The Mosque, the Politicians and the Jews

To be or not to be, that is the question about building a mosque in the shadow of ground zero. During the dog days of August this issue has ignited a minor firestorm. Nevertheless, it is very revealing of the state of relations between Americans and the Moslem world.
Those who propose building the mosque claim their goal is to build bridges between Islam and Americans. Moreover, they insist it is their right, under the constitution and laws of New York State, to build where they desire.
Politicians such as president Barack Obama and Michael Bloomberg have since weighed in on their side. They stress our need to uphold freedom of religion. According to them, no one should be denied the ability to pray just because he or she belongs to a minority denomination.
So far so good. Even opponents of the mosque admit its proponents have a legal “right” to do what they are doing. These critics, however, question the wisdom of doing so. Why, they ask, when there are so many other potential sites available, do Muslims need to desecrate the hollowed ground of 9/11?
President Obama’s motives seem fairly clear. Once more he is pandering to Muslims in the hope of healing the breach opened by terrorist assaults. His goal is to foster reconciliation by being mindful of their sensibilities. In other words, he bends over backwards not to offend them.
That this reveals a double standard does not seem to trouble the president. He asks us to be respectful of Muslim sensibilities, but why are they not supposed to be respectful of ours? Why, if the intention is to build bridges, are they kicking Americans in the groin?
More perplexing is the attitude of mayor Bloomberg and assorted New York politicians. They too have insisted on maintaining the legalities in the face of significant public opposition. What do they have to gain?
The answer is tied to another curious fact. Obama has been tilting away from Israel and in favor of Islam for his entire presidency. He demands that the Israelis stop building settlements in Jerusalem, but makes no comparable demands of the Palestinians. He makes a half-hearted defense of Israeli efforts to prevent arms from being imported into the Gaza Strip, but says virtually nothing about rocket strikes into Israel. And, of course, he makes an obsequious speech in Cairo during which he apologizes for imaginary American offences against Middle Eastern countries.
Obama is clearly not pro-Israel or even pro-United States. What is especially curious is that American Jews have not been offended by this performance. They continue to support him despite numerous actions that would seem to be against their interests. Even Jewish politicians in the New York, New Jersey area are tongue-tied when it comes to criticizing him about matters such as the mosque. But why?
The answer lies in deep-seated Jewish commitments to left-liberal politics. Yet this too requires explanation. Why, when so many American Jews are so prosperous, and so patriotic, do they endorse anti-American and anti-Jewish policies?
The solution is to be found in history. The roots of most American Jews go back to Eastern Europe, where they were systematically discriminated against for centuries. They could not buy land; they could not enter politics; they could not even live where they desired.
Given these handicaps, salvation seemed to lie with a then new political innovation: socialism. It promised to end discrimination by turning all of humanity into a single extended family. If everyone were equally valued, then they too would be liberated.
Unfortunately, this attitude has been carried forward to influence decisions where it is no longer appropriate. The ground-zero mosque is an offence against common decency and deserves to be opposed. Likewise, president Obama’s waffling encouragement of people who are not our friends does not deserve to be countenanced under the false assumption that this reduces international or inter-religious tensions.
Melvyn L. Fein. Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology
Kennesaw State University