, Deitsch explained that he was basing his stance on what the municipality’s art adviser David Suzana had written in a letter about the Agon Shu traffic circle. According to Suzana, the proposed design contained religious and ritualistic Buddhist elements, and the art adviser objected to it on those grounds."} 68:{"position":13,"content":"

“I cannot agree to have Buddhists arrive to conduct religious ceremonies at the site,” asserted Deitsch, who will be seeing the plans for the first time when the committee convenes."} 69:{"position":14,"content":"But according to Kutz, there is no Buddha in his design, nor is there “a Buddhist agenda.”"} 6a:{"position":15,"content":"“This is an abstract object, with no human figure,” Kutz, who specialized in Japanese architecture and gardens in his advanced studies there, told the Post."} 6b:{"position":16,"content":"“We consciously chose not to use religious and/or Buddhist elements in the circle’s design,” he explained. “The shapes are the figment of my creation..."} 6c:{"position":17,"content":"and were not dictated by the client, who gave full freedom of design here.”"} 6d:{"position":18,"content":"Describing the project, Kutz said that “the circle’s design correlates to the four winds, and the ancient Chinese symbolism of the connection between those and the elements of the universe (water, fire, wood, metal, earth). This Chinese symbolism reached Japan some 1,500 years ago and is known there, too.”"} 6e:{"position":19,"content":"But even if Buddhist elements did exist in the planned traffic circle, they needn’t have been a source of concern for those worried about idolatry, according to an expert in Far- Eastern religion."} 6f:{"position":20,"content":"Kutz’s planned traffic circle, which does not contain such elements, o

Monumental dilemma: Jerusalem rages over statues

David, Buddha and Churchill foment charges of idolatry and religious coercion.