The Anti-Defamation League released a statement Tuesday condemning Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)’s call for police to “patrol and secure” Muslim neighborhoods, calling his comment “misguided and counterproductive.”
Responding to the attacks in Brussels, Cruz had said earlier in the day that police needed to “patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized.”
Here’s ADL CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt’s full statement:
As we saw in Brussels today, violent terrorism is a legitimate concern for the home front. But demonizing all Muslims is a misguided and counterproductive response to the terrorist threat posed by those motivated by a radical interpretation of Islam. It is an irrational approach that harkens back to the fear and bigotry that led to a dark and tragic chapter in American history – the relocation of more than 100,000 Japanese-Americans to internment camps during the Second World War simply because of their ethnicity.
The overwhelming majority of Muslims in America are law-abiding people who are as outraged by terrorism and bigotry as Americans of every other faith. Sweeping generalizations about them can serve only to foment discrimination and hate crimes against innocent, devoted Americans. Furthermore, our law enforcement agencies need the cooperation of Muslim communities and community leaders to combat and deter crimes, including violent extremism.
Ordering special patrols of Muslim neighborhoods will almost certainly create an adversarial relationship between law enforcement and the communities they have sworn to protect, making those communities more vulnerable, more frightened, and often less willing to help. The approach is contrary to the principles of individual rights, equality, justice, and religious freedom on which this nation was founded.
But first we need to ghettoize them, so they can be patrolled in their neighborhood.
conservative ideology could use some policing and patrolling.
The best way to catch potential Islamic radicals is with the help of the vast majority of Muslims who are peaceful. Which means mutual respect and constant communication - not putting a boot on their throats as Cruz is demanding.
Just as Carly Fiorina has blood on her hands for fanning the flames of ignorance and hate by lying about the Planned Parenthood video which led to that deadly attack, Cruz will have blood on his hands when the next Teabagger attacks a mosque or any Muslims. And the media will dutifully ignore the direct connection as they did with Fiorina because, you know, “They’re our GOPer buddies!”.
Growing up in a Jewish home in the 50s and 60s, I learned about the African American Civil Rights struggle by reading the ADL stuff that my folks got as members of B’nai B’rith. As I got older and became more aware of the Holocaust and of bigotry and violence against the weak and minorities of all sorts(and less religious!), I admired the ADL for going beyond merely its Jewish constituency to stick up for Blacks, 7th Day Adventists, and other picked on minorities. It made me proud. Also a wise political strategy.
But for the last twenty years, under Abe Foxman, the ADL became a tool of the right-wing, the conservatives in both the US and Israel. It became like the Catholic Defense League–a self-righteous self-involved tool of the Republican Party and of Likud. At least with me and most of the folks I know, it also lost nearly all of its credibility. Nice to see them returning to their roots now that Foxman has retired. Hopefully this is a new beginning.