re: #32 davesax

Jon Esposito remains quite controversial, as Charles has pointed out here, given how politicized his work is and the fact that his program at Georgetown is funded by the Saudis.

And Charles, the Jewish leaders who have signed this really are not prominent. Sure, the JCC in Manhattan is a great institution, but again, is its leader prominent? And J Street? They’ve ranted a lot, but still have not been embraced by the mainstream Jewish community.

It’s fine to support the mosque, but the political posturing has gotten tiresome. It’s starting to feel like Jews are being used by mosque proponents and opponents alike.

For instance, I noticed on Cordoba’s site that they thanked David Harris of the AJC for his support. Kind of odd, because Harris’s backing is very conditional, based on the willingness of Cordoba’s founders to provide full transparancy about their backers. He also expressed concerns about radicalization in U.S. mosques and strong reservations about the project.

But we’re beyond rational discussion, here. The narrative being pushed by the media, and this blog, is that you’re either an stand with Pamelo Geller or are a supporter of the first ammendment.

The rational middle, which includes Christopher Hitchens, is shut out of the discussion.

I can’t speak about everyone on that list but I do know Rabbi Laurie Zimmerman of Congregation Shaarei Shamayim in Madison, WI. She was one of the leaders of Madison/Rafah Sister City Project and and remains a vociferous critic of all things Israel. She also signed a letter condemning Israel for War Crimes in Gaza. She is about as far removed from mainstream Jewish leadership as you can get.