Israel Matzav

The ADL ticks off the Left

The Left is very displeased with the Anti-Defamation League these days. On Thursday, the ADL called on 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen to stop making excuses and sit down and negotiate.

Robert G. Sugarman, ADL National Chair, and Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement:

It is time for President Abbas and the Palestinian Authority to stop the excuses, demands and delays and have the courage and vision to engage in direct negotiations with Israel without preconditions. The Arab League statement has made clear that the decision regarding negotiations is up to the Palestinian Authority alone.

Through good times and bad, Israel and the Palestinians have maintained official, direct negotiations since September 13, 1993. Prime Minister Netanyahu has made clear his desire for a two-state negotiated agreement with the Palestinian Authority, and even agreed to a 10-month moratorium on settlement building as a sign of good will. The only impediment to progress has been the Palestinian Authority which has demanded ineffective, indirect negotiations.

The ADL also attacked another cause that is near and dear to the radical Left.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today issued the following statement regarding the proposed Islamic Center near Ground Zero in Manhattan:

We regard freedom of religion as a cornerstone of the American democracy, and that freedom must include the right of all Americans – Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and other faiths – to build community centers and houses of worship.

We categorically reject appeals to bigotry on the basis of religion, and condemn those whose opposition to this proposed Islamic Center is a manifestation of such bigotry.

However, there are understandably strong passions and keen sensitivities surrounding the World Trade Center site. We are ever mindful of the tragedy which befell our nation there, the pain we all still feel – and especially the anguish of the families and friends of those who were killed on September 11, 2001.

The controversy which has emerged regarding the building of an Islamic Center at this location is counterproductive to the healing process. Therefore, under these unique circumstances, we believe the City of New York would be better served if an alternative location could be found.

In recommending that a different location be found for the Islamic Center, we are mindful that some legitimate questions have been raised about who is providing the funding to build it, and what connections, if any, its leaders might have with groups whose ideologies stand in contradiction to our shared values. These questions deserve a response, and we hope those backing the project will be transparent and forthcoming. But regardless of how they respond, the issue at stake is a broader one.

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.

Common sense is starting to prevail?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:36 PM