William Saletan: The Ground Zero Synagogue
[William Saletan is Slate's national correspondent and author of Bearing Right: How Conservatives Won the Abortion War.]
Imagine a place where Muslims were the victims, not the perpetrators, of the worst terrorist massacre in recent memory. Imagine, for example, that the killer was Jewish and that in the wake of his attack, on the very ground from which he had plotted it, they built a synagogue. How would today's opponents of the "Ground Zero mosque" react? Would they condemn, with equal vigor, the "Ground Zero synagogue"?
We already know the answer, because the place I'm talking about isn't imaginary. It's Hebron, a city in the West Bank. The reason you haven't heard about its new synagogue is that there has been no outcry. Apparently, the rule about keeping houses of worship at a respectful distance from scenes of terrorism is for Muslims only....
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Imagine a place where Muslims were the victims, not the perpetrators, of the worst terrorist massacre in recent memory. Imagine, for example, that the killer was Jewish and that in the wake of his attack, on the very ground from which he had plotted it, they built a synagogue. How would today's opponents of the "Ground Zero mosque" react? Would they condemn, with equal vigor, the "Ground Zero synagogue"?
We already know the answer, because the place I'm talking about isn't imaginary. It's Hebron, a city in the West Bank. The reason you haven't heard about its new synagogue is that there has been no outcry. Apparently, the rule about keeping houses of worship at a respectful distance from scenes of terrorism is for Muslims only....