At its National Meeting on November 2, 2007, the Anti Defamation League (ADL) failed to live up to the conditions set by the MMA by refusing to unambiguously acknowledge the Armenian Genocide and to end its active opposition to legislation affirming the Armenian Genocide.
Call on the MMA to end its sponsorship of the No Place for Hate program! Send an email to MMA Executive Director Geoff Beckwith today by clicking here.
And if you live in Belmont, Chesterfield, Franklin, Gloucester, Leominster, Needham, North Adams, Princeton, Somerville, Sudbury, Swampscott, Watertown, Leominster, Natick, Beverly, Lowell, New Bedford, etc...(see complete list below) reach out to your MMA representative (see contacts below) and urge him/her to do the same.
The Board of Directors of the MMA (see list below) is now considering this issue and members need to hear from residents. Last September the MMA sent a letter to the ADL calling on the ADL to unambiguously acknowledge the Armenian Genocide and to end its active opposition to legislation affirming the Armenian Genocide. The ADL instead opted to “take no further action on the issue of the Armenian Genocide.”
Recently, over 30 MA Armenian organizations sent an open letter to the MMA asking it to end its relationship with the ADL.
Please visit http://www.noplacefordenial.com/ for more information.
The MMA’s sponsorship of the No Place for Hate program was the overwhelming reason why so many Massachusetts towns and cities adopted this program. Now, with the ADL’s position on the Armenian Genocide clear, the MMA has no other choice but to rescind its sponsorship of the ADL’s No Place for Hate program.
If you are a resident of one of the towns listed below, we urge you to also contact your Representative on the MMA Board and ask him/her to ensure that the MMA severs its ties to the ADL.
If you are not a resident of one of these towns, contact any member of the MMA Board with the same demands.
Every town and city in Massachusetts is a member of MMA and your voice will be heard.
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SAMPLE LETTER – Please customize this letter using your own words and information about your community to make it more effective
Letters should be sent to:
Geoff Beckwith, Executive Director
Massachusetts Municipal Association
One Winthrop Square
Boston MA 02110
617-426-7272 ext. 101
info@mma.org
Dear Mr. Beckwith,
I am writing in regards to the Massachusetts Municipal Association’s September letter to the Anti Defamation League (ADL) calling on the ADL to unambiguously acknowledge the Armenian Genocide and to end its active opposition to legislation affirming the Armenian Genocide.
In light of the November 2 decision of the ADL to “to take no further action” regarding its policy on the Armenian Genocide, hence failing to meet the MMA’s conditions, I am asking that the MMA now fulfill its pledge and rescind its sponsorship of the No Place for Hate program.
Unfortunately, at its National Commissioners meeting in November, the ADL made clear that it was not in fact the human rights organization that so many of us had hoped, but rather a political advocacy group which should not be allowed to sponsor tolerance education programs in our communities.
The commonwealth of Massachusetts cannot in good conscience continue a relationship with an organization that claims to stand for full accountability for genocide, yet actively lobbies to thwart a Congressional resolution acknowledging the Armenian genocide.
While the work of the NPFH program should be applauded, their credibility has been compromised by the policies of the ADL which has failed to live up to the standards not only of its own mission to “secure justice and fair treatment for all citizens alike” but also of a human rights organization by its position on the Armenian Genocide.
I respectfully ask that the MMA sever its ties with the ADL and the No Place for Hate program due to the ADL’s refusal to unambiguously acknowledge the Armenian Genocide and continued active opposition to US recognition of the Genocide.
Thank you.
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Members of the MMA Board of Directors
(* denotes Executive Committee member)
MMA President
Bruce Tobey*
Councillor, Gloucester
btobey@ci.gloucester.ma.us
MMA Vice President
Jeffrey Nutting*
Town Administrator, Franklin
jnutting@franklin.ma.us
508-520-4949
MMA Executive Director
Geoff Beckwith*
One Winthrop Square
Boston, MA 02110
info@mma.org
617-426-7272 ext. 101
Joseph Curtatone*
Mayor, Somerville
617-625-6600 ext. 2100
mayor@ci.somerville.ma.us
John Barrett III*
Mayor, North Adams
413-662-3000
mayor_barrett@northadams-ma.gov
Claire Freda*
Councillor, Leominster
978-537-0120
cfreda@leominster-ma.gov
Jonathan Hecht*
Councillor, Watertown
159 Russell Avenue
Watertown, MA 02472
jhecht@ci.watertown.ma.us
617-924-1490
Maureen Valente*
Town Manager, Sudbury
978-443-8891 ext.385
valentem@town.sudbury.ma.us
Kate Fitzpatrick*
Town Manager, Needham
1471 Highland Avenue
Needham, MA 02492
Phone: (781) 455-7512
kfitzpatrick@town.needham.ma.us
Gerald Wasserman*
Selectman, Needham
1471 Highland Avenue
Needham, MA 02492
781-444-3771
Alan Sentkowski*
Selectman, Princeton
14 Goodnow Road
Princeton, MA 01541
978-464-2100
Cinder McNerney*
Finance Committee, Swampscott
22 Monument Avenue
Swampscott, MA 01907
781-596-8850
Pat Brusch*
Finance Committee, Belmont
455 Concord Ave.,
Belmont, MA 02478
617-993-2600
patbrusch@aol.com
David Kielson*
Select Board, Chesterfield
237 Ireland Street
West Chesterfield, MA 01084
413-296-4327
Wayne Nickel
Councillor, Leominster
182 Fifth Street
Phone: (978) 537-4686
wnickel@leominster-ma.gov
Joshua Ostroff
Selectman, Natick
Town Hall
13 East Central St.
Natick, MA 01760
508 655-8155
joshua@ostroff.net
William Scanlon
Mayor, Beverly
191 Cabot Street
Beverly , MA 01915
978-921-6000 Ext 2333
mayor@beverlyma.gov
Bernard Lynch
City manager, Lowell
(978) 970-4000, phone
(978) 970-4007, fax
citymanager@lowellma.gov
Robin Wilkins
Selectman, Harwich
Town Hall
732 Main Street
Harwich, MA 02645
Phone: (508) 430-7513
Fax: (508) 432-5039
Scott Lang
Mayor, New Bedford
Phone: (508) 979-1410
Fax: (508) 991-6189
Scott.Lang@newbedford-ma.gov
Colleen Corona
Selectman, Easton
Phone: (508) 230-0501
colleencorona@comcast.net
James Malloy
Town Adminitrator, Sturbridge
308 Main Street
Sturbridge, MA 01566
Phone: (508) 347-2500
Fax: (508) 347-5886
jmalloy@town.sturbridge.ma.us
Robert Logan
Councillor, Waltham
109 Taylor Street
Waltham, MA 02453
Phone: 781 893 3572
councilw9@city.waltham.ma.us
Thomas Menino
Mayor, Boston
One City Hall Plaza
Boston, MA 02201
Phone: 617.635.4500
Fax: 617.635.2851
mayor@cityofboston.gov
William Zaskey
Alderman, Chicopee
City Hall
17 Springfield Street
Chicopee, MA 01013
bzaskey@chicopeema.gov
Michael Sullivan
Mayor, Holyoke
City Hall
Holyoke, MA 01040
Phone: 413 322 5510
sullivam@ci.holyoke.ma.us
David Nixon
Town administrator, Hadley
100 Middle Street
Hadley, MA 01035
Phone: (413) 586-0221
Fax: (413) 586-5661
admin@hadleyma.org
David Cohen
Mayor, Newton
1000 Commonwealth Avenue
Newton, MA 02460
Phone: 617 796 1100
dcohen@newtonma.gov
Douglas Gutro
Councillor, Quincy
230 Marlboro Street
Quincy, MA 02170
(617) 376-1355
dgutro@ci.quincy.ma.us
Michael McGlynn
Mayor, Medford
85 George P. Hassett Drive, Room 202
Medford, MA 02155
Phone: (781) 393-2408
Alternate Phone: (781) 393-2409
mayor@medford.org
Thomas Younger
Town administrator, Belmont
Belmont Town Offices
455 Concord Avenue
Belmont, MA 02478
617-993-2610
tyounger@town.belmont.ma.us
Robert Penta
Councillor, Medford
Zero Summitt Road
Medford, MA 02155
Phone: (781)391-0809
rpenta@hotmail.com
Sheila Vanderhoef
Town administrator, Eastham
2500 State Highway
Eastham, MA 02642-2544
Phone: (508) 240-5900 x207
Fax: (508) 240-1291
svanderhoef@eastham-ma.gov
Source: http://www.mma.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=592&Itemid=238
ACTION ALERT: CALL ON THE MASSACHUSETTS MUNICIPAL ASSOCIATION (MMA) TO END ITS ASSOCIATION WITH THE ADL!!
