by Stephanie Singer, City Commissioner of Philadelphia
City Council respects the religious importance of Good Friday. Even though the Budget Hearing schedule is crowded, no hearings are scheduled on Good Friday or on Easter.

How about Passover? For my family and me, Passover is an important Jewish holiday. Our extended family gathers to prepare for the Seder, read the traditional texts and eat the ritual meal. So when I learned a few weeks ago that the City Commissioners’ budget hearing was scheduled for Monday April 14th in the afternoon, a time when I planned to be in Washington DC with my parents and extended family according to custom, I assumed it would be easy to get the budget hearing changed to a day that did not interfere with my religious practice.

As of today, Council President Darrell Clarke has explicitly refused to accommodate my religious tradition, even though it is in his power to make the change.

If you would like to support my attempt to both attend the budget hearing and to observe Passover according to my family and religious traditions, please call Mr. Clarke’s office at 215-686-3442 and ask him to move the meeting away from Passover. I believe that the issue will be raised also at City Council’s meeting tomorrow (Thursday) morning at 10am on the fourth floor of City Hall. Your presence there would be a show of support as well.

Sincerely,

Stephanie

https://phila.nationbuilder.com on good friday.