Wiesenthal center opposes building mosque near Ground Zero because 'it's a cemetery,' but ok with Jewish museum on top of Muslim cemetery

John Aravosis, AmericaBlog.com: I'm neither Jewish nor Arab. And if anything, I've often tilted towards Israel in the Arab-Israeli conflict. But this debate over the mosque near Ground Zero sickens me. And what sickens me even more is civil rights groups siding with the likes of Newt Gingrich. Not only has the ADL come out against the mosque, because allegedly it might make people uncomfortable, but now the Wiesenthal Center is opposing the mosque too.

In a move one might call supremely ironic, the Wiesenthal Center opposes building the mosque near Ground Zero because, it now claims, the former site of the World Trade Center "is a cemetery." The irony comes from the fact that the Wiesenthal Center is currently building a new "Museum of Tolerance" in Jerusalem on top of an old Muslim cemetery, in spite of the complaints of Muslims who have family members buried there.

[F]ifteen of the oldest families in Jerusalem filed a case before the United Nations in Geneva and held news conferences there, also in Los Angeles and Jerusalem. Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University has members of his family buried there and calls it further desecration of a cemetry that they have been nibbling away at for over three decades, despite many protests. "the fact that it was desecrated in the ’60s doesn’t mean that it’s right to desecrate it further. What happened in the 1960s was that part of the cemetery was paved over for this parking lot. What they have now done is to dig down and disinter four layers, according to the chief archaeologist for the Israeli Archaeological Authority, four layers of graves."

Yes, a Jewish tolerance museum built on top of dead Muslims. Think that makes anyone uncomfortable?

Oh, and it's not like the museum is about promoting tolerance between Jews and Muslims. It's about promoting tolerance between Jews.

So, to summarize. Mosque near cemetery, bad. Jewish museum on top of cemetery, good.

Entire story, sick.

Ground Zero Mosque Opponents Must Not Have Heard About Muslims At The Pentagon. From Jason Linkins at HuffingtonPost.com: One of the best ways of demonstrating that the frantic slavering over "Ground Zero mosques" is nothing but a ridiculous display of pearl-clutchery is to point out that the proposed Cordoba House would actually be the second mosque in the vicinity of "Ground Zero." But over at Salon, Justin Elliott does me one better by unearthing this 2007 Washington Times article:

Navy imam Chaplain Abuhena M. Saifulislam lifted his voice to God as he called to prayer more than 100 Department of Defense employees Monday at a celebration of Ramadan at the Pentagon.

God is most great, sang the lieutenant commander and Islamic leader, in Arabic, as iftar -- the end of the daily fast began.

Uniformed military personnel, civilians and family members faced Mecca and knelt on adorned prayer rugs chanting their prayers in quiet invocation to Allah.

When it comes to Muslims praying at Ground Zero, it doesn't get much Ground Zeroier than that! As Elliott observes:

Yes, Muslims have infiltrated the Pentagon for their nefarious, prayerful purposes -- daring to practice their religion inside the building where 184 people died on Sept. 11, 2001. They haven't even had the sensitivity to move two blocks, let alone a mile, away from that sacred site.

Oh, my stars and garters! These Muslims at the Pentagon probably even have security clearances! (Because they are Department of Defense employees who protect America from al Qaeda death cultists, I'm guessing.)