"If I can be permitted another rare political statement from this pulpit, we must never forget that we – as Jews, as Americans, and as lovers of freedom and democracy – are at war today against a contemporary Amalek, in the form of Ahmadinijad and a soon to be nuclear armed Iran, and against radical Islamist Jihadists who, in the name of Islam, are determined to destroy Israel, America and western civilization. We are not at war with Islam, but we are in a life and death struggle with radical Islamist Jihadists. We must remember this and we have to speak up clearly and loudly, zachor-b’peh; lo tishkach- balev.
"Certainly not every Muslim is a terror threat; but every terrorist since 9/11, and even for sometime before, has been a radical Islamist Jihadist. The murderous psychiatrist at Fort Hood, the Christmas bomber and the Times Square bomber were not just “extremists” or “radicals”, as the New York Times and our Attorney General consistently label them. They are Islamist Jihadists and it is important to identify them as such. Political correctness has no place when we confront the Amalek of today. They mean what they say – they are out to destroy Israel, America and Western civilization as we know it. We must take them at their word, and clearly identify them as our arch enemy. Zachor – b’peh!
"Now, a word about the Mosque adjacent to Ground Zero. This is not an issue of religious freedom. Houses of worship can be built anywhere the local zoning permits. It is an issue not of rights, but of what is right for Imam Rauf and his followers to do. To build a 13-story Mosque and Islamic Cultural Center adjacent to Ground Zero is an act of the grossest insensitivity to the families of 3,000 innocent victims who were murdered there nine years ago by Muslims who carried out their slaughter in the name of Islam and Allah. It is equally insensitive to all Americans whose lives have been changed irrevocably for the worse by the murderous acts of these religious fanatics, acting in the name of Islam.
"In yesterday’s Washington Post, Charles Krauthammer quoted a fellow columnist, Richard Cohen, at The Post, who wrote about the issue of sensitivity. Cohen concedes that putting up a Japanese Cultural Center at Pearl Harbor would be offensive but then dismisses the analogy to Ground Zero because 9/11 was merely “a rogue act, committed by twenty or so crazed Samurai.” Krauthammer, correctly, calls this statement obtuse. “These weren’t crazies”, he writes, “they were methodical focused steel-nerved operatives. Nor were they free lance rogues. They were the leading, and most successful, edge of a world-wide movement of radical Islamists with cells in every continent, with world-wide financial and theological support. . . Ground Zero is the site of the most lethal attack of that world-wide movement, which consists entirely of Muslims, acts in the name of Islam and is deeply embedded within the Islamic world. These are regrettable facts, but facts they are and that is why putting up a monument to Islam in this place is not just insensitive but provocative.”
"I do not want to impugn the motives of the planners of this Mosque, although things they have said and things they have avoided saying leave me uneasy; but if they want to build an Islamic 92nd Street Y or JCC by all means they should build it – anywhere but near Ground Zero.
"There is a wonderful billboard on the highway to Rishon L’tzion in Israel, warning drivers: “ Al tihiyeh tzodeik, tihiyeh chacham. Don’t be right; be smart!” Someone should show this sign to Imam Rauf and his fellow planners and funders: Don’t be right; be smart!
"A final word in tribute to one man who fulfilled the mitzvah of Zachor – b’peh by speaking out courageously and clearly against a Ground Zero mosque. That man is Abe Foxman. Bravo, Abe! I know that you did not speak just for yourself but rather for the lay leadership of the ADL whom you consulted on this issue; but until you and the ADL spoke out a little over three weeks ago no one was saying a word about the mosque. I couldn’t believe the deafening silence in the face of such a provocative sacrilege. You spoke up and you received public flak from the American Jewish Committee and the JCRC of New York which put out statements disagreeing with you. But you, Abe, and the ADL were right, and because you spoke out, there is now a firestorm of criticism with 68% of Americans opposed to a Ground Zero mosque.
"God bless you, Abe. You fulfilled a great mitzvah – Zachor – b’peh; you remembered and you spoke out forcefully and you rendered a great service to all Americans, including the planners of that mosque. They may never be able to build it near Ground Zero, but they can build it in another location where, hopefully, it will be a contribution to interfaith peace and understanding."
