Jewish Leader Applauds San Diegans' Support for Mt. Soledad Cross
by Mary Rettig
August 3, 2005
(AgapePress) - The head of Jews Against Anti-Christian Defamation (JAACD) says he is glad citizens in San Diego have stood up to save the Mount Soledad cross. Last week the city's voters gave overwhelming support for keeping the monument, which has been embroiled in a lengthy court battle brought on by the American Civil Liberties Union's opposition to the religious symbol's location on public land.San Diego voters have now approved a city referendum to give the land on which the Mount Soledad cross stands to the federal government to be maintained as a national war memorial. JAACD president Don Feder says the American Civil Liberties Union has opposed all other offers of transferring the land's ownership up to now.
"It kind of brings to mind the Taliban regime in Afghanistan -- you know, blowing up the statues of the Buddhists," Feder observes. "You almost get the feeling that the ACLU and the rest of the secularist jihad would like to blow up the cross, demolish it completely."
The dispute over the Mount Soledad cross has been going on for nearly 15 years, ever since a local atheist sued the city of San Diego over it. The ACLU argues that the monument's presence on public property constitutes a violation of the U.S. Constitution's establishment clause -- the much touted "separation of church and state." But Feder disagrees.
"The whole thing is so ridiculous," the JAACD spokesman contends. "It's all based on a blatant misinterpretation. The First Amendment does not prohibit the existence of crosses on public land. If it did, you'd have to remove all the crosses that mark the graves of veterans in national cemeteries."
Feder accuses the ACLU of waging a secularist "holy war" in its effort to eradicate of all signs of America's Judeo-Christian heritage. However, the president of JAACD insists that the majority of U.S. soldiers who have fought, sacrificed and died for their country have been Christians, and by all rights they should be allowed to have a memorial that reflects their faith.
Mary Rettig, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
