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Clarification Wanted From Wiesenthal Center 9/11
Blogger 25 November 2007 Dear Mr. Weitzman, It is with deep concern that we are requesting both a clarification and a retraction regarding several remarks you made at the Homeland Security sub-committee hearing on Terrorism Risk Assessment held on 6 November 2007. In reference to the content of your PowerPoint presentation, you stated, “The presentation begins with a look at how 9/11 is viewed in some eyes online, including those who applauded it as well as some conspiracies sites. The presence of the conspiracy site is significant, since so much of what passes as fact online is actually based on some form of conspiracy.” You later went on to say, “These people are constructing their own version of reality, full of conspiracy theories, full of doctored videos, that will recruit or inflame the emotions.”
Given that the explicit mission of the Simon Wiesenthal Center is to confront “hate and terrorism” by “promoting human rights and dignity…. and teaching the lessons of the Holocaust for future generations,” we find your flagrant use of the characterization ”these people” to not only be incongruent with your stated mission, but also a chilling reminder of the rhetoric used to demonize Jews, Catholics, homosexuals, gypsies, et. al. during the reign of the Third Reich in the early and mid-twentieth century. By “these people” are you referring to Mindy Kleinberg, Kristen Breitweiser, Patty Casazza and Lorie Van Auken, all widows after the 9/11 attacks who for 441 days battled against government apathy in bringing about a 9/11 investigation, whose stories and continued demands for answers are frequently referenced and who openly endorse many 9/11 websites? By “these people” are you likewise referring to Rabbi Michael Lerner, the prominent progressive Jewish activist who stated, “I salute the people … who are doing an amazing job of exposing what may prove to be one of the most perverse conspiracies in the history of democratic governments,” or are you referring to highly decorated USAF Lt. Col. Robert Bowman PhD, Director of Advanced Space Systems under presidents Jimmie Carter and Gerald Ford, who defines the actions of many in the current administration regarding government misconduct on 9/11 as being nothing short of treasonous, and who similarly endorses the research and activities of many 9/11 websites? Had we paid attention to the plight of “these people” in the 1930s, six million innocents might have been spared their horrific fate and the Holocaust might have been reduced to a perverse aberration. Equally disturbing in your PowerPoint presentation is the juxtaposition of the website Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth.org with Taliban recruitment sites detailing how to make bombs, take captives and blow up buildings. How and why you equate American architectural and engineering professionals examining the nature of the destruction of three American architectural icons with radical fringe elements of Islamic extremism is not only unfathomable, but can justifiably be construed as being motivated by malicious intent. Within the context of the liberties protected in our constitutional republic, the United States of America is the freedom of intellectual pursuit and the right to challenge our government, its policies, its actions and non-actions. Again, public clarification by you and the Simon Wiesenthal Center regarding these misconstrued associations is in order. Concerned and patriotic citizens across the country are anxiously waiting for your response. Sincerely,
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