Christmas
and or Easter.
Please
sign this petition and make Yom Kippur a US national holiday.
Also
join our Facebook
page for the latest information in this campaign.
Yom
Kippur is considered one of the High Holidays. But yet in the
US, it is not a holiday at all.
Let's make it one!
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Joel Leyden,
journalist, media consultant, social media and SEO pioneer
working with both the Israel Defense Forces and the US Army in
Haiti.
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NEWS AGENCY
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