Proponents of the Islamic Center may have every right to build at this site, and may even have chosen the site to send a positive message about Islam. The bigotry some have expressed in attacking them is unfair, and wrong. But ultimately this is not a question of rights, but a question of what is right. In our judgment, building an Islamic Center in the shadow of the World Trade Center will cause some victims more pain – unnecessarily – and that is not right. – Statement On Islamic Community Center Near Ground Zero
The ADL feels the anti-Islamic movement’s pain.
No one doubts the victims of 9/11 have suffered immeasurably. But supporting bigotry because of it is not only reprehensible, it is un-American. It also goes against everything the Anti Defamation League is supposed to represent. Does anybody get the irony in an anti defamation league endorsing religious bigotry?
Andrew Sewer:
I learned a very important lesson in Hebrew School that I have retained my entire life. If they can deny freedom to a single individual because of who they are, they can do it to anyone. Someone at the ADL needs to go back to Hebrew School.
Thank the gods for Jeremy Ben-Ami of J-Street:
The principle at stake in the Cordoba House controversy goes to the heart of American democracy and the value we place on freedom of religion. Should one religious group in this country be treated differently than another? We believe the answer is no.
As Mayor Bloomberg has said, proposing a church or a synagogue for that site would raise no questions. The Muslim community has an equal right to build a community center wherever it is legal to do so. We would hope the American Jewish community would be at the forefront of standing up for the freedom and equality of a religious minority looking to exercise its legal rights in the United States, rather than casting aspersions on its funders and giving in to the fear-mongerers and pandering politicians urging it to relocate.
What better ammunition to feed the Osama bin Ladens of the world and their claim of anti-Muslim bias in the United States as they seek to whip up global jihad than to hold this proposal for a Muslim religious center to a different and tougher standard than other religious institutions would be.
Honest to God, the world has gone mad.
Taylor, How perfectly put: The world has indeed gone mad. What is going on?
The ADL of all people. THis is shameful. They should look at their own mission statement:
“The immediate object of the League is to stop, by appeals to reason and conscience and, if necessary, by appeals to law, the defamation of the Jewish people. Its ultimate purpose is to secure justice and fair treatment to all citizens alike and to put an end forever to unjust and unfair discrimination against and ridicule of any sect or body of citizens.”
But how many people pay attention to the mission statement of their organization? Sadly, it’s a statement that’s put out for PR purposes and to feel good about themselves. This declaration of the ADL makes me sick to my stomach.
An Islamic Center peacefully operating in the shadow of whatever will emerge as a 9/11 memorial is worth it’s weight in gold,in terms of our message to the world.
There was a time when we were a country like that.Allowing ANY religous influence in our politics is toxic to true democracy.
“But ultimately this is not a question of rights, but a question of what is right.”
I feel nauseated and don’t even know where to start on this one. We’ve lost all concept of “right” in this country long ago.
The ADL will be hard pressed to recover from this. In addition, the mob mentallity that one day birthed itself as “we are a Christian nation”, has now decided it will tolerate other relgions only on a case to case basis.
This is truly a disturbing development, will be trumpeted by Fox News as a talking point as “see, even the Jews don’t want it”, and I expect more anti-muslim sentiment will grow from it.
as someone who is close to many at the adl i can say they are just as surprised the natl office sent this out. this is stupid. someone ran roughsod and wrote this and got it out be damned of what the membership thought. we havent heard the last on this one
I agree, there has to be more to this…I’m sure we will learn more this week.
WOW !! The ADL of all people !! This will give the people who are against the building of a Mosque a hugh boost !! I am starting to believe the world has gone mad !!
A group representing one religion ignoring the rights of another? Ironic, maybe, but not unexpected, particularly given the subject matter.
This all started because one religion in Europe allowed another to be persecuted and killed by the millions. In recompense, they let the survivors move to the Levant, where they elbowed members of a different religion out of the way and settled down. And people whose main differences of opinion appear to be what arbitrary rules they should follow to worship the (allegedly) same god have been fighting ever since.
We’re so far beyond crazy here I don’t think there’s a name for it.
@Cujo: I get the irony. I wish someone of stature could shout your sentiments from the mountaintop for all Americans to hear. This stuff is insane.
Imagine, the ADL was created in response to the conviction of Jewish businessman Leo Frank, who was found guilty in the murder of a 13-year-old girl in a case many said was a racially-motivated miscarriage of justice. Frank was kidnapped from prison and lynched by a mob in 1915.The group today describes itself as “the nation’s premier civil rights/human relations agency.” The group “fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects civil rights for all.”
Yeah. Civil rights for me; but not for thee.
Until now the goal of the ADL seemed to be to simply dismiss legitimate grievances against Israel for its actions into nothing more than anti-Semitic hate. Although their bigotry against Muslims has been pretty obvious for some time now; now they have made it obvious to everyone. They have finally thrown their hat into the ring and are now openly collaborating with the racists, idiots, bigots, illiterate lying retards, douche-bags, and the anti-intellectual suckers and hate-lapping bottom-feeders who thrive on dividing our society.
Let there be a mosque…and congratulations to the finest advocates for building one . . . its enemies . . . so ignorant and hate-filled that they even make Islam look good.
Why are people surprised? Anyone who has been following the ADL’s far-right tilt under Abe Foxman shouldn’t be surprised. Back in the day, the ADL did tremendous work but they have become a sorry imitation of AIPAC- obsessively focused on the most right-wing aspects of Israeli policy, defining as “defamation” anything that dares criticize Israel and they’ve aligned themselves with dumpster-divers who conflate Islamic terrorism with Islam in general. I’m not the slightest bit surprised by this statement from the ADL, in fact, I’m surprised it took this long.
The rather tempid pushback from the Obama admin. regarding settlements resulted in the predictable hysteria from the AIPAC and the ADL who essentially argued “don’t ever criticize Israel, ever” and helped to whip up a frenzy which tried to paint Obama, and the left as a whole, as anti-Israel.
More and more the ADL is not focused on true civil rights but rather on a very narrow interpretation of what is acceptable discourse regarding the politics of Israeli as represented in the media. In my own personal view, as someone who vehemently opposes anti-Semitism in all its forms, they’ve lost most, if not all, of their credibility when it comes to their claims of promoting civil rights and fighting religious bigotry “in all its forms.” It’s rather tragic.
Of course if one has not been baptised into the Oilah Akbar religion many things cannot be blocked from one’s mind.