I have to disagree with the statement, “if Abe Foxman and the ADL can’t keep their personal feelings out of the issue, they should have just kept quiet instead of handing the Bigot Brigade a public relations gift.”

The world is not divided into those who agree with Charles Johnson, those who agree with Robert Spencer, and those who must be silent. Characterizing Foxman’s views as “personal” opinions, because they are not either the recognized opinion of either camp is just more of the same “them vs. us and no one else has a right to speak” mentality.

Yes, some Muslims were killed also, it’s impossible to define how close is close, the people opposed to the projects includes many outright bigots, etc. Maybe there’s really nothing wrong about the Park51 project. But in fact it may very well be hurtful and disrespectful to be building a markedly Islamic structure deliberately just two blocks away from a site where thousands of innocent people were murdered by terrorists whose Muslim religion was very much attached to their actions. And it is valid to question wonder just why that site was chosen, and whether it was a good choice or not - independent of both the bigots who want to deny Muslims their religion and those who say that anyone who openly expresses an opinion contrary to their own is a bigot and a disgrace.

There are many comments around comparing the Park51 project with other possible situations involving one religion building some religious structure near the site of a disaster for a different group. Foxman’s comments may very likely be influenced by a very real and sometimes bitter conflict about various Catholic groups in Poland wanting to build Catholic religious structures at Auschwitz:

scrapbookpages.com

nytimes.com