Thanks for compassion and courage
I am writing to thank Ms. Liora Harari for her leadership on the Needham Human Rights Committee. On Wednesday, Nov. 14, the HRC voted to recommend to the Board of Selectmen that Needham suspend affiliation with No Place for Hate, a Human Rights program sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League. This change was necessitated when it was discovered that the ADL was itself guilty of a cruel human rights violation: genocide denial. Over a period of years, the ADL lobbied against Congressional recognition of the Armenian Genocide and, most recently, refused to make an unambiguous statement acknowledging it. Ms. Harari’s moral vision helped guide the HRC to see the conflict in affiliating Needham’s human rights program with an organization engaged in hate speech toward Needham residents of Armenian descent.
As an Israeli-American, Ms. Harari understands clearly the destructive effects of genocide denial. At an earlier meeting, she told the committee, “I come from a family of Holocaust survivors and I know that for them, the recognition of the Holocaust by the world and the recognition of Germany as being responsible for it was very important for them in the process of healing and moving forward.” Drawing on her personal experience, Ms. Harari recognized the injustice being done and was true to her responsibility on the HRC to protect the human rights of others. I want to thank her from the bottom of my heart for her compassion and courage.
Dianne Rees
Westwood
Needham Times: Letter to the Editor Published on November 28
