The Human Rights Commission of the Town of Belmont unanimously voted on Tuesday, September 6, 2007, to recommend to the town’s Board of Selectmen, that Belmont withdraw from No Place for Hate®, a program that has constructively engaged this community for two years.
Although No Place for Hate® in, an of itself, is a positive program with a commendable mission statement, we cannot justify supporting it if the program’s creator and sponsor, the ADL, continues to support what we regard as genocide denial.
ADL and the No Place for Hate® program emphasize that the “tip of the pyramid of hatred” is genocide. How can we, in good faith, ask our community to work at the base of this same pyramid while the No Place for Hate® sponsor is actively working against congressional, international recognition of the Armenian genocide?
We applaud Andrew Tarsy’s courage and conviction in speaking out on the issue of the Armenian genocide, our commission fully supports No Place for Hate® and has great respect for the staff who have coordinated the program. However, until there is a radical change in position and reversal in action on this issue at the ADL national leadership level, we as a commission, cannot participate in a program that is registered in its name.
Respectfully,
Laurie Graham
Chair, Belmont Human Rights Commission
Letter to ADL by Belmont Human Rights Commission
