The Pennsylvania General Assembly recently set its calendar for the month of September. Currently on break, it is set to reconvene on September 14–which also happens to be Rosh Hashanah. One person for whom this did not sit well was Democratic State Senator Daylin Leach, who took to Twitter to object to the legislature meeting on one of Judaism’s holiest days:
So, the Senate has scheduled us to go into session on Rosh Hashanah. I’m sure this means we’re also going to be in session on Christmas day
— Daylin Leach (@daylinleach) September 1, 2015
Leach, who is known for his progressive stances in Pennsylvania politics, told a local paper that he presumed this to be an unintended mistake by the scheduler, and expressed his hope that it would be rectified. He added that while he himself is “not as religious” as other Jews and might attend such a session, there were a number of legislators and staff members who would not be able to.
“If someone is a very religious person, they couldn’t come on a day like this,” Leach said. “There are a number of Jewish legislators and a good number of Jewish staffers. We don’t want to put them in that position.”
Yair Rosenberg is a senior writer at Tablet. Subscribe to his newsletter, listen to his music, and follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
