Friday 12/28
=The Jewish Advocate has published an article by Khatchig Mouradian about how Franz Verfel's "Forty Days of Musa Dagh" became an inspiration for the Warsaw Gettho uprising. Prof. Yair Auron says “the story of the defense of Musa Dagh became, indeed, a source of inspiration, an example for the underground members to learn, a model to imitate. They equated their fate with that of the Armenians...In both cases, murderous evil empires conspired to uproot entire communities, to bring about their total physical extinction. In both cases, resistance embodied the concept of death and national honor on the one hand, and the chance of being saved as individuals and as a nation on the other.”
Wednesday 12/26
=Activist David Boyajian has made it to the Newton Tab Top Newsmakers 2007 list for having initiated the debate on the Anti-Defamation League's position on the Armenian genocide this summer. The article makes an overview of events and concludes: "Newton decided to withdraw from No Place for Hate as long as the program’s parent organization refused to unequivocally acknowledge the genocide and did not support congressional recognition of the Armenian genocide. Other Massachusetts communities followed suit. Following the Anti-Defamation League’s annual meeting, the anti-hate organization did not change its stance, and communities like Newton and Waltham remained detached from No Place for Hate."
Thursday 12/20
=The Austrian based Jewish online journal Die Judische has just published a lengthy essay entitled "The Jewish Diaspora and Genocide Denial." There are extensive references to the fallout from this summer's ADL controversy. In one such passage, we read: "The Republic of Turkey has denied the Armenian Genocide for the past 84 years, and politicians in Israel and a vast majority of officials of Jewish Diaspora are aboard their boat now. In the USA, for example, the Jewish Anti-Defamation League (ADL) not only denied the Armenian Genocide in the past but also actively fought against the Congressional Resolution for the Recognition of the Armenian Genocide. At the end of August 2007, the ADL finally recognized the Armenian Genocide through gritted teeth. The acknowledgment given, however, was qualified to such an extent that one could have done without it."
Wednesday 12/19
=In his latest article in Jewcy Magazine, Khatchig Mouradian explores "the deep connections between the Jewish heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising and the Armenian heroes of Musa Dagh." Mouradian writes: "Werfel's novel had a great influence on Antek, the deputy commander of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the author of A Surplus of Memory: Chronicle of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. When talking about the Holocaust and what books to read on the issue, Antek would say that "the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising could not be understood without reading The Forty days of Musa Dagh.""
Tuesday 12/18
=MuzzleWatch, a blog run by Jewish Voice for Peace, features Bradley Pilcher’s The Day the Holocaust Died in its entry today. Here's the introductory paragraph: "American Jewish Life magazine, which seeks to be the “Jewish Rolling Stone”, printed Bradley Pilcher’s extraordinary take-down of Abe Foxman for turning the ADL away from the important work of fighting anti-Semitism and bigotry, and into a group that deploys Holocaust remembrance and Armenian genocide denial in its overarching quest to “support” Israel."
Saturday 12/15
=Bradford Pilcher says he's received nothing but positive feedback since "The Day the Holocaust Died" was published. In a blog entry on Jewschool titled "What does ADL stand for?", Bradford writes that "nobody’s picking up Foxman or the ADL’s side in this debate [on the Armenian genocide issue]."
"I’d like to think I can work with groups like [ADL & AIPAC] in the future. The problem, from my vantage point, is that they’ve lost site of their respective missions," writes Bradford. He concludes by asking: "Can anyone provide a compelling argument why Abe Foxman is at least right in principle, why there’s some reason to link the mission of combating anti-Semitism and bigotry should be conflated with defending Israel, or getting wrapped up in Israeli political considerations such as those that presented themselves in the Armenian case?" To answer, go to the comments section of Pilcher's blog entry.
Friday 12/14
=The Armenian National Committee of Eastern Massachusetts has welcomed Watertown's 
desicion to urge the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) to rescind its endorsement of the ADL’s No Place for Hate (NPFH) program. In an ANCEM press release, Sharistan Melkonian, chair of the Armenian National Committee has stated: “We applaud the Watertown Town Council for taking the lead, once again, in condemning genocide denial [...] In the face of the ADL’s failure to live up to its own mission statement -- ‘to secure justice and fair treatment to all citizens alike’ – the MMA must take action and cut ties with this tainted program.”
Thursday 12/13
=Read the Watertown Tab report on Tuesday's vote by the Watertown Town Council urging “the MMA [to] immediately withdraw its sponsorship of the No Place for Hate Program.” Geoff Beckwith, executive director of the MMA, is reported to have told the Watertown Tab that they will “seriously consider” the town’s resolution.
=Access the full text of the Watertown Town Council Resolution, which reads, in part:
"BE IT RESOLVED: That the Town Council of the City known as the Town of Watertown urges the MMA immediately withdraw is sponsorship of the No Place for Hate program and notify all cities and towns of its withdrawal."
Tuesday 12/11
=BREAKING NEWS: The Watertown Town Council voted 8-1 tonight in favor of a resolution (introduced by Coucilman Mark Sideris) calling on the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) to rescind its endorsement of the ADL's No Place for Hate Program.
=ANNOUNCEMENT: TODAY, December 11 @ 7:15pm, the Watertown Town Council will discuss a resolution/proclamation to urge the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) to rescind its endorsement of the ADL's No Place for Hate Program. Location: Richard E. Mastrangelo Chamber, Administration Building, 149 Main Street. Watertown residents are encouraged to attend and speak up.
=The Armenian Mirror-Spectator reports that "On November 27, the Watertown Town Council's agenda was to include a proclamation asking the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) to rescind its endorsement for the No Place for Hate (NPFH) program sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). However, the council essentially tabled a vote on the measure, stating that it would be taken up at the next meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, December 11." The proclamation is drafted by Councilwoman Marilyn Devaney and requests the MMA "to sever its sponsorship of, and relationship with, the ADL's No Place for Hate programs throughout the State of Massachusetts without further delay."
Councilwoman Marilyn Devaney is quoted in the article as saying: "The 351 towns and cities in Massachusetts pay dues to the MMA and it's their mission to advocate for all these municipalities. ADL is giving money to schools in these communities. I feel we should cut ties with ADL entirely. The ADL is not going to change its position; it is not going to support the Genocide Resolution in Congress. I don't want to be part of an entity that pays dues to an organization that discriminates against a certain group of people. I think the MMA has a responsibility to withdraw its support."
=In the same article, the Mirror-Spectator reports that on November 15, the Board of Trustees of Temple Shir Tikvah in Winchester has passed a resolution that reads in part, "Whereas as Jews who have been the victims of discrimination, persecution and harm due to our race, ethnicity and religion: it is hereby resolved that the members of Temple Shir Tikvah of Winchester, Massachusetts support the Armenian community in their efforts to seek recognition of the genocide committed against them." Temple Shir Tikvah's Rabbi Rim Meirowitz said: "How would Jews feel if the Holocaust were characterized as some sort of collateral damage or the result of a civil war. We would be incensed. Given our Jewish history, I think it's our obligation to say when genocide is happening or has happened."
Monday 12/10
=ANNOUNCEMENT: Candle Light Vigil for Darfur at Newton Centre Green, Thursday, December 13, 7-8pm. Organized by the Newton South High School STAND (Student Anti-Genocide Coalition), the event will feature Holocaust survivor Rosian Zerner, and Deputy Director of Physicians for Human Rights, Susannah Sirkin. Come for an event of solidarity, community, and education. A live vocal ensemble will perform. Candles will be provided. Please dress warmly and bring your family and friends. Sign up on Facebook event. Don't Stand by, STAND Up!
Sunday 12/09
=Today's Boston Globe has two letters that are critical of the ADL. In the first, Alik Arzoumanian writes: "The ADL presents itself as a human rights organization touting its "Darfur Resource Center" as a totem of its commitment to universal human rights but, giving precedence to geopolitical interests, has chosen to work on behalf of a foreign government against the recognition of another people's genocide." In the second, commenting on ADL's "recent alleged acknowledgement of the Armenian genocide," Berge Jolalian writes: "The world doesn't take seriously what American Jewish leaders have to say about the 6 million Jews killed during World War II, not when it sees the same Jewish leaders lobby the US Congress against acknowledging the Armenian genocide and quiet everyone over the murders of 1.5 million other innocents."
Saturday 12/08
=In a post on Jewlicious.com called Who's Afraid of Abraham Foxman, Steve Pollak highlights the "scathing essay" by Pilcher published in this month's American Jewish Life. "Pilcher wonders how Foxman can manage to take a rightfully moral stand on the Holocaust and Israel while taking such a blatantly political position when it comes to the Turks," writes Pollak. "It just doesn’t add up," he concludes. Pollak also calls Andrew Tarsy a hero and says "his outspokenness forced not only the ADL but also the American Jewish Committee and other Jewish groups to re-examine their thinking and realign their priorities." He describes himself as a "Gen-X Jew" and says that groups such as the ADL and AJC "ought to read Pilcher's essay if they ever hope to understand the antipathy many Gen X Jews feel toward the alphabet soup Jewish organizations."
=In an email to No Place for Denial notifying us about Pollak's post, Jewcy's Joey Kurtzman writes: "That's something I've spoken about a great deal, and I'm very happy to hear someone else chime in on it. These organizations [ADL, AJC] are constantly asking about young Jews, essentially, "Why do they dislike us?" and the Armenian Genocide affair is the most perfect possible example of why we steer clear of them. It epitomizes everything about them that repulses us." Joey Kurtzman's seminal essay "Fire Foxman" published back in July can be considered one of the most influential blog entries of the year. It has already garnered over 400 comments and was one of the major inspirations behind the No Place for Denial movement.
Friday 12/07
=The Watertown Tab reports on last week’s (Nov. 28) public forum on “Understanding Genocide and Its Impact,” hosted by The World in Watertown, which was recently combined with the members and missions of the former No Place for Hate Committee. Speaking about the denial of the Armenian genocide, Henry Theriault, the director of Worchester State College’s Study of Human Rights Center, said: “When people deny, they are actively taking a stand against the truth...It’s a desire to think that genocide is OK...[The Turks] preserve a false sense of identity...[In Watertown] non-Armenians chose to take a stand [against denial] and helped drive the process. People across the world know about what happened here.” Sharistan Melkonian, chair of the ANCEM and one of the speakers at the Forum, is reported as saying: “There is no time like today to end genocide once and for all...We need to do more than commemorate the Armenian Genocide... Let’s help to prevent them from ever happening again.”
Thursday 12/06
=This month’s edition of American Jewish Life, has a caustic essay by Bradford Pilcher who takes Foxman and the ADL to task for their hypocritical position on the Armenian Genocide. In The Day the Holocaust Died, Pilcher recounts his shock at hearing Foxman shamelessly deny the Armenian Genocide this summer, his disgust at the firing of Andrew Tarsy for speaking the truth, and his revulsion at Foxman’s behavior following his “pseudo-mea culpa” on Aug. 21.
Pilcher writes that, almost as soon his Aug. 21 statement had come out, “[Foxman] sent another letter to the Turkish prime minister. In it, he literally apologized for admitting that yes, Turks had done a bad thing a hundred years ago [...] What exactly was Foxman apologizing for?”
“This is an organization created to fight bigotry generally and anti-Semitism in particular, to make our world better by exposing hatred and holding racism, genocidal or otherwise, to account,” continues Pilcher. “Where exactly do they get off apologizing to genocide deniers? In two sentences, Foxman had broken the camel’s back, letting a deluge of missteps and hyperbolic statements turn into the absolute shredding of his organization’s moral authority.”
=The Jewish Advocate reports that Andrew Tarsy has declined to discuss to what extent this summer’s controversy with regards to the ADL's position on the Armenian genocide inspired his resignation. Speaking about the reasons behind Tarsy's resignation, Nancy Kaufman, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, has said: “I think it’s very clear what happened [...] He is a courageous Jewish professional who spoke out based on his own personal beliefs and wasn’t able to … influence his national system, so he’s taking the moral high road and saying ‘I can’t do this.’'
=The Needham Times reports that on Dec. 4, following the recommendation of the Human Rights Committee, the Needham Board of Selectmen decided to suspend the town’s participation in the Anti-Defamation League sponsored No Place for Hate program, because of the organization’s refusal to unequivocally recognize the Armenian Genocide. “That is denial from my point of view [...] It doesn’t comply with my concept of No Place for Hate,” Selectman Jack Cogswell is reported to have said. Citing it as a “moral decision” for him, Selectman Jerry Wasserman has said: “It’s heartbreaking we have to do this [...] This is an organization that has lost sight of its mission."
Wednesday 12/05
=ANNOUNCEMENT: A Public Forum entitled Genocide and Denial: A Perspective on the Jewish and Armenian Cases will be held at Boston University (Room 101, Kenmore Classroom Building, 565 Commonwealth Avenue) TODAY, December 5 @ 7pm. The forum panel will consist of Dr. Deborah Dwork, Dr. Simon Payaslian and Dr. Henry Theriault. The topics of discussion will include "The Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust," "The political economy of genocide denial," and "Beyond truth and falsity: the deep trajectories of denial" followed by a question and answer session with the audience.
=The Boston Globe reports that according to his supporters, NE Regional Director Andrew Tarsy's resignation is "the result of his rift with the ADL's national director, Abraham H. Foxman, over the genocide issue." Steve Grossman, a former member of the ADL New England board, has said: "At the end of the day, the vision of the New England leadership and Abe Foxman's leadership were simply not fully compatible [...] Tarsy realized that he would have to make too many compromises that he was not prepared to make."
=The article goes on to report that Sevag Arzoumanian, of No Place for Denial, said that "Tarsy had been a hero among Armenians for the way he stood up to national leaders on the genocide issue." But Arzoumanian also mentions that "Tarsy and ADL New England board chairman Jim Rudolph wrote an editorial that appeared in two local newspapers in September that criticized the Armenian community's efforts to get cities and towns to sever ties with the ADL's No Place for Hate antidiscrimination program" and that more recently, Tarsy seemed to have backtracked from his position.
=The Boston Globe also quotes Nancy Kaufman, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, as saying: "I'm sorry that the position we all took in Boston collaboratively wasn't the position that won the day [at the ADL national level]."
=The Globe story also reports that "last night, selectmen in Needham voted, 4-0, with one member abstaining, to suspend involvement in No Place for Hate." Laura Terzian, a resident of Needham who supported withdrawal is quoted as saying of the ADL: "They're not willing to change. There should be no equivocation." Watch video highlights from the Needham HRC meeting held on Sept. 5.
=The Newton Tab reports that "Tarsy said that his decision to resign was a professional decision and that “it is something separate” from the controversy surrounding the Armenian Genocide." The Tab's Chrissie Long also provides this background on Tarsy's resignation: "Recently, the Anti-Defamation League’s position on the mass killings have been called into question — caught up in the storm of debates on a congressional bill addressing the official recognition of the genocide...The Anti-Defamation League originally lobbied against the legislation and, as a result, several Massachusetts towns withdrew from ADL’s anti-hate campaign called No Place for Hate. Newton was among those towns."
Tuesday 12/04
=BREAKING NEWS: NEEDHAM ENDS TIES WITH ADL. The Needham Board of Selectmen voted 4-0-1 tonight to accept the Human Rights Committee's recommendation to suspend the No Place For Hate program over the ADL's position on the Armenian Genocide. Watch video highlights from the Needham HRC meeting held on Sept. 5. Needham becomes the third Massachusetts town in three weeks (following Medford and Bedford) to break ties with the ADL following the ADL's decision to take "no further action" on the Armenian Genocide at their national meeting in NYC on November 2. Read the Informational Packet sent by the Massachusetts Armenian community to ADL National Commissioners.
=BREAKING NEWS: Andrew Tarsy has just announced his resignation as ADL's New England Regional Director. In a brief statement to his colleagues and supporters he is reported to have said: "I've decided that it's time for me to move on." Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story.
=GLENDALE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT POSTONES ADL SEMINAR AT HOOVER HIGH SCHOOL, reports Asbarez. “[We] welcome this step by the Glendale Unified School District Administration to postpone this seminar until parents, teachers and students have a chance to carefully consider the implications of having the ADL, a group that is working with Turkey to prevent the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, teaching our schoolchildren about tolerance and human rights,” Elen Asatryan, the Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee's Glendale Chapter, is quoted as saying in the report.
Monday 12/03
=LA COMMUNITY PROTESTS ADL NATIONAL DIRECTOR'S GENOCIDE DENIAL, is today's headline on Asbarez. Here are some passages from the report: 
"Protesters held signs calling out Foxman and in statements read to the public, urged the ADL to return to its core humanitarian...Those attending the ADL event saw the protesters and signs as they entered the hotel....Braving the bitter cold evening to join the protesters was Ghazaros Kademian, a 100-year-old survivor of the Armenian Genocide.... Joey Kurtzman, Executive Editor of Jewcy Media, highlighted the growing awareness among the Jewish community regarding the ADL's hypocritical stance on the Armenian Genocide.... Speaking on behalf of the AYF-WR, Arek Santikian pointed to a history of the ADL posted on its website in which the ADL professes to have learned in the 1920s that "the welfare of any one minority was intertwined with the welfare of all," and urged today's ADL leaders to reacquaint themselves with this lesson from their own past."
Sunday 12/02
=The Boston Globe reports that "Needham officials are facing a decision on whether to remain in the Anti-Defamation League's No Place for Hate program, or leave over the ADL's" position on the Armenian Genocide, and that "the vote ... could come as early as Tuesday [12/04]." The Globe story states that "several members of the Board of Selectmen expressed concern that the ADL has not acquiesced to calls for changing its stance."
Selectman John Cogswell is quoted as saying that he would support breaking ties with the ADL "until such time as the ADL changes their position."
Michael Sheetz, a member of the ADL New England Regional Board is quoted as saying: "How can you throw out all the good that's been done just because you disagree with the wording of a press release? It's semantics over substance."
Selectman John Bulian is quoted as saying: "Yes, we hang on words, but words are important. There is no question that a genocide occurred. . . . I just think that we have to be open to elements of tragedies that have occurred in history and recognize them for what they are."
Saturday 12/01
=Jewcy's Joey Kurtzman has just announced a joint Jewcy/AYF protest of ADL's "Humanitarian Awards Dinner" in Los Angeles on Saturday 12/01. The Press Advisory is titled "Los Angeles calls on Abe Foxman to stop undermining the universal humanitarian principles of the ADL" and it states: "Jewcy Media and the Armenian Youth Federation, joined by victims of the Armenian Genocide, will protest outside the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Saturday, December 1st, when the Anti-Defamation League holds a celebration at the hotel. The protest is being organized in response to efforts by ADL National Director Abe Foxman to use the ADL as a vehicle for genocide denial—starkly violating the universal human rights principles which the ADL claims to revere."
Friday 11/30
=In a new entry on the Jewcy site, Khatchig Mouradian asks "Are Armenians Angry at Jews?" and replies: "yes, the Armenian community is upset that a prominent Jewish civil rights organization supports Turkey's campaign to deny the Armenian Genocide, the great tragedy that haunts our community. But we are also aware of the Jewish-American writers, bloggers, and activists who speak out against ADL's hypocrisy." Mouradian continues: "Armenians also know that throughout the 20th century there was never a shortage of righteous Jews, individuals who spoke out against the Armenian genocide," and proceeds to present the contributions of three such individuals who "will always be treasured by the Armenian community:" Henry Morgenthau, Franz Werfel and Raphael Lemkin.
=Mouradian's piece reports the following regarding Werfel's The Forty Days of Musa Dagh: "Little did he know that his novel would not only become a classic and an inspiration for generations of Armenians, but would also serve as a model of survival and resistance for his own people during the Holocaust. Prof. Yair Auron writes, "The story of the defense of Musa Dagh became, indeed, a source of inspiration, an example for the underground members to learn, a model to imitate. They [the Jewish youth movements] equated their fate with that of the Armenians.""
Thursday 11/29
=The Bedford Minuteman reports that "Selectmen unanimously voted last Monday to suspend the town’s participation in the No Place For Hate Program, as about 25 Bedford residents of Armenian descent looked on." The story quotes Town Manager Rick Reed as saying the following about what suspending participation in the NPFH will mean for Bedford for Bedford: “It’s not a huge thing. I think we can continue to run programs of a similar nature as we desire to do so. They just won’t be able to use the trademark designation from the ADL referred to as No Place For Hate.” Selectmen Cathy Cordes and Gordon Feltman are said to have reached out to the ADL for clarification regarding their position on the Armenian Genocide without much success. “My feeling, at this point, is that we care more about their program than they do,” Feltman is quoted as saying.
Monday 11/26
=The Armenian Weekly reports that in light of the ADL's 11/02 decision "not to take further action on the Armenian genocide" and the recent decisions by Bedford, Medford, Needham and Newburyport to end their participation in the ADL sponsored No Place For Hate program, Sharistan Melkonian of the Armenian National Committee has said: “Municipalities were left with no choice. Many of us had hoped that the ADL-National would rethink its policies at its national commissioners’ meeting, properly and unambiguously recognize the Armenian genocide, and put an end to its efforts to actively oppose its reaffirmation by Congress. It is disappointing that the ADL didn’t come to the right side of this issue.”
=In the same report, Herman Purutyan, Massachusetts chair of the Armenian Assembly is quoted as saying: "The national commissioners of the ADL had an opportunity to restore the league's credibility as a Human Rights organization by unequivocally recognizing the Armenian Genocide and ending its opposition to the US recognition of this Genocide [...] Town after town is coming to the conclusion that an organization that refuses to properly recognize a genocide and actively opposes its wider recognition is not the right partner to promote tolerance in our communities."
=The article goes on to quote Sevag Arzoumanian of the No Place for Denial team: “By this decision, the ADL has formally chosen political expediency over a clear moral imperative—that of condemning and combating genocide and Holocaust denial in all its forms—and has disqualified itself as a defender of human rights for all. What the Armenian community, the Jewish community and the human rights community expected of the ADL national meeting was that they take a clear stand to distance themselves from the policies of the past, that is, aiding and abetting the government of Turkey to diminish and deny the Armenian genocide in the United States.”
Sunday 11/25
=The Boston Globe reports that "Bedford has become the latest to join the growing list of area communities to distance itself from an antibias program mired in controversy over the Anti-Defamation League's stance on the Armenian genocide." Selectman Gordon Feltman is quoted as saying "I don't think we should be carrying the banner of the Anti-Defamation League as long as it puts their interests ahead of protecting all of us from discrimination." Kathryn Eskandarian, an Armenian-American who lives in Bedford, is quoted as saying "they [i.e., the ADL] need to figure out if they're an advocacy group for one particular group or really a human rights organization." The Globe also reports that "Cathy Cordes, a Bedford selectwoman and member of the town's Violence Prevention Coalition, criticized the ADL for being inconsistent as to how it chooses when to oppose discrimination."
Saturday 11/24
=In a strikingly frank article entitled ADL and the Turks published by the Jerusalem Report, the former National Vice Chair of ADL, Joel J. Sprayregen, writes:
"Under a longstanding relationship, Jewish organizations have lobbied against legislation undermining U.S.-Turkish relations (ADL Spars with Armenians, Oct. 29). This strengthened U.S.-Turkish strategic ties and Israel's ties with its sole regional ally. It also furthered the well-being of Turkey's 20,000 Jews..."
"Armenian activists deserve respect for preserving the memory of horrors suffered by their ancestors. But there is respectable, if not unanimous, historical literature concluding there was no genocide. I saw evidence in Van, Turkey, of massacres of Muslims by Russian soldiers collaborating with Armenian insurgents."
=EDITORIAL COMMENTS BY NPFD: Although Sprayregen’s article is ostensibly written to chide the ADL for caving in to Armenian demands, it in fact accomplishes a great deal more. It confirms:
1) That the ADL is an active member of those US based groups that “under a longstanding relationship” with the government of Turkey “lobbies against legislation” in Congress recognizing the Armenia Genocide.
2) That a culture of Armenian Genocide denial runs at the highest levels of the leadership of the Anti-Defamation League.
In fact, the “evidence in Van” that Sprayregen mentions is none other than the revisionist “Genocide Museum” that the Turkish State has built there. This is the type of museum that Orhan Pamuk, the persecuted Turkish Nobel laureate, mentions in his novel Snow as an example of how the Turkish government has cynically turned history on its head. It is nothing short of outrageous that the man who once was the leader of a U.S. human rights organization is on the side of genocide deniers and not that of human rights advocates in Turkey and of survivors of genocide and their descendants in the U.S.
Friday 11/23
Several letters have recently appeared in Boston area papers expressing disappointment at the outcome of the ADL national meeting.
=Vany Tashjian writes: "In light of the Anti-Defamation League’s recent refusal to unequivocally acknowledge the Armenian Genocide and to drop its support for Turkey’s shameful efforts of genocide denial, the integrity of this human rights organization has been gravely compromised. The ADL has lost all credibility to preach against Holocaust denial, and Abraham Foxman has thrown his reputation out the window."
=Anny Deirmenjian writes: "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."
=Dr. Lillian Mahrokhian writes: "The ADL National Commission’s latest decision in favor of the status quo comes to confirm that the organization is determined to continue to abet Turkey’s denialist agenda, and it is a shame that its Massachusetts representatives have gone along with this verdict... It follows that [the ADL] can no longer be trusted to be involved with human rights issues in our towns and cities. Because of these reasons, I thank the Lexington Board of Selectmen for dissociating our town from the ADL."
=Jirayr Beugekian writes: "Before this meeting, I was willing to give the ADL the benefit of the doubt, and blame its hypocritical policy on ADL national director Abraham Foxman alone. Sadly, the ADL lost the opportunity to become the human rights organization it claims to be, and is not qualified to sponsor programs like No Place for Hate in our communities."
Thursday 11/22
="It was an eye-opening experience for the people of Temple Har Zion and the Armenian Community Centre [in Toronto] to learn that there are so many links between the Armenian Genocide and the Jewish Holocaust," reports the Zoryan Institute regarding a lecture entitled "Nazi Germany, Armenians and Jews" given by Prof. Eric Weitz in Toronto on Nov 7. The report mentions that the issue of the ADL's denial of the Armenian Genocide came up during the question and answer session.
Wednesday 11/21
=Read Harut Sassounian's most recent column in The Huffington Post. "How hypocritical of Madeleine Albright and William Cohen, former Secretaries of State and Defense, to announce the formation of a task force on prevention of genocide, when two months ago they wrote a letter to the U.S. Congress against a resolution on the Armenian Genocide," writes Sassounian. "Given their repeated attempts to block the reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide resolution, both during and after their tenure in government, Secretaries Albright and Cohen should be removed from the leadership of the Genocide Prevention Task Force. They have undermined their own credibility and lost the moral standing to speak on the topic of genocide. One cannot deny a genocide and then turn around and act as a defender of its victims," he concludes.
Tuesday 11/20
=The Medford Transcript reports that following the recommendation of the its Human Rights Commission, the Medford City Council has voted to suspend the city’s membership to the Anti-Defamation League’s “No Place for Hate” program because of the ADL’s failure to support national recognition of the Armenian genocide. In light of this decision, the Medford HRC is removing ADL signs across the city. Commissioner Lois Bronnenkant has said “Over the last few months we’ve had several Armenians, young and old, who have told us stories of how the Armenian genocide has affected their families. We’ve had a good relationship with the ADL in the past, but we don’t approve of the way they’ve handled the Armenian genocide issue.” According to the report, the city will re-evaluate its relationship with the ADL in three months to consider whether Medford will extend the membership suspension or withdraw completely.
Monday 11/19
=BREAKING NEWS: Tonight (Nov. 19), the Bedford Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to suspend the town's participation in the ADL-sponsored No Place for Hate Program. Selectmen noted that the ADL's failure to further clarify its position regarding the Armenian Genocide at its National Convention in early November was the reason for this action. The Board of Selectmen were acting on the recommendation of Bedford's Violence Prevention Coalition, which met last week and issued a statement recommending suspending the town's participation in the No Place for Hate Program because of the ADL's position on the Armenian Genocide.
Sunday 11/18
=An editorial in The Jewish Advocate asks, sarcastically: "whoever thought that anti-Semitism could seem like a breath of fresh air?" and goes on to say that "with the recent remarks by Randolph Selectwoman Maureen Kenney to Superintendent Richard Silverman... the New England Anti-Defamation League office was finally able to make news regarding something other than the Armenian genocide." The editorial concludes: "it is nice to see the ADL once again working capably against defamation. With the Armenian controversy reduced now from its boiling point, the ADL was ready to pounce when Kenney assaulted Silverman with her remarks. And the defense organization may never have been happier to return to its roots and deal with issues of anti-Semitism, which is, after all, its basic mission and the reason the organization was founded in the first place. "
Saturday 11/17
=Read Michael Mensoian's op-ed in today's Armenian Weekly. Commenting on the ADL national commission's recent decision to "take no further action on the issue of the Armenian genocide," Mensoian writes, "the decision of the ADL ...goes to the heart of the ADL’s mission: to the respected and lofty goal of “Never Again.” When political expediency determines the who and the when, then “Never Again” has no meaning. It is unconscionable for organizations as well as nations to pick and choose which mass murdering of people fits their political agenda. Until that unethical and immoral practice is confronted head-on, genocide, holocaust or “ethnic cleansing” will remain an integral part of the political landscape. At best, “Never Again” simply becomes “Never Again Maybe.”"
=The Armenian Weekly reports that, at a recent community public forum jointly convened by the Armenian National Committee and the Armenian Assembly, Ara Nazarian of the No Place For Denial team stated: "Obviously, we are very disappointed with the direction the ADL has chosen to move. We are also convinced that the human rights commissions in our towns will not be satisfied with the language produced at the ADL’s national meeting, since they were looking to the ADL for a solidified policy on this issue. The ADL has made it clear that it regards the affirmation of the Armenian genocide as a political issue and not a human rights issue."
Friday 11/16
=The Needham Times reports that the Needham Human Rights Commission has voted to recommend the Board of Selectmen to suspend the town's involvement in the ADL sponsored No Place for Hate program. At the November 14 meeting two representatives from the regional ADL spoke about the results of the organization’s national policy meeting earlier this month.The committee’s decision comes in light of the ADL's decision not to "take further action on the issue of the Armenian genocide", and about a month and a half after the Needham HRC sent a letter to the ADL asking the organization to unequivocally recognize the Armenian Genocide and back Congressional legislation doing the same.
=Jewcy.com's Joey Kurtzman has posted an exchange with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency about Khatchig Mouradian's "The Betrayal of Turkish Jews". In conclusion to the the post entitled "Court Jews in New York, Appeasing Anti-Semites in Ankara", Kurtzman writes: "Strip away the moral slogans and theories from all the Holocaust museums and Museums of Tolerance that dot the Western world, and what we have is a reality that Jews have been powerful enough to demand that our genocide be sacralized, while Armenians are not powerful enough even to demand it be acknowledged. The remaining lesson of these monuments to Jewish pain, and the new ethic toward which Foxman and the Forward are pointing us, is in fact an ancient one: "the strong do as they will, and the weak suffer as they must." "
Thursday 11/15
=In a Jewcy post entitled "The Betrayal of Turkish Jews," Khatchig Mouradian reports on interviews he's conducted with several prominent scholars who've studied the Turkish Jewish community. The article concludes as follows:
"Throughout the recent political debate over the Armenian Genocide resolution, the Turkish state has encouraged anti-Semitism among Turks, and then essentially told Jewish leaders, "Look, the Turkish people are angry, you had better be careful." Some of those leaders have rewarded the Turkish government's promotion of anti-Semitism by agreeing to promote Turkey's campaign of genocide denial. They have given the Turkish government excellent reason to believe that anti-Semitism and the blackmail of Turkish Jewry remain a winning foreign policy strategy for Turkey."
Wednesday 11/14
=In a column published on Jewcy.com entitled "Bernard Lewis, Abe Foxman, Genocide and 'Genocide' " Daniel Koffler writes:
"If the Anti-Defamation League cannot call genocide ‘genocide', for fear that to do so is impolitic, then the Anti-Defamation League does not need to exist. At the very least, Abraham Foxman and whichever other ADL officers are responsible for the organization's behavior on this matter should resign, not just from the ADL, but from public life entirely; whatever moral stature the ADL retains depends upon them doing so.Lastly, we should not forget that Morgenthau's response to the Turkish Eichmann --- for once the comparison is apt --- was an American, not a Jewish response. Morgenthau was begged to "invoke the moral power of the United States"; if the government of the United States cannot be bothered to state the truth simply and forthrightly, then it has no such moral power."
=In an article entitled " If our friends do it, it is not genocide", The Corporate Crime Reporter reports that co-chairs of the Genocide Prevention Task Force, Madeline Albright and William Cohen were asked pointed questions regarding their current role and long-standing opposition to US recognition of the Armenian genocide. One of the questions was: “How do you reconcile your work in trying to build a moral American consensus against genocide when just very recently each of you signed a letter urging America not to recognize the Armenian genocide?" The press conference was also reported by the International Herald Tribune.
Monday 11/12
=The Jerusalem Post reports that at today's talk between the Israeli and Turkish presidents, one of the issues raised was the Armenian genocide resolution in the US Congress. According to the report, Gul told Peres that "Turkey would not tolerate this issue coming up every few months... It is not worth ruining today's good relations over an event of the past." Further, "Peres said that Israel supported Turkey's initiative to set up a team of Armenian and Turkish historians to examine the events of 1915-17 and in addition, Gul thanked Peres for his efforts in working to thwart the US plan."
=An entry on the Blogger News Network by The Stiletto links the fate of HR 106 to US response to the crisis in Pakistan, and the larger issue of nuclear proliferation in the region. The op-ed explains why Turkey's success in bullying President Bush on the Armenian Genocide Resolution – an internal U.S. matter - means Musharraf can be assured that the U.S. will do nothing to force him to hold parliamentary elections by February 15th, should he decide to renege on his promise to do so.
Sunday 11/11
=The LA Daily News reports that "the Anti-Defamation League is hosting seminars to help Southern California educators teach about the myths behind anti-Semitism and discrimination." According to Matthew Friedman, associate director at the ADL's office in Los Angeles, "Speakers will discuss moral issues and standing up to genocide, like in Darfur."
Saturday 11/10
=Read Robert Fisk's scathing column about Turkey's most recent blackmail to prevent US recognition of the Armenian genocide. Fisk writes: "Had the genocide that Bush refuses to acknowledge not taken place – as the Turks claim – the Americans would be asking the Armenians for permission to use Incirlik [...] Who would have thought that the leader of the Western world – he who would protect us against "world terror" – would turn out to be the David Irving of the White House?"
=Read the Jewcy.com column by Josh Strawn, lead singer of Blacklist, about Bernard Lewis' denial of the Armenian genocide and how it backs up US representatives opposing the Armenian genocide resolution.
=In a column published in the Haaretz, Jacob Victor, a member of the editorial board of the Harvard Crimson, writes: "Many were shocked when Foxman and the ADL recently opposed congressional legislation condemning the Armenian genocide, out of fear of alienating Turkey, which is one of Israel's most important allies. While Foxman acknowledged that the massacre of as many as 1.5 million Armenians by Turkey between 1915 and 1923 was "tantamount to genocide," he still refused to support the legislation. Turkey's relationship with Israel is indeed valuable, but on the subject of genocide there should be no room for equivocation, particularly from an organization claiming to represent Jewish values."
Friday 11/09
=The Watertown Tab reports that according to former “No Place for Hate” Committee Co-Chairperson Will Twombly, "there are no plans to rejoin with the ADL sponsored “No Place for Hate” program. Members of the former committee have joined forces with the World in Watertown — a local human rights group — to host a public forum called “Understanding Genocide and Its Impact.”
“Understanding Genocide and Its Impact” will be held Wednesday, Nov. 28, in the Watertown High School Auditorium from 7:30-9 p.m. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Becket Rhodes at 617-926-3600, ext. 302.
=The Boston Globe reports that in light of the ADL National Meeting's decision not to take further action on the issue of the Armenian genocide, "Jeremy Solomon, [Newton Mayor] Cohen's spokesman, said the mayor will discuss the national ADL's decision at the city's next Human Rights Commission meeting. A date had not yet been scheduled, he said. "We're going to evaluate the actions taken in their entirety," Solomon said. "Perhaps it is not as black and white as it was when we issued the demand."
=Read the Jewcy column about the possible amendment of the Turkish penal code's Article 301. The column concludes that "whilst the repeal of Article 301 is clearly good news, one swallow does not make a summer; it doesn't presage any real shift in Turkey's official stance towards the Armenian genocide, which remains utterly hardline, and it doesn't mean that the path to acceptance in the European family of nations is going to get any smoother."
=Watch footage of the 11/01 Rally in front of the ADL National Headquarters in NYC, jointly organized by NoPlaceForDenial and Jewcy.com
Thursday 11/08
=The Jewish Advocate reports that "New England Regional Board Chair James Rudolph said he is satisfied with the outcome of the [ADL National] meeting and the implications of the issued statement[...] ADL New England Region Director Andrew Tarsy, who also attended the annual meeting, agreed with Rudolph. “The commission thoroughly debated the issue, and I think it’s time to move on."
The report also quotes Armenian Weekly editor Khatchig Mouradian as saying:“The ADL is saying ‘We don’t care about your genocide[...]I believe it is a very insulting position, and I can’t see how the Armenian community is going to say ‘OK, let’s go home now.’”
JCRC Executive Director Nancy Kaufman has said: “For the Armenian community obviously it’s not over [...] I’d like to think in Boston it’s over because the ADL office here did a bold and unprecedented thing. I think we need to move on.”
Wednesday 11/07
=Abraham Foxman and Andrew Tarsy have made it to the Jewish Daily Forward's 50 most notable Jewish-Americans of the year, The Forward 50, primarily because of their involvement in the debate over the ADL and Armenian genocide denial. "Perhaps the most bruising battle of the year, both for Foxman and the organization he has headed for 20 years," writes The Forward, "was the debate over the Armenian genocide." The Forward goes on to say that "the ADL, like other major Jewish organizations, has long avoided the term "genocide"... in deference to Turkey's role as Israel's most important friend in the Muslim world." "The ADL, normally so vigilant when it to comes to the language of genocide," continues the article, "suddenly let such sensitivities fall by the wayside. It was the Armenians who seemed to be using the ADL's usual playbook [as they] began to press for a boycott of an ADL anti-bigotry program."
=In the same article, The Forwards editors commend Andrew Tarsy for confronting Foxman and labeling as "morally indefensible" the ADL's refusal to recognize the Armenian Genocide. The editors conclude: "[Andrew Tarsy's defiance] showed that, contrary to popular belief, the ADL is more than just a platform for Foxman: It can be a forum for debate and dissent, capable of being nudged in the right direction when it strays."
Tuesday 11/06
=ANNOUNCEMENT: Community Public Forum on Wednesday, November 7, 2007 7:30 – 8:30 pm at the Holy Cross Armenian Catholic Church in Belmont (200 Lexington Street, Belmont MA 02478). Update on with H.Res 106, the Armenian Genocide Resolution, and No Place for Hate, the ADL and the Armenian Genocide.
=In a column entitled "Genocide and Holocaust Deniers Must be Condemned, Not Honored" Harut Sassounian writes about Yerevan State University (YSU) honoring Ahamdinejad: "Rima Varzhapetyan, the President of the Jewish community of Armenia, was the first to criticize YSU. Contrary to some American Jewish groups, she is fully entitled to do so, as she does not practice a double standard. Indeed, Ms. Varzhapetyan properly and even-handedly condemns all genocide and Holocaust deniers [...] Foxman dared to criticize YSU for honoring Ahmadinejad, yet he himself presented Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Prime Minister of Turkey and a denier of the Armenian Genocide, ADL’s “Courage to Care Award” back in 2005 at the organization’s headquarters in New York."
Monday 11/05
=A Jewish Telegraphic Agency breaking news item quotes a Boston area Armenian leader reacting as follows to the news that the Anti-Defamation League has decided to take no further action on the Armenian genocide question: "I am very disappointed; the current decision by the entire cadre of ADL commissioners from across the U.S. makes the entire organization complicit in Turkey's genocide denial campaign."
Sunday 11/04 
=Read NYC blogger Hrag Vartanian's post on Thursday's spontaneous Rally in front of ADL headquarters in Manhattan. There are some good pictures and descriptions of signs. A video of the Rally will be available shortly courtesy of the New York Hyortik AYF.
=Also from the same blog, don't miss the words spoken by novelist Arthur Nersesian at the same Rally in NYC. From Hrag's introduction: "Arthur visited Poland this summer and writes about a surprising plaque of the Righteous Gentiles in a synagogue that remembered the 10 Armenians who risked it all to help Jews during the Holocaust." Here's a passage from Arthur's text: "Imagine, not just risking your life, but putting those you love on the line — to help a stranger. Those ten Armenians did not doubt there was a Holocaust when they risked their lives to save Jews. What I believe must have crossed their minds was the fact that they might have wished someone had taken a risk to save those they loved just twenty years earlier."
=Read about the Armenian Youth Federation of New York's candlelight vigil held on Monday October 29th at the same location, i.e., in front of the national headquarters of the Anti-Defamation League in NYC, which served as a prelude to the larger rally on Thursday.
=In an editorial dated 11/02, the Armenian Reporter, addressing Abraham Foxman's criticism of the New England Jewish-American community for supporting the recognition of the Armenian genocide, writes: "Jewish public intellectuals deserve the lion's share of the credit for making the world understand that the denial of evil – and particularly of genocide – is morally unforgivable and in practice leads to more evil. So how can Jewish-Americans become complicit in genocide denial? They cannot. Combined Jewish Philanthropies President Barry Shrage and Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston Executive Director Nancy K. Kaufman, who were singled out for attack by Mr. Foxman, understand this moral imperative. Mr. Foxman does not. The tactics and motives of those that deny the Holocaust are much the same for those that deny the Armenian Genocide. If Turkey can successfully impose its will on the U.S. and Israel via threats and intimidation, then that tactic can and will be used against both countries again and again. We cannot allow ourselves to be intimidated"
Saturday 11/03
=Boston Globe reporter Megan Woolhouse, who attended the ADL Commissioner's Meeting in New York on Nov 1-2, writes that "the national Anti-Defamation League yesterday refused to act on calls from within its own ranks to acknowledge unequivocally the Armenian genocide." Woolhouse reports that "about 200 ADL commissioners met behind closed doors for more than three hours at a Manhattan hotel to debate the matter during its annual convention. About 50 commissioners spoke on the issue." Woolhouse goes on to write that the New England commissioners "withdrew their resolution" after they accepted verbal assurances by national chairman Glen Lewy "that earlier statements were always intended to be an unequivocal acknowledgement of the Armenian genocide." James Rudolph, chairman of the ADL's regional board for New England, is reported to have said "that he would try to bring those communities [that broke from the NPFH program] back into the program."
=Raphael Kohan, editor of the Boston based Jewish Advocate has filed a story on the local Jewish leadership's response to Abe Foxman's infamous JTA interview published on Oct. 26. In that interview, "Foxman told the interviewer that he was “shocked, upset, frightened” that the Boston Jewish community had rallied so strongly against him, deciding to side with the local Armenian community rather than with the ADL." Foxman then criticized two prominent local leaders by stating "the last thing we need now is for Barry Shrage [of CJP] and Nancy Kaufman [of JCRC] to be fighting us.” Kohan explains that "Kaufman was the driving force on a petition signed by local groups that urged Foxman to recognize the Armenian massacres as genocide."
=“We have nothing to apologize for,” responds the deputy director of the JCRC in the same article: "we have never personally attacked Foxman. The fact that he personally attacked us is outrageous.” In the JTA interview, "Foxman attributed the Boston Jewish community’s diminished sense of self-preservation to the high instance of intermarriage and assimilation in the Boston area," reports Kohan. Barry Shrage of CJP responds by stating: “I am very proud of our community...[Foxman] was wrong to characterize the Boston Jewish community in the way he did.” Responding to Foxman's assertion "that area Jews no longer care about the fate of the Jewish state as much as they once did," Nancy Kaufman responds: “[Foxman] does not understand the Boston Jewish community at all. We are absolutely, unequivocally, passionately, and universally supportive of Israel. The Boston Jewish community should be outraged by his comments.”
Friday 11/02
= BREAKING NEWS: ADL NATIONAL MEETING TAKES NO FURTHER ACTION ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE, reported the Boston Globe: "The national Anti-Defamation League tonight rejected calls from within its own ranks to unequivocally acknowledge the Armenian genocide, after its top official insisted his remarks calling the World War I era massacre "tantamount to genocide'' were misinterpreted. In a statement issued tonight, the National Commission of the Anti-Defamation League said it had "decided to take no further action on the issue of the Armenian genocide.'' Massachusetts-based members of the ADL and local Armenian-Americans had urged the national group to acknowledge the genocide, after ADL head Abraham Foxman had described the deaths as "tantamount to genocide'' earlier this year." Read the full story.
=In an article titled "Local Members Put Pressure on ADL" that appeared in today's Globe, Keith O'Brien writes, "Local members of the Anti-Defamation League will push the organization's national leadership today to unequivocally acknowledge the Armenian genocide after months of controversy that has tarnished the image of the human rights organization in Massachusetts." He notes that "local leaders in the Jewish and Armenian-American communities agree that the regional ADL must succeed in persuading the national organization to take a clear stand on this issue when they meet today." However, "not everyone attending today's national commission agrees that the ADL should approve a wording change, much less Congressional acknowledgement of Armenian genocide. Foxman, who did not return calls, has said for weeks that the ADL has gone far enough on this issue, and other people attending today's meeting share his point of view."
=Writing about Israel's policy of denial of the Armenian genocide in the Jerusalem Post, Larry Derfner asks: "How long are Israel and its lobby in Washington going to go on living this ridiculous, transparent lie? How long are they going to hock the world about the Holocaust while acting as Turkey's number two accomplice, number one being the White House, in denying the Armenian genocide? Again, Congress has demonstrated it won't recognize that the Ottoman Empire, Turkey's predecessor, deliberately wiped out about 1.5 million Armenians in 1915-17. Again, the president of the United States has scared Congress off with a big assist from the Anti-Defamation League and other American Jewish "defense" organizations. "
=The same Jerusalem Post article makes the following argument about the safety of Turkish Jews: "A key Jewish argument for continuing this policy of denial is that breaking it would endanger the 20,000 or so Jews of Turkey, whose leaders have warned against crossing their government on this matter. But if Israel and its lobby in Washington really believe this, then they've as much as sentenced the 25,000 Jews in Iran to death, haven't they? Is anyone in the Israeli government or AIPAC suggesting that they lower the volume on Iran for the sake of Iranian Jewry? So the Turkish Jewish community isn't a real reason for denying the Armenian genocide, it's another excuse."
Thursday 11/01
=ANNOUNCEMENT: Tonight's Rally Set & Armenian Folk/Klezmer Band to Perform. The rally will take place at 605 Third Ave & 40th St. in NYC. There will be: 1) update about the NO PLACE FOR DENIAL effort, 2) information about why the ADL must support Armenian Genocide Recognition by the US, 3) prominent Jewish American voices from Boston and Jewcy who have been strong supporters of Armenian Genocide recognition, 4) poems read by prominent writers, including novelist Arthur Nersesian & curator Neery Melkonian, 5) and most importantly we got a music permit and we've invited an ARMENIAN FOLK & KLEZMER TRIO!!!!!! Click here for details. Facebook users can sign up here.
=ANNOUNCEMENT: Samvel, the trumpet player who will be playing at the Rally in NYC, is the person who authored and played the soulful tune that became the official anthem of the anti-Soviet marches in the late 80's!! It is his trumpet that kicked off the demos in Liberty Square!! He's also played in several NY-area klezmer bands. Come out and support this peaceful, colorful rally that will ask the ADL to STOP SUPPORTING TURKEY'S DENIAL OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE. Facebook event.
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UPDATES FOR NOVEMBER & DECEMBER, 2007
