The Anti-Defamation League issued a statement Wednesday in which it said it was opposed to the current site selection near Ground Zero for a proposed Islamic Center and the off-lead article on the front page of today's edition of The New York Times was an article by Michael Barbaro with reporting by Paul Vitello, that said that the league's statement intensified "a fierce national debate about the limits of religious freedom and the meaning of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks."

Around the country opposition to the proposed center "is mounting," the article maintained, "fueled in part by Republican leaders and conservative pundits."

"Sarah Palin, the 2008 Republican vice-presidential nominee, has urged 'peace-seeking Muslims' to reject the center, branding it an 'unnecessary provocation.' A Republican political action committee has produced a television commercial assailing the proposal. And former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has decried it in speeches," the article continued.

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission is expected to vote Tuesday on the possible designation as a landmark of the existing low-rise building on the site at 45 Park Place, two blocks north of Ground Zero. Many observers believe it will not recommend designation and numerous local politicians, including Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, have indicated they are not opposed to the proposed center.

The league's statement declared:

"We regard freedom of religion as a cornerstone of the American democracy, and that freedom must include the right of all Americans - Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and other faiths - to build community centers and houses of worship. We categorically reject appeals to bigotry on the basis of religion, and condemn those whose opposition to this proposed Islamic Center is a manifestation of such bigotry. However, there are understandably strong passions and keen sensitivities surrounding the World Trade Center site. We are ever mindful of the tragedy which befell our nation there, the pain we all still feel - and especially the anguish of the families and friends of those who were killed on September 11, 2001. The controversy which has emerged regarding the building of an Islamic Center at this location is counterproductive to the healing process. Therefore, under these unique circumstances, we believe the City of New York would be better served if an alternative location could be found. In recommending that a different location be found for the Islamic Center, we are mindful that some legitimate questions have been raised about who is providing the funding to build it, and what connections, if any, its leaders might have with groups whose ideologies stand in contradiction to our shared values. These questions deserve a response, and we hope those backing the project will be transparent and forthcoming. But regardless of how they respond, the issue at stake is a broader one. Proponents of the Islamic Center may have every right to build at this site, and may even have chosen the site to send a positive message about Islam. The bigotry some have expressed in attacking them is unfair, and wrong. But ultimately this is not a question of rights, but a question of what is right. In our judgment, building an Islamic Center in the shadow of the World Trade Center will cause some victims more pain - unnecessarily - and that is not right."

The proposed center is planned to be about 15 stories tall and house a prayer space, a performing arts center, a swimming pool and a restaurant.

The article quoted Oz Sultan, the programming director for the center, as stating that "We are looking to build bridges between faiths."

It also quoted Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, as stating that the center's backers should look for a site "a mile away," adding that "it's the wrong place."