“The controversy which has emerged regarding the building of a Jewish Center at this location is counterproductive to the healing process. Therefore, under these unique circumstances, we believe the City of Tel Aviv would be better served if an alternative location could be found. In recommending that a different location be found for the Jewish 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 Jewish Center may have every right to build at this site, and may even have chosen the site to send a positive message about Judaism. 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 a Jewish Center in the shadow of the assasination spot of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin will cause some victims more pain – unnecessarily – and that is not right.”
A “what if?” statement based on the Anti Defamation League’s statement opposing the building of a Muslim centre near Ground Zero. A question: What would delight Bin Laden more? Seeing American Muslims being treated as equals in America, or seeing them being treated as second class citizens?
