Govt. should consider include Yom Kippur as a national holiday

Dec 02, 2022 Letters

Dear Editor,

A recent survey of hiring managers in the USA showed that 1 in 4 hiring managers say that they are less likely to move forward with Jewish applicants. These numbers get worse depending upon the industry and sector of the economy. The Ali administration currently does have a gap in Jewish representation, but their Party’s history would suggest that they would be willing to easily overcome any perception of antisemitism. Our country had the first female Jewish President in Her Excellency Janet Jagan and we have every major religious belief represented in our list of Presidents. This is the beauty of Guyana.

Under His Excellency President Burnham, Guyana also used to be a country where Yom Kippur, which is a Jewish High Holiday, was observed alongside the other religious holidays of Islam, Hinduism and Christianity. However, today this holiday is no longer a part of the national calendar. The One Guyana initiative has the opportunity to continue to embrace our legacy of inclusivity by bringing back the observance of Yom Kippur to the nation. The current administration is from Her Excellency Janet Jagan’s party of which she was a founding member. Although there is no Jewish representation in the current administration, I am hopeful that the One Guyana initiative being led by His Excellency President Ali will take up the challenge and embrace those who keep Torah. The One Guyana initiative must also embrace and reflect this reality.

Best regards,

Mr. Jamil Changlee 

Chairman 

The Cooperative Republicans of Guyana