Boycott Update

To my commenters who argued so vociferously that there's no reason to throw this guy off of the Javits Center project: the architect himself disagrees with you. Not only has he clearly distanced himself from the group that proposed a boycott of Israel, he went even further:

Embattled British architect Lord Richard Rogers yesterday called on Hamas to not only renounce terrorism, but to "back it up" by recognizing Israel's right to exist.

Rogers, in line to be awarded contracts on two major New York projects, has been under fire from some Jewish leaders and elected officials for allegedly aligning himself with a pro-Palestine architects group.

But yesterday, he firmly declared his pro-Israel position.

"Hamas must renounce terrorism," Rogers told The Post. "Hamas must recognize Israel's right to exist. Just making a statement is not enough. They have to back it up."

He said a starter should be holding "a press conference, don't just make a fig-leaf statement."

I cannot for the life of me understand how it is difficult for some people to comprehend that those who encourage action on views as reprehensible as the boycott group's should not be given huge amounts of government funds. As a taxpayer, that galls me. This isn't just about making someone ineligible to bid for a government project due to his politics - this is about a person who was ((though now he has backed down on those actions) acting on those politics by supporting an inti-Israel boycott.

I, for one, am thrilled that some of our local lawmakers refused to back down on this until Lord Jacobs declared his unequivocal support for Israel's right to exist:

Rep. Anthony Weiner, a Democrat from New York who ran unsuccessfully for mayor last year, said yesterday he thought Lord Rogers's association with Architects and Planners for Justice in Palestine should disqualify him from working on the Javits Convention Center.

"I think the activities of Mr. Rogers and his organization should render him not qualified to do the work on the Javits Center," Mr. Weiner said. "An organization that advocates an economic boycott of Israel is one we should not be getting in bed with.

"Mr. Rogers is free to have his views, and he is free to serve as a member of this organization, but that doesn't mean he should be getting large amounts of taxpayer dollars from the taxpayers of the state of New York. Surely we can find an architect with less abhorrent views."

After Weiner's statements, and ones from Sheldon Silver, Lord Jacobs "clarified" his position on Israel.