Lexington Minuteman: Letter to the Editor Published on November 15, 2007

Foxman isn’t the problem

At the Sept. 24 meeting of the Lexington Board of Selectmen which I attended, a Jewish-American woman, citing the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) denial of the Armenian genocide, urged the selectmen to sever ties with the ADL. She also expressed her belief that the problem with the ADL was its national director, Abraham Foxman.

Unfortunately, that turned out to be wrong. The ADL National Meeting had the opportunity to reverse Mr. Foxman’s long-standing opposition to Armenian genocide recognition, but chose not to do so. Therefore, we can no longer blame Mr. Foxman alone for the ADL’s double standard in combating Holocaust and genocide denial.

The ADL, supposedly a human rights organization, has given in to the blackmail of the Turkish state, which funds a multi-million genocide denial campaign. By refusing to change the ADL’s position at its National Meeting, the ADL, not just Mr. Foxman, decided to continue abetting Turkey’s denial of the Armenian genocide. The Lexington Board of Selectmen did the right thing in dissociating Lexington from the ADL.

Anny Deirmenjian
Chadboure Road