TIMES ONLINE: A New Jersey town with a bitter experience of terrorism is in uproar at the prospect of Muammar Gaddafi pitching his air-conditioned tent there during his first visit to the United States.
The Libyan leader is considering making his Bedouin camp in the garden of a Libyan-owned mansion in Englewood, next door to a Jewish school and a famous rabbi, when he travels to New York to address the UN General Assembly on September 23.
Officials in the wealthy commuter town, 23 miles north of Manhattan, have vowed to stop Mr Gaddafi from staying there, particularly after he welcomed the Libyan intelligence agent convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.
Englewood has its own searing memories of terrorism. The town lost five residents in the September 11, 2001, terror attacks and its fire brigade helped in the recovery effort at "Ground Zero."
Congressman Steve Rothman, who represents the area and once served as Englewood's mayor, said:"Gaddafi is a dangerous dictator whose hands are covered with the blood of Americans and our allies."
Michael Wildes, the current mayor, said: "People are infuriated that a financier of terrorism, who in recent days gave a hero's welcome to a convicted terrorist, would be welcomed to our shores, let alone reside in our city."
Mr Gaddafi's attention turned to Englewood after the US refused permission for him to pitch his tent in New York's Central Park.
Libya purchased the 25-room mansion known as "Thunder Rock", set on 4.7 acres on tree-lined Englewood Avenue, in 1982. It wanted to use the property as a diplomatic mission, but federal officials bridled at the idea.
Local officials worked out a deal with the US State Department at the time restricting Libya's use of the mansion as a weekend and summer retreat for Libya's UN ambassador and visiting dignataries [sic].
The next-door neighbour is orthodox Jewish rabbi, Smuley Boteach, the star of a TV series called Shalom in the Home. >>> James Bone in New York | Tuesday, August 25, 2009
