To the editor:

The Barrington Public School Committee's recent invitation to consider the possibility of keeping Barrington's public schools open on major religious holidays, including Judaism's High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, is not only a significant change of long-standing precedent, but also a serious setback for religious pluralism and inclusion.

For more than 15 years, with the full support of Barrington's interfaith community, Barrington's public schools have been closed for the first day of Rosh Hashanah - the Jewish new year - and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. This decision was based on the long overdue recognition that Jewish students - and their families - should not be forced to choose between their faith's religious obligations and the demands of their education. A reversal of this long-standing policy would not only do irreparable damage to our community's sense of inclusion, but would also send a message to all religious minorities that our public school system no longer upholds the dignity and equality of every student, teacher, and staff member.

Here in Rhode Island, this precedent is so universally recognized that the State's Department of Education official calendar includes these two dates for school closure. Moreover, every Rhode Island school district with Jewish students or staff has followed this practice. The only exceptions have been school districts that have no Jewish students or staff at all.  

During this fragile time, when our society is living through an unprecedented rise in antisemitism, our young people feel particularly vulnerable to the impact of bigotry and demonization. Accordingly, let us not make this situation even worse by abruptly changing a school policy that has protected the Jewish people's religious dignity for more than 15 years.

If there are calendrical issues that need to be examined, then the school committee should consider every alternative, from the number of professional days to the length of vacation breaks. Surely we cannot manage the length of a school year by compelling students and staff to sacrifice their sacred religious obligations.  

We ask, as Jewish leaders in Barrington since 2007, to continue the practice of closing the schools for our High Holy days and other sacred days of worship.

Rabbi Howard Voss-Altman

Temple Habonim, Barrington

Rabbi Andrew Klein

Rabbi Emeritus, Temple Habonim