August 21, 2008

The Jewish community acted as one, and officials blinked.

When the Edison Public School District at last decided to reschedule a school funding vote that would have conflicted with Rosh Hashana, it was a victory for diversity and common sense. The original date, Sept. 30, would have made it impossible for many Jews observing the Jewish New Year to cast their vote on an important measure to expand and build local schools. At first, school officials suggested that those affected could file absentee ballots. But as activists pointed out, that option put an unfair burden on citizens for no reason other than their religious beliefs.

The move was also a victory for coalition-building, both between Jews and non-Jews — including lawmakers who took up the case — and among Jews themselves. After a local rabbi, Dr. Bernhard Rosenberg, raised the alarm, a coalition representing the range of organized Jewish life — Agudath Israel of New Jersey, the Anti-Defamation League, Orthodox Union, American Jewish Committee, and the NJ State Association of Jewish Federations — spoke as one in calling for a date change. Reform Rabbi Deborah Bravo, president of the Metuchen-Edison Interfaith Clergy Association, voiced her concern, as did Monsignor Michael J. Alliegro, rector of the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi in Metuchen.

The Edison squabble was a local controversy, but it showed people all over the state, Jews and non-Jews alike, what is possible when diverse groups and individuals work together.

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