Human rights for all, not just some
This letter is in response to Sherman Grossman’s letter to the editor of Nov. 22, in which he allegedly accuses Armenian-Americans of anti-Semitism. I can assure you this is about exposing hypocrisy of a human rights organization, the Anti-Defamation League, and seeking truth on an issue. It is about fair treatment.
Many Jewish genocide scholars and individuals have supported Armenian-Americans on this issue; therefore, this is not an issue of anti-Semitism. A human rights organization should strive for human rights for all, not just those they choose. You are being bullied and threatened by the Turkish government if you believe they will injure Jews in Turkey. Remember, Turkey is trying to gain entrance to the European Union, and I’m positive they would not want to hurt their world image by tangling with Israel or Jews in Turkey.
Since Needham’s Human Rights Committee sent a letter of inquiry to the ADL, they should have responded in writing to the Human Rights Committee. We now have nothing written. Verbally, anything can be said.
This is about genocide denial, and other labels should not be attached.
Dorothy Esperian
Great Plain Avenue
Break ties with genocide-deniers
Although no one called the slaughter of Armenians as genocide because the word was not coined until 20 years later, the word “holocaust” has been widely used since the 17th century. Before World War II, the word “holocaust” was used by Winston Churchill and others to describe the Armenian Genocide.
Raphael Lemkin, a lawyer of Polish-Jewish descent, created the word “genocide” to describe what had happened to the Armenians. Lemkin explained that the Turks committed genocide with intent to annihilate.
The Anti-Defamation League’s recent alleged acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide, describing it as “consequence” of WWI, and “tantamount to genocide,” imply that Turkey did not intend to kill Armenians. The ADL knowingly contravened the UN’s official 1948 definition of genocide, which uses the word “intent” not “consequence.”
The world doesn’t take seriously what American Jewish leaders have to say about the 6 million, not when it sees that same Jewish leaders lobby the U.S. Congress against genocide affirmation, and quiet everyone over the murders of 1.5 million other innocents.
Rabbi Hillel said it best: “If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, then what am I? And if not now, when?”
Is the town of Needham Human Rights Committee remain associated with the genocide-denier ADL? If so, it is time to suspend ties and send a strong message that hate crimes are not tolerated.
Berge Jololian
Cambridge
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Needham Times: Letters to the Editor Published on December 5
Glendale ANC Efforts Prompt GUSD to Postpone ADL Seminar at Hoover
December 4, 2007
ANC-Glendale
GLENDALE--In the wake of an outpouring of community concerns and a formal protest by the Armenian National Committee - Glendale Chapter, the Glendale Unified School District announced yesterday that a three-day seminar that was to be conducted by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) at Herbert Hoover High has been postponed due to the sponsor's opposition to Congressional legislation recognizing the Armenian Genocide.
“The Armenian National Committee's Glendale Chapter welcomes 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,” said ANC-Glendale Chapter Executive Director, Elen Asatryan.
The seminar, which was to be on the topic of "A World of Difference," is billed as an education and diversity training resource program that seeks to help participants explore prejudice and bigotry, examine diverse viewpoints, and combat racism.
Upon learning of the seminar from concerned parents, ANC-Glendale Chapter contacted the GUSD board members and district officials to voice concerns about the mixed message that an ADL program would send students about tolerance, and diversity, and human rights. After investigating the issue, GUSD postponed the scheduled seminar.
The ADL has been embroiled in a national controversy over its vocal opposition to the Armenian Genocide resolution in the United States Congress. ADL National Director Abraham Foxman has publicly labeled the Armenian Genocide resolution as "counterproductive" and has followed Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan in calling for joint commissions to be established regarding the genocide. In response, numerous New England towns have disassociated themselves from the ADL's “No Place for Hate” (NPFH) program, citing the fact that the ADL cannot, on the one hand, stand for human rights, and, on the other, defend the genocide denial campaign of the Turkish government.
“It's unfortunate that an organization that professes tolerance and truth won't support the truth and facts of the Armenian Genocide. They are hiding behind Turkish denials and its my hope that they would support not only this [Armenian Genocide] resolution, but support the true recognition of the Armenian Genocide” noted GUSD Board President, Greg Krikorian. “Once this happens, we'd be more than happy to welcome them to our district, where they can help educate our students on tolerance and working together as a community, but it troubles me that an organization can't be true to themselves,” added Krikorian.
The Armenian National Committee - Glendale Chapter advocates for the social, economic, cultural, and political rights of the city's Armenian American community and promotes increased Armenian American civic participation at the grassroots and public policy levels. It is the voice of this vibrant community, which seeks to advance and enrich Glendale.
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LA Community Protests ADL National Director's Genocide Denial
December 3, 2007
Asbarez
BEVERYLY HILLS--In response to an event hosted by the Anti-Defamation League in Beverly Hills, the Armenian Youth Federation-Western Region and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Shant Student Association joined Jewcy Media Saturday evening in protesting ADL National Director Abraham Foxman for his continued Armenian Genocide denial.
For many years, the ADL, working on behalf of the Turkish government, has refused to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide and even lobbied on behalf of the Government of Turkey to prevent American governmental legislation affirming the Armenian Genocide.
Protesters held signs calling out Foxman and in statements read to the public, urged the ADL to return to its core humanitarian values in which the organization professes. Those attending the ADL event saw the protesters and signs as they entered the hotel. Several passersby asked about the protest and voiced their disagreement with Foxman.
Braving the bitter cold evening to join the protesters was Ghazaros Kademian, a 100-year-old survivor of the Armenian Genocide. In a statement read by his family, he spoke about his family's loss during the genocide and called on the US Government to swiftly adopt H.Res.106, the Armenian Genocide resolution.
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 and the dismay Foxman's genocide denial is causing within the community. Jewcy Media is an online, progressive Jewish community magazine and forum.
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.
This year, under pressure from the New England community, the ADL issued a highly ambiguous statement regarding the Armenian genocide. It stated that the "consequences" of events in Turkey were "tantamount to genocide." This duplicitous statement sidestepped the legal definition of genocide by avoiding any language that would imply intent, a critical part of the 1948 UN Genocide treaty.
In the same statement, the ADL reiterated its opposition to H.Res.106, calling it "a counterproductive diversion." The ADL then apologized to the Prime Minister of Turkey for having put his government "in a difficult position," expressing its "sorrow over what we have caused for the leadership and people of Turkey." No apology has been offered to date to Armenian Genocide survivors and their heirs.
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Public Forum at Boston University: Genocide and Denial: A Perspective on the Jewish and Armenian Cases
Genocide and Denial: A Perspective on the Jewish and Armenian Cases
Wednesday, December 5, 2007, 7:00 PM
Boston University
Kenmore Classroom Building, room 101
565 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA map
Blandford Street Stop on the B line
Parking along Commonwealth Avenue/Parking lots
Dr. Deborah Dwork
Rose Professor of Holocaust History Director, Strassler Family Center for Holocaust and Genocide
Studies, Department of History, Clark University
Topic: The Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust
Dr. Simon Payaslian
Kensoian Chair of Armenian Studies
Associate Professor, Department of History, Boston University
Topic: The Political Economy of Genocide Denial
Dr. Henry Theriault
Coordinator, Center for the Study of Human Rights
Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, Worcester State College
Topic: Beyond Truth and Falsity: the Deep Trajectories of Denial
Free and open to the public
Contact: asa@bu.edu, 201-410-6552
Sponsored by Boston University Armenian Students Association
A forum entitled Genocide and Denial: A Perspective on the Jewish and Armenian Cases will be held at Boston University per organization of the Boston University Armenian Students Association on December 5, 2007. The forum panel will consist of Dr. Deborah Dwork, Rose Professor of Holocaust History and Director of the Strassler Family Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Clark University, Dr. Simon Payaslian, Kenosian Chair of Armenian Studies at Boston University, and Dr. Henry Theriault, Associate Professor of Philosophy and coordinator of the Center for the Study of Human Rights at Worcester State College. 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.
Admission to the event is free. The forum will be held at room 101 of the Kenmore Classroom Building [565 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston]. Parking is available along Commonwealth Avenue or at parking lots in the area. The lecture will begin promptly at 7:00 p.m.
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Needham Times: Letter to the Editor Published on November 28
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
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11/26 Jerusalem Report: ADL and the Turks
The Jerusalem Report
November 26, 2007
ADL and the Turks
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 - living amidst 70 million Muslims - who are protected by their government but menaced by extremists.
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.
ADL National Director Abraham Foxman fired his Boston director for saying it was genocide. When Boston ADL leaders rebelled, Foxman panicked and - without research - reversed decades of ADL policy by saying it was "tantamount to genocide." Foxman's explanation that he was preserving "Jewish unity" is maladroit because he acted against interests of Israel and Turkish Jews. Jak Kamhi, leader of Turkish Jews (whom Foxman did not consult despite promising for years to protect them), wrote, "ADL has put at risk our community and the important multilateral relationship between Turkey, Israel and the U.S."
Foxman did say the ADL would oppose the genocide resolution in Congress. But his volte-face strengthened its proponents; if there was genocide, why not proclaim it? The ADL failed to comprehend three key factors: 1. Turks view the campaign as branding them a nation of criminals. It is as if a parliament condemned Israel as genocidal because of Deir Yassin. Turkey's government, pressured by nationalists, could not fail to act against U.S. strategic interests (e.g., supply of troops in Iraq) if the resolution passed. 2. ADL's abrupt reversal precipitated accusations that Jews were conspiring to defame Turkey. Of course, anti-Semitism is to be condemned (Turkey's government should have done more), but Foxman clumsily gave ammunition to those inclined to blame Jews. 3. Armenian activists, who seek to shatter U.S.-Turkish ties, cannot be placated. The ADL remains under fierce attack from Armenians for opposing the resolution.
Other organizations successfully navigated this minefield. JINSA and B'nai B'rith International opposed stigmatizing Turkey as contrary to U.S. interests. The American Jewish Committee revised its position in a thoughtful blog that did not attract brickbats.
A genocide resolution in a prior Congress was halted by a phone call from Shimon Peres to President Clinton. This time, the resolution was shelved when congressmen belatedly realized it portended disaster for the United States. The ADL's actions diminished the importance of the Jewish community as allies of Turkey.
Joel J. Sprayregen Chicago
(The writer is former National Vice Chair of ADL and a member of the Executive Committee of JINSA, the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs.)
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Lexington Minuteman: Letters to the Editor Published on November 22, 2007
A missed opportunity
I was extremely disappointed to hear that at its National Meeting, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) decided to take no further action on the issue of the Armenian genocide. This means that the ADL as a whole and not only its national director believe that it is acceptable for a human rights organization to help Turkey’s genocide denial campaign by opposing U.S. recognition of the Armenian genocide.
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.
Jirayr Beugekian
Emerson Gardens Road
ADL agenda confirmed
On Nov. 2, the National Commission of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) announced that it had “decided to take no further action on the issue of the Armenian genocide.” On Nov. 3, the Boston Globe reported that Massachusetts ADL representatives were satisfied with the outcome, as they were assured that the group’s earlier statements were “always intended to be an unequivocal acknowledgement of the Armenian genocide.”
No change in the Anti-Defamation League’s stance on the Armenian genocide means no change in the organization’s policy to oppose congressional affirmation of this crime against humanity. In fact, since the latest controversy in Massachusetts, various ADL representatives have met with Turkish government officials to assure them of the organization’s staunch support for their campaign against recognition of the genocide by the U.S. Congress. On Sept. 26, Abraham Foxman, the ADL’s national director, participated in a meeting honoring Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan in which the latter openly engaged in denialist rhetoric.
It is no secret that the Anti-Defamation League has long been working on behalf of the Turkish government to undermine efforts to secure congressional affirmation of the Armenian genocide. As such, it has become a human rights organization that offers its services to a foreign government engaging in genocide denial. 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.
The Anti-Defamation League is supposed to be a human rights organization. It has chosen to continue to act as an agent of the Turkish government’s campaign of genocide denial. It follows that it 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.
Lilian Mahrokhian M.D.
Marrett Road
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Several More Massachusetts Communities Withdraw from No Place for Hate Program
ADL national condemned for failing to unequivocally acknowledge the Armenian Genocide and for its opposition to US recognition
ANCEM Press Release
November 21, 2007
WATERTOWN, MASS -- Bedford, Massachusetts this week became the second municipality in two weeks to end ties with the Anti Defamation League (ADL) following the decision of the ADL’s meeting of its national commissioners to “take no further action on the issue of the Armenian Genocide,” reported the Armenian National Committee of Eastern Massachusetts.
Bedford joined the city of Medford, which also decided to end ties with the ADL’s No Place for Hate (NPFH) program because of the ADL’s policy on the Armenian Genocide. Also this month Needham and Newburyport took steps toward ending their communities’ ties with the ADL.
Over the past few months, other Massachusetts towns including Watertown, Newton, Westwood, Belmont, Arlington, and Lexington have withdrawn from the ADL’ s NPFH program, due to the ADL’s policy on the Armenian Genocide.
The ADL held its national commissioners’ meeting on November 2 at which time the ADL was expected to formally evaluate its policy on the Armenian Genocide.
In a one-sentence press statement dated November 2, the ADL announced that it “decided to take no further action on the issue of the Armenian genocide.”
Armenian American organizations were not satisfied
“Municipalities were left with no choice,” stated Sharistan Melkonian of the Armenian National Committee. “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.”
Herman Purutyan, Massachusetts chair of the Armenian Assembly agreed. "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. Instead, they missed this opportunity and chose to take no action on Armenian Genocide recognition during their annual meeting,” stated Purutyan. “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 No Place for Denial team went one step further with its criticism. “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,” stated Sevag Arzoumanian. “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: aiding and abetting the government of Turkey to diminish and deny the Armenian Genocide in the United States.”
On November 19, the Bedford Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to suspend the town's participation in the ADL-sponsored NPFH 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 acted on the recommendation of Bedford 's Violence Prevention Coalition (VPC), which met the previous week and issued a statement recommending suspending the town's participation in the NPFH program because of the ADL's position on the Armenian Genocide.
According to the VPC statement, “The stance of the ADL regarding the Armenian Genocide is contrary to the mission of the VPC. We expect the ADL to unambiguously acknowledge the Armenian Genocide and endorse the Resolution regarding it now before Congress.”
In a letter urging the Selectmen to follow through with the VPC’s decision, representatives of the Bedford Armenian community stated, “The ADL decided to maintain its long-standing policy regarding the Armenian Genocide, which was discussed at its national meeting held November 2, 2007. As such, it remains the policy of the ADL to refrain from unequivocal acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide and separately to engage in lobbying efforts to prevent symbolic recognition of this by the United States Government.”
The letter continued, “In view of this defining moment for the organization with its final decision on this critical human rights matter, it is clear that the ADL does not have the moral authority to sponsor any kind of tolerance and diversity program… None benefit when the sponsor of a town program discriminates against a segment of the town’s population, denying its historical truths and seeking to prevent recognition of this.”
Less than one week before the Bedford decision, the Medford City Council voted to suspend the city’s membership to the NPFH program citing the ADL’s failure to support national recognition of the Armenian genocide. In light of this decision, the Medford Human Rights Committee this week removed NPFH signs across the city.
On November 14, the Needham Human Rights Commission (HRC) voted to recommend that the town’s Board of Selectmen suspend its involvement in the NPFH program. At the Needham HRC meeting, two representatives from the regional ADL spoke about the results of the organization’s national commissioners’ meeting. The Needham decision came approximately a month and a half after the HRC sent a letter to the ADL asking the organization to unequivocally recognize the Armenian Genocide and back Congressional legislation doing the same.
In September Needham’s HRC sent a letter to the ADL declaring that the HRC was surprised and disappointed “that the national board of the ADL has not stood with the Armenians as they seek justice and fair treatment.”
The letter further called on the ADL national to “acknowledge the Armenian genocide as a genocide, not 'tantamount to genocide'; support the resolution before Congress which officially recognizes the Armenian genocide; and to make these policy changes promptly.”
The HRC and others had hoped the ADL would change its policy at its November 2 meeting.
Also on November 14, the Newton Human Rights Commission--which two months prior had voted to "cease participation in the ADL sponsored NPFH program" unless the ADL came to the right side of the issue at their November meeting-- resolved to take "no further action" or have any further discussion of the issue. The commissioners simply stated that "the HRC and the City of Newton stand firm on their prior decision.”
Just one day before the Needham and Newton action on November 13, the Arlington No Place for Hate steering committee voted to permanently end its relationship with the ADL. Earlier this fall Arlington’s NPFH program had suspended its association with the ADL because the ADL has failed to recognize unambiguously the Armenian Genocide and has opposed efforts in Congress to do so. The decision was endorsed by the town’s Human Rights Commission and its Board of Selectmen, in hopes that the ADL would change its policy at its November meeting.
Earlier this month Newburyport’s Commission for Diversity and Tolerance also voted to sever ties with the ADL’s NPFH program.
“If the ADL didn’t purport to be a human rights organization whose mission is ‘to secure justice and fair treatment to all citizens alike,’ they would be considered like any other advocacy organization,” stated Melkonian. “But they claim to be a human rights organization and as such, have come into our towns, our schools. They teach our children. We all expect more from human rights organizations. We expected more from the ADL.”
Background
The ADL has for many years refused to acknowledge that the systematic massacre of 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1923 was genocide. To make matters worse, the ADL has actively engaged in efforts to oppose Congressional affirmation of the Armenian Genocide.
Only after intense pressure which started in Watertown, Massachusetts earlier this summer did the national ADL issue a “Statement on the Armenian Genocide” on August 21, 2007.
Referring to the events of 1915-1918, the statement declared, “The consequences of those actions were indeed tantamount to genocide.” Aside from the fact that the Armenian Genocide began in 1915 and continued through 1923, the statement was not a full, unequivocal acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide.
Not only was the qualifier “tantamount” inappropriate, but the use of the word “consequences” was seen by many as an attempt to circumvent the international legal definition of genocide by avoiding any language that would imply intent, a crucial aspect of the 1948 UN Genocide Convention definition.
The ADL convened its national meeting in New York City in early November at which time the issue of the Armenian Genocide was discussed.
Upon conclusion, a one sentence press statement was issued that “The National Commission of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today, at its annual meeting, decided to take no further action on the issue of the Armenian genocide.”
Recent Efforts by the Armenian American Community Toward an ADL policy Change
In October the Armenian National Committee of Massachusetts and the Armenian Assembly of Massachusetts sent a joint letter and information packet through the New England ADL to the ADL commissioner’s meeting.
The letter contained three specific demands. “We ask that the ADL remain true to its mission and 1) fully and unequivocally acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, 2) refrain from advocating for Turkish calls for a “historical commission,” and 3) express support for U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide.”
In addition, the national office of ANCA sent a letter to the ADL officially endorsing the contents of the Massachusetts community letter. “I am writing, as you prepare for your national meeting, to go on the record formally requesting that the national leadership of the Anti-Defamation League clearly recognize the Armenian Genocide and openly support proper U.S. recognition of this crime against humanity…,” stated Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. “We share the points raised and concerns expressed by our Massachusetts chapter, along with our friends in the Armenian Assembly’s Massachusetts chapter, in their letter, and join with them in respectfully requesting an apology from Abraham Foxman for his longstanding denial of the Armenian Genocide.”
A strongly worded letter addressed to Mr. Foxman was also sent by Archbishop Khajag Barsamian on behalf of the Diocese of the Armenian Church. “While the ADL’s position on the recognition of the genocide has become clearer, I urge you and your colleagues to take the next, necessary step and make unequivocally clear the condemnation of the Armenian Genocide… To acknowledge the Armenian Genocide only to speak against resolutions condemning it sets a terrible, moral precedent. Recognition leads to condemnation and without that, there can be no steps towards prevention… I urge you and all members of the ADL leadership, to join in removing all objections to the condemnation of any and every genocide and crime against humanity.”
These letters and the “Informational Packet” which accompanied the ANC/Assembly letter can be accessed at: http://adlandag.blogspot.com/
For complete information about the ADL controversy surrounding the Armenian Genocide visit http://www.noplacefordenial.com/
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Letter from Bedford Violence Prevention Coalition to Bedford Selectmen Regarding Bedford’s Participation in “No Place For Hate” Program
Violence Prevention Coalition
Town of Bedford
Bedford Massachusetts 01730
November 14, 2007
TO: Bedford Selectmen
FROM: The Violence Prevention Coalition
DATE: November 6, 2007
RE: Bedford’s Participation in “No Place For Hate” program
Dear Selectmen:
As you will recall, after our meeting September 4, 2007 we sent you a letter saying that we were taking a serious look at Bedford’s participation in the ADL’s “No Place For Hate” program. We told you we were awaiting a decision by the ADL regarding the position they had taken on the Armenian Genocide resolution before Congress. We submitted this statement to you at that time:
“The stance of the ADL regarding the Armenian Genocide is contrary to the mission of the VPC. We expect the ADL to unambiguously acknowledge the Armenian Genocide and endorse the Resolution regarding it now before Congress. Unless the ADL does so, we would recommend that Bedford suspend participation in No Place for Hate.”
After their meeting in early November, the ADL posted the following notice on their website:
“ADL National Commission Decides To Take No Further Action on Armenian Genocide Issue
“New York, NY, November 2, 2007 … The National Commission of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today, at its annual meeting, decided to take no further action on the issue of the Armenian genocide.”
Clearly we were hoping for a different response from the National ADL. We believe that their position on this issue is in conflict with the basic values of the ADL’s own mission statement which reads,
"The immediate object of the League is to stop, by appeals to reason and conscience and, if necessary, by appeals to law, the defamation of the Jewish people. Its ultimate purpose is to secure justice and fair treatment to all citizens alike and to put an end forever to unjust and unfair discrimination against and ridicule of any sect or body of citizens."
ADL Charter
October 1913
After due and thoughtful consideration, the Violence Prevention Coalition now recommends that Bedford suspend its participation in the ADL program. We believe that the ADL’s position has undermined its own program. We believe that organizations and communities cannot pick and choose when to be “No Place for Hate” and when not to be. We see this as an opportunity to demonstrate a non-violent response to an action that we find in conflict with our values.
We have chosen the word “suspend” carefully; we want to leave open the door for hope that we might be able to reverse this decision at some future time. By suspend we mean that we will not at this time post the signs and symbols of the No Place for Hate program nor will we accept program money or be an active participant in that program.
The Violence Prevention Coalition was established in 1997. We were first designated a “No Place for Hate” community in 2002. We served Bedford with programs before that designation and we will continue to do this work. We are committed to our mission that reads, “We believe that all forms of violence are unacceptable and that community life requires nonviolent resolution of conflict.” We will continue to focus on our goal “of being proactive in stemming the tide of violence through education, resource identification, referral networking, and direct assistance, where appropriate, and in general creating an atmosphere for peaceful resolution of conflict.”
Respectfully,
The Violence Prevention Coalition
Jim Hicks, Bedford Police
Cathy Cordes, Bedford Selectman
Carolyn Bottum, Bedford Council on Aging
Sue Baldauf, Bedford Youth and Family Services
Linda Christen, First Church/Bedford High School Parents Association
Schwanna Collins, Hansom Air Force Base
Lois Pulliam, Human Relations Council
Carolyn Colonero, Congregational Church, Councilor-at-large
Frank Fornaro, St. Paul's Episcopal Church
John Gibbons and Maud Robinson, First Parish Unitarian Universalist
Nancy Asbedian, Network for Women’s Lives
Renee Anderson, John Glenn Middle SchoolJacquelin Apsler Domestic Violence Services/DVVAP
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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
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Holocaust Education Week Presents Nazi Germany, Armenians and Jews
International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies
(A Division of the Zoryan Institute)
November 16, 2007
Toronto, Canada—It was an eye-opening experience for the people of Temple Har Zion and the Armenian Community Centre to learn that there are so many links between the Armenian Genocide and the Jewish Holocaust, as presented in a lecture by Prof. Eric D. Weitz, Distinguished McKnight University Professor of History and Arsham and Charlotte Ohanessian Chair in the College of Liberal Arts, where he is also Chair of the History Department.
Len Rudner, National Director of Community Relations for the Canadian Jewish Congress, noted in his introductory remarks, “This is the 27th year of Holocaust Education Week, an event sponsored by the UJ Federation’s Holocaust Education Centre of Toronto. It is one of the most comprehensive Holocaust education programs in the world. Our goal is to educate people of all ages, ethnic backgrounds and religions about the Holocaust and the extreme dangers of religious and racial intolerance.” In that spirit, the lecture was organized by the International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (A Division of the Zoryan Institute), with the participation of the Armenian Community Centre the Armenian General Benevolent Union of Toronto, and the Canadian Jewish Congress-Ontario Region.
Prof. Weitz began his lecture by discussing Raphael Lemkin, who coined the word “genocide.” Lemkin, who was deeply influenced by his study of both the Armenian Genocide and the Jewish Holocaust, devoted his life to creating international law for the prevention and punishment of genocide, adopted as the United Nations Genocide Convention in 1948. In his autobiography, Lemkin expressed disappointment and concern that the perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide had not been punished by the Allied Powers. Some of the other points Weitz discussed are presented below.
- Contrary to orders, German Army medic Armin T. Wegner, took many pictures of the
Armenian Genocide, some of which have survived and become iconic representations of this terrible crime against humanity. Wegner was the same German humanitarian who, in 1933, dared write a personal letter to Adolf Hitler protesting Nazi Germany’s treatment of the Jews. That act resulted in his own persecution by the Nazis and his exile from Germany. - The use of technology to facilitate the destruction of the Armenians and Jews was used by both the Young Turks and the Nazis. For example, the trains to deport Jews efficiently to the concentration camps have become a widely recognized symbol of the Holocaust. Similarly, the Ottomans used trains to move large numbers of Armenians to eastern Turkey where they were subsequently marched to the desert of Der Zor and their ultimate death.
- Germany’s foreign policy, as the military and political ally of the Ottoman Empire during
World War I, was interested in seeing that empire succeed in its war aims so that Germany itself could expand its influence eastwards into the region. Accordingly, when German consular officials in the Ottoman Empire continually wrote to Berlin protesting the Turkish annihilation of the Armenians, the German government by and large chose to ignore it. This is the same policy followed during World War II in its expansion eastward into Poland and beyond. - German officers served with Turkish commanders as military advisors. They observed the Armenian Genocide first-hand, some were actively involved, and some went on to become Nazi supporters.
- The cold, impersonal reporting by some German officials in the Ottoman Empire as they described the extermination of the Armenians was echoed in the reports by Nazi bureaucrats regarding the number of Jews exterminated in the eastern front.
- The absence of punishment for the perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide by the Allied Powers gave confidence to Hitler to declare in August 1939, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians,” while justifying to his generals his plan to kill, oppress, and brutalize the Poles, and to conclude that he could get away with exterminating the Jews and committing other crimes against humanity.
- The radical nature of both political parties—the CUP in the case of the Turks and the Nazis in the case of the Germans—took control of the government and succeeded in mobilizing significant sectors of society to be involved in the mass killing, or at least condone it.
Giving a positive example of similarities, Prof. Weitz mentioned that there were many cases of gentiles who saved Jews, as were there Turks who also saved Armenians.
Not being familiar with the connections between the two cases of genocide, and empowered by Prof. Weitz’s historical information and analysis, the audience raised numerous earnest questions about the linkages and particularly the relation of geo-politics to denial. It was pointed out by one audience member that the recent denial of the Holocaust by the President of Iran and the recent support for Turkey’s denial of the Armenian Genocide by the President of Israel caused a great outcry around the world, because of the pain both those denials caused survivors of the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide and their descendants.
“This was a timely collaboration between Jewish and Armenian organizations,” said another member of the audience, referring to the recent controversy surrounding the Anti-Defamation League in the United States, which publicly opposed official American recognition of the Armenian Genocide, House Resolution 106, and the recent complicity in that effort by top officials in Israel and the United States.
Prof. Weitz closed his lectures by stating that genocide is not only a political decision but a personal choice, not an accident. He stated that the “Holocaust and Armenian Genocide are too important to be left just to the Armenians and Turks or the Jews and Germans, as the common history and lessons they contain should be used to help ensure that no community has to suffer in the future what they did in the past.”
George Shirinian, IIGHRS Executive Director, stated his “firm belief in the solidarity of Armenians and Jews, as well as other national groups who have endured the overwhelming trauma of genocide, as these are inter-related and part of a continuum of human tragedy. We have much to teach the world, and we have much to learn from one another.”
The International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (A Division of the Zoryan Institute) is dedicated to the study and dissemination of knowledge regarding the phenomenon of genocide in all of its aspects. This is achieved through the annual Genocide and Human Rights University Program, public lectures, seminars and publication of Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal in partnership with the International Association of Genocide Scholars and the University of Toronto Press.
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11/08 Boston Globe: Letters to the Editor
It's simple, ADL: It's either justice for all, or else it's not
Advocating severing ties with the Anti-Defamation League is emotional rhetoric expressing anti-injustice and not anti-Semitism.
In reading the article "Hard to forget: Debate over ADL stance unleashes painful memories" (Globe NorthWest, Nov. 1), I felt sorry that anyone is left with the latter impression.
Any organization that supports universal concepts but for political reasons practices selectivity cannot help but be suspect and have the intent of its programs questioned.
ADL appears to have a distinct bias that speaks against the very program it is advocating. What I believe many Armenian groups and Jewish groups are saying is that either one believes in justice for all, or one doesn't believe in justice for all.
To put on a universal hat and preach selectivity can be construed as promoting injustice; at the least it is dishonest and misleading.
ANN HABLANIAN
Watertown
In dumping No Place for Hate, a rush to judgment
Congratulations to you and your reporter, Penny Schwartz, on the sensitively reported article "Hard to Forget: Debate over ADL stance unleashes painful memories" (Globe NorthWest, Nov. 1).
According to the story, one of your interviewees claims that we are all better for having to face the question of the ADL's position on the Armenian genocide.
I would have agreed several months ago. But since then, communities have destroyed their No Place for Hate programs despite the national ADL's change in policy and decision to take up the matter at its November meeting.
The ADL's prior stand on the Armenian genocide came not from a hatred of Armenians, but from a concern for the welfare of Jewish people living in Israel and Turkey. It is distressing that many activists refused to acknowledge the poignancy of the ADL's motives, however wrong-headed its conclusions.
The dedicated people of Lexington's NPFH steering committee came out loud and clear against the national ADL. Their proven record of profoundly great work entitled them - and our community - to the courtesy of a few more weeks for a final ADL decision.
Instead, we saw activists who were denied access to an NPFH steering committee meeting accusing NPFH of violating open meeting laws - laws which, in fact, did not apply. In this way, they manufactured a phony scandal in an attempt to smear a group of citizens who, for seven years, served Lexington with distinction and undeniable integrity.
The opposite of genocide is reasonableness and compassion. I see neither in the rhetoric of some activists or in the premature decisions of our communities to end their NPFH programs. So how, exactly, are we better off?
JERI ZEDER
Lexington
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Foxman and Tarsy on The Forward 50
The Forward 50 is a list is compiled each year by the Forward's staff, based on what we have reported over the past year, what we have heard from community members speaking about other community members and whatever objective signposts ― rising or falling budgets, book sales, published buzz, adoption of new laws or proposals ― can be deemed to indicate public influence.
Membership in the 50 doesn't mean that the Forward endorses what these individuals do or say. We've chosen them because they are doing and saying things that are making a difference in the way American Jews, for better or worse, view the world and themselves.
Abraham Foxman
Accused by The New York Times Magazine of crying wolf on antisemitism, by political scientists John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt of stifling debate on Israel and by Armenian groups of denying the truth of the Armenian genocide, it's been a rough year for Abe Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League. Yet, despite all the barbs, Foxman, 67, shows little sign of slowing down. He is at once a lightning rod and a battering ram - with Foxman, the metaphors come easily - and quite possibly the most influential figure at work in the Jewish organizational world today. Though his most trusted medium remains the sharply worded press release, Foxman this year published a book, "The Deadliest Lies: The Israel Lobby and the Myth of Jewish Control," that offers a sustained, sober retort both to Walt-Mearsheimer and to Jimmy Carter's "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid."
But perhaps the most bruising battle of the year, both for Foxman and the organization he has headed for 20 years, was the debate over the Armenian genocide. The ADL, like other major Jewish organizations, has long avoided the term "genocide" in referring to the World War I-era massacres of Armenians, in deference to Turkey's role as Israel's most important friend in the Muslim world. But when Armenian groups in Massachusetts began to press for a boycott of an ADL anti-bigotry program - and when the ADL's own regional leadership repudiated the national organization's policy - Foxman was forced into an awkward about-face. It was an issue rife with painful ironies. The ADL, normally so vigilant when it to comes to the language of genocide, suddenly let such sensitivities fall by the wayside. It was the Armenians who seemed to be using the ADL's usual playbook. And yet, when the House Foreign Relations Committee approved a resolution calling the massacres genocide - and Turkish-American relations became strained overnight as a result - Foxman's concerns suddenly seemed prescient.
Andrew Tarsy
For all but a few days this past year, Andrew Tarsy, 38, was the New England regional director of the Anti-Defamation League. But it's those missing few days that are the key. In an August 16 phone conversation with the ADL's national director, Abraham Foxman, Tarsy labeled "morally indefensible" the organization's unwillingness to describe the World War I-era massacres of Armenians as "genocide." He was fired the next day. But just four tumultuous days later, Foxman, facing an uprising from Boston Jewish leaders galvanized by Tarsy's act of defiance, changed course and called what happened to the Armenians "tantamount to genocide." Tarsy was reinstated soon thereafter. Tarsy, who served in the Civil Rights Division of the Clinton Justice Department before joining the League, 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.
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11/06 Harut Sassounian: Genocide and Holocaust Deniers Must be Condemned, Not Honored
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
It goes without saying that those who deny any genocide must be condemned, not honored. There should be no exceptions and no double standards. Yet, periodically, one comes across bizarre situations when those who engage in genocide denial are rewarded rather than ostracized by none other than those who condemn Holocaust denial.
Last month, the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, traveled to Armenia to discuss bilateral trade and review major projects being undertaken by the two countries. After meeting with Armenia’s leaders, the Iranian President visited Yerevan State University (YSU) where he gave a brief talk to students and answered their questions. He carefully sidestepped the issue of the Armenian Genocide, by simply stating that Iran condemns all crimes against humanity. Following the established protocol for all visiting heads of state, YSU officials dutifully handed Ahmadinejad an honorary doctorate and a gold medal. Apparently, no one at the University bothered to make an independent assessment of whether the visiting dignitary deserved to be honored or not. In October 2006, when the President of Romania visited Yerevan, he too was presented an honorary doctorate and a gold medal by YSU, even after he told university students that he was not prepared to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide in order not to ruin his country’s friendly relations with Turkey.
Last month, after YSU hosted Ahmadinejad, various Jewish groups condemned the Armenian University for honoring the Iranian President, a notorious Holocaust denier.
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. Hence, she has earned the moral right to criticize such wrongdoing by her Armenian countrymen.
Other Jewish groups, however, have abdicated that right. Both the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) issued statements last week condemning YSU for honoring Ahmadinejad. It is highly improper and unethical for the AJC to criticize YSU, given AJC’s refusal to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide and its collaboration with Turkey’s denialist regime. This is an egregious example of a double standard. Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones at others. AJC’s leaders have lost the moral standing to lecture anyone else about the denial of the Holocaust. Therefore, their criticism of YSU cannot be taken seriously.
Even more dubious is the position of Abraham Foxman, ADL’s National Director. After refusing to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide for many years, Foxman was recently forced by influential and righteous Boston-area Jewish leaders to issue a statement that included a reference to the Armenian Genocide. Even more surprising is the fact that 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.
It is noteworthy that some members of the Jewish community were quick to criticize Foxman’s actions. Molly Freeman, a reader from Berkeley, California, sent a letter to the editor of The Forward, harshly condemned the ADL for presenting an award to Erdogan.
In her letter titled, “ADL acts hypocritically in honoring Turkish PM,” Freeman wrote: “So egregious is the ADL award to a head of a state that denies responsibility for the annihilation of 1.5 million of its own Armenian citizens that I believe the ADL is contributing to antisemitism. What could be more hypocritical and useful to anti-Jewish bigotry than honoring a denier of genocide? The ADL is not making the world safe for Jews; rather it is contributing to our insecurity and to the discontinuity of our moral tradition. I wish that the ADL would take seriously the words of Hillel: What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. This is the whole Torah; all the rest is commentary. In the case of the award to Erdogan, the ADL is actually denying a cornerstone of rabbinic law as it dishonors its neighbors, the Armenians. By rewarding Erdogan, it is doing something it never would countenance to be done to Jews.”
A similarly shameful double standard was exhibited by yet another Jewish group, the American Jewish Congress, which honored Erdogan in 2004 with its “Profiles in Courage” award in New York.
Two Armenian American newspapers, the Armenian Weekly and the Armenian Reporter, in their editorials last week rightly criticized YSU for giving an award to Ahmadinejad. However, both newspapers should have also condemned the ADL and the American Jewish Congress for honoring Turkey’s denialist Prime Minister.
Condemning the denial of the Holocaust should not be a one-way street. There should not be a double standard. The Armenian Weekly’s editorial correctly pointed out that Ahmadinejad and Erdogan have made similar calls for more research to find out whether these atrocities have in fact occurred - a call that is shamefully supported by the ADL and others in the case of the Armenian Genocide, but not the Holocaust. Just as Armenian-American organizations never question the Holocaust, Jewish groups should never question the facts of the Armenian Genocide.
Jews and Armenians and everyone else should apply the same standard in dealing with genocide and Holocaust denial. No one should get away with denying either tragedy and no group should honor anyone who dishonors the memory of the victims of such crimes against humanity.
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Community Public Forum on November 7 @ 7:30pm
Community Public Forum
What is going on with
* H.Res 106, the Armenian Genocide Resolution, and
* No Place for Hate, the ADL and the Armenian Genocide
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
7:30 – 8:30 pm [event to start at 7:30 pm sharp]
Holy Cross Armenian Catholic Church
200 Lexington Street, Belmont MA 02478
What is going on with the Armenian Genocide resolution in DC?
Anthony Barsamian, Armenian Assembly
Sharistan Ardhaldjian, Armenian National Committee
What is new with No Place for Hate, the ADL and the Armenian Genocide?
No Place for Denial Team
Free and Open to the Public
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Wiesel is Right on Genocide Recognition; Wrong on Armenians’ Quest for Justice
Nov. 1, 2007
The California Courier
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
The Philadelphia Jewish Voice published on October 28 an important interview with Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. Reporter Charles Smolover asked him to comment on the fact that "some in the Jewish community are reluctant to touch this issue [congressional resolution on the Armenian Genocide] for fear of damaging Turkey’s relationship with Israel."
Mr. Wiesel’s response: "I have been fighting for the right of the Armenian people to remember for years and years. How could I, who has fought all my life for Jewish remembrance, tell the Armenians they have no right to remember? But I understand the [Bush] administration's view. Fortunately, as a private citizen I don’t have to worry about Turkey’s response. But I do feel that had there been the word ‘genocide’ in those days, what happened to the Armenians would have been called genocide. Everyone agrees there was mass murder, but the word came later. I believe the Armenians are the victims and, as a Jew, I should be on their side."
This is a very important and straightforward answer from someone of Mr. Wiesel’s moral stature. As an internationally-acclaimed personality, his pronouncements carry great weight. Despite the fact that the reporter’s question linked the recognition of the Armenian Genocide to possible damage to Israel’s relations with Turkey, Mr. Wiesel remained steadfast on the side of the truth.
Mr. Wiesel, however, was not as forceful back in 1982 when the Israeli Foreign Ministry, under pressure from the Turkish government, asked him to exclude Armenian scholars from an international conference on the Holocaust and Genocide that was to be held in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Faced with the dilemma of not wanting to eliminate Armenian participation or acceding to Israeli government’s demands, Mr. Wiesel resigned as president of the conference. He explained that he chose to remove himself rather than challenge the Israeli government’s demands, because he had to be mindful of the threat to Jewish lives in Turkey.
In recent years, Mr. Wiesel has been much more resolute in defense of the Armenian Genocide. In his introduction to the 1986 French edition of Franz Werfel’s Forty Days of Musa Dagh, he described the brutalities committed by the Ottoman Empire against the Armenian minority as "mass murders aimed at the extermination of a people in its entirety," and called the brutal killings "the first genocide of the 20th century."
On March 7, 2000, he joined 126 Holocaust scholars in signing a joint statement affirming that the Armenian Genocide was an incontestable historical fact and called on Western governments to likewise recognize it as such.
Earlier this year, he joined more than 50 other Nobel Laureates in signing a statement that recognized the Armenian Genocide.
On August 21, 2007 Abraham Foxman, the National Director of the Anti-Defamation League, said he consulted Elie Wiesel before issuing a statement acknowledging for the first time that "the consequences" of the Armenian atrocities were "indeed tantamount to genocide. If the word genocide had existed then, they would have called it genocide."
Mr. Wiesel, however, leaves a lot to be desired in answering Philadelphia Jewish Voice reporter’s second question on whether "the Turks have an obligation to take some responsibility" for the Armenian Genocide?
Mr. Wiesel responded by saying: "No one is asking for the Turks to take responsibility. All the Armenians want is the right to remember. Seven generations separate us from the events that happened in World War I and nobody in his right mind would say that today's Turks are responsible for what happened. The Armenians don’t want reparations; they don’t even want an apology. They want the right to remember. The Turks would gain a lot if they simply acknowledged the reality of what happened. I have spoken with Turkish leaders at the highest level and their attitude about this issue is totally irrational except for one thing, which I do understand. They don’t want to be compared to Hitler. But of course, nobody does."
Just about every single statement contained in the above paragraph is inaccurate. Contrary to Mr. Wiesel’s assertions, Armenians do not need anyone’s permission to remember or mourn their dead. Their right to remember has never been in question. It is also untrue that "seven generations separate us" from the era of the genocide. There are still surviving eyewitnesses of the Armenian Genocide. This writer is the grandson (third generation) of genocide survivors.
Regarding Turkish responsibility, while Armenians do not blame today’s Turks for the killings, they do hold the Turkish state responsible for falsifying and denying the facts of the Armenian Genocide. Furthermore, Mr. Wiesel is wrong in asserting that "Armenians don’t want reparations, they don’t even want an apology. They want the right to remember." The fact is that Armenians do not really care whether Turks apologize for the killings or not. Armenians do insist, however, on obtaining adequate restitution for the enormous damages they suffered. Why is it that the victims of the Holocaust are entitled to reparations and Armenians are not? In contrast to the Jews, Armenians were uprooted from their ancestral homeland losing their property, cultural heritage as well as their lives. One has to agree, however, with Mr. Wiesel’s assertion that "the Turks would gain a lot if they simply acknowledged the reality of what happened." Yet, contrary to Mr. Wiesel’s expectations, and probably that of the Turkish government, there can be no reconciliation between Armenians and Turks without justice, which requires the return of the occupied lands and looted properties, and restitution for the 1.5 million murders.
Since the Philadelphia Jewish Voice describes Mr. Wiesel as an "outspoken advocate for justice," it is hoped that he would live up to that reputation in both the Jewish and Armenian cases. While Mr. Wiesel may not choose to be an advocate for Armenian demands, he should not misrepresent Armenians’ quest for justice!
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AYF HOLDS VIGIL IN FRONT OF ADL NEW YORK HEADQUARTERS
Vigil serves as prelude to larger rally set for this Thursday
Armenian National Committee of New York
PRESS RELEASE
October 31, 2007
NEW YORK, NY -- In a bold consciousness-raising effort, the Armenian Youth Federation of New York held a candlelight vigil in front of the national headquarters of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in Manhattan on Monday evening, October 29.
The vigil specifically addressed the ADL’s efforts at preventing US Congressional affirmation of the Armenian Genocide. AYF New York President Justin Kaladjian said, “Any organization which assists Turkey in denying the Armenian Genocide, will be confronted by the AYF, no matter how ‘respectable’ it might make itself out to be.”
ANC of New York Chair Doug Geogerian commended the AYF for “coming in force and standing up to one of the most influential organizations in our society, all in defense of the Armenian Cause. The AYF courageously represented the New York area Armenian community.”
The vigil served as a prelude to a larger rally to be held on Thursday evening at the same location. According to Geogerian, a multi-ethnic array of musicians, comedians, commentators, scholars and activists will speak about the ADL’s morally bankrupt policy on the Armenian Genocide and why it must change.
The ADL will hold its national convention this Thursday and Friday in New York City at an undisclosed location. During the convention, ADL delegates will address the controversy of its failure to support congressional affirmation of the Armenian Genocide. The ADL has seen its anti-bias program “No Place for Hate” come under fire in recent months, as six Massachusetts towns—Watertown, Newton, Belmont, Arlington, Lexington, and Westwood—have severed ties with the ADL over the organization’s role in denying the Armenian Genocide. The website www.noplacefordenial.org provides comprehensive information on the campaign waged by Armenian activists in Massachusetts.
The Jewish on-line magazine Jewcy and the No Place for Denial team are organizing Thursday’s event, where music and speeches will highlight the ADL’s unsavory position regarding the Armenian Genocide. The Armenian National Committee of Eastern U.S. is a co-sponsor. ANC Eastern Region Board Member Sevag Arzoumanian said, “Youthful representatives of two ancient peoples will hit the pavement to demand that the ADL come down on the right side of a key human rights issue: unqualified opposition to genocide denial. Spontaneous, irreverent, unscripted, a celebration of Jewish-Armenian solidarity, hard hitting political messages transmitted through irony, parody and verse...impromptu speeches and chants...that is what people should expect and contribute to.”
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UPDATES FOR OCTOBER, 2007
Wednesday 10/31
=Announcement: Join the good folks at Jewcy and No Place for Denial for a hastily organized, totally spontaneous, peaceful Rally in front of the ADL Offices in NYC (605 3rd Avenue) on Thursday, November 1 @ 7pm to urge the ADL National Meeting to take a clear stand against genocide denial. Click here for details. Facebook users can sign up here.
=The JTA reports that "Top leaders of the Anti-Defamation League are strenuously fighting efforts to get the organization to adopt a more unambiguous position on the Armenian genocide at a national commission meeting. The ADL's New England leadership is pushing for a more clearly worded statement recognizing the World War I-era killings of Armenians as genocide." The reports concludes that "Few expect that the ADL will decide to endorse the congressional resolution. But Boston leaders have been pushing to have the organization issue a clearer statement on genocide in the hope of stanching the flow of communities defecting from No Place for Hate. One Boston leader described the opposition coming from the top as "hand-to-hand combat." "
=In a Slate column dated 10/29, Christopher Hitchens writes about the Turkish threats that caused Congress to postpone the vote on the Armenian genocide resolution: "The United States and its friends are being squeezed by Ankara instead of—to put it shortly—the other way around. This is disgracefully undignified [...] If the Turks wish to continue lying officially about what happened to the Armenians, then we cannot be expected to oblige them by doing the same (and should certainly resent and repudiate any threats against ourselves or our allies that would ensue from our Congress affirming the truth)." Hitchens concludes that "It is not our conduct that should be modified by Turkey's arrogance; we do a favor to the democratization and modernization of that country by insisting that it get its troops out of Cyprus, pull its forces back from the border with Iraq, face the historic truth about Armenia, and in other ways cease to act as if the Ottoman system were still in operation."
Tuesday 10/30
=On the eve of the ADL National Meeting, the ANC and Armenian Assembly of Massachusetts have sent a joint letter and informational packet to ADL commissioners, urging them to reverse the organization's position on the Armenian genocide. The ANCA has also issued a letter to the commissioners, while the Diocese of the Armenian Church has addressed Abraham Foxman directly.
Monday 10/29
=The Christian Science Monitor reports that "much of [the] pressure [opposing the Armenian genocide resolution] came not just from Turkey but from Israel [...] The Israeli stance [...] prompted the first protest of its kind by this country's usually apolitical Armenian Orthodox community." The article quotes Turkey's ambassador to Israel, Namik Tan, as saying: "We have a right to ask our Israeli friends to talk to their friends in the US [...] eight of the sitting members of the foreign relations committee are of Jewish descent and they are ardent supporters of this resolution, and all voted in favor of it, which encouraged and bolstered the ambitions of the Armenians and the ADL statement [on the Armenian genocide]."
Sunday 10/28
=The JTA reports that American-Armenian organizations have "slammed" the Yerevan State University for honoring Iranian President Ahmadinejad. The article has excerpts from the Armenian Weekly editorial condemning Yerevan State University. Rejecting a comparison between the ADL and Yerevan State University, ANCA-ER Chair Dikran Kaligian states that the proper analogy to make is between the ADL and the ANCA, which "has never taken an ambiguous position on the Holocaust." The article concludes with a quote by Boston area activist Sevag Arzoumanian: "How can Yerevan State University give an academic degree, however symbolic, to someone who takes the intellectually dishonest position that there needs to be further research and academic conferences to determine if the Holocaust occurred? What were they thinking? I think the YSU made a terrible error of judgment, both academically and morally."
Saturday 10/27
=The Independent reports that at last week's (10/22) demonstration by the Armenian community in Jerusalem the protesters were joined by Meretz Party Knesset member Haim Oron and a former minister in the government of Yizthak Rabin, Yair Tsaban . The article reports as Mr. Oron having said that "there was a natural Knesset majority for recognition, including the right-wing Likud, but it needed to overcome pressure from a government determined to maintain close ties with Turkey." Mr Tsaban has said that he was "supporting the protest 'as a member of humanity born in the 20th century which witnessed all kinds of genocides, of which the worst was the Holocaust, and of course as a Jew... I feel that is their [his grandparents who were exterminated in Auschwitz] will that I should support this campaign against denial of the [Armenian] genocide.' " According to the report, opinion polls suggest that most Israelis favour the recognition of the Armenian genocide.
Friday 10/26
= The Jewish Telegraphic Agency has published an interview with Abraham Foxman. Asked whether he'd made a mistake in his handling of the Armenian genocide "controversy," Foxman replies: "I didn't do anything wrong. I miscalculated. We said it is a massacre, an atrocity, we've said it for 40 years. The Armenians wanted us to say genocide. To me it was sufficient for us to say I'm not a historian, we don’t adjudicate all the issues. What I miscalculated was the Jewish community. I respect the Armenian community for wanting their memory, their pain, their suffering to be recognized globally...so we said it is an atrocity and it is massacre, but we just don't think that Congress should adjudicate it. " Foxman goes on to elaborate on his disappointment with the response of the Jewish community: "I was shocked, upset, frightened by the fact that this was an issue where Jews were attacking us....the last thing we need now is for [Boston Jewish leaders] Barry Shrage and Nancy Kaufman to be fighting us."
=In the same interview, Foxman describes the stark moral choices he has had to make: "I don't believe that the Turkish government tomorrow will go and take it out on the Jews... [But] it was very clear to me what the interests of the Jewish community in Turkey are. It was also very clear to me that after the United States, the most important ally Israel has is Turkey. It's a country that not only has promised to provide Israel with water until moshiach comes, but it's a country that permits Israel's pilots to do maneuvers over its land. And so, to me, it was very clear that there are two moral issues, but one trumps the other. And it was clear to me that I cannot save one Armenian human being, not one. But if I do what the Armenians want me to do, I will put in jeopardy the lives of Turkish Jews and Israeli Jews."
=The latest Jewcy post starts with the Foxman quote above and leads into a futuristic essay/parody by Aris Janigian entitled Holocaust Denial in 2022. Here's the introductory paragraph: "On Wednesday, September 23 [2022], The House Foreign Affairs Committee voted 27 to 21 to condemn as genocide the mass killings of Jews in Germany during World War II. New Germany reacted angrily, recalling its ambassador from Washington and threatening to withdraw its support for the continuing War on Terror. "
Thursday 10/25
=Read the letter sent by the ANCA to members of Congress following the announcement that the sponsors of the Genocide Resolution have revised the timetable for House consideration of H.Res.106.
=Watch a video of French philosopher and writer Bernard-Henri Levy delivering a major speech on the need to prevent the denial of the Armenian Genocide. The event was attended by prominent Jewish and Armenian organizational leaders in France.
=Jewcy's Michael Weiss has a blog post today on Irshad Manji's article in The New Republic calling for the passage of the Genocide resolution, on threats to Turkish Jews by the Foreign Minister of Turkey and finally, on Jewish-Armenian solidarity in America in the wake of Ahmadinejad's visit to Armenia. Michael Weiss writes:
"If you'd like to know why American Jewish-Armenian solidarity is running high at the moment, you may turn to this latest news item showcasing how our Armenian comrades deal with fanatical despots who try to woo them by offering heavily leveraged support. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was given an honorary doctorate this week by Yerevan State University, one of the more prominent schools in Armenia...The Armenian Weekly was swift to denounce the university in no uncertain terms, demonstrating once again that a U.S. ethnic lobby doesn't always see eye-to-eye with the country on whose behalf it agitates." The Jewcy post concludes with an excerpt from the Armenian Weekly editorial.
Wednesday 10/24
= BREAKING NEWS: ARMENIAN WEEKLY ISSUES EDITORIAL CONDEMNING YEREVAN STATE UNIVERSITY FOR BESTOWING AN HONORARY DEGREE ON AHMADINEJAD. The editorial reads: "Why did Yerevan State University bestow an honorary doctorate and a gold medal upon a politician, who has shown disregard to basic historical research and memory by denying the Holocaust of the Jews during WWII?" It adds: "It is worth noting that one of the manifestations of Ahmadinejad’s Holocaust denial is calling for further “impartial” studies on WWII. We have heard that very same argument regarding the Armenian genocide from Turkey and its allies. " The editorial concludes as follows: "The university’s decision to bestow an honorary doctorate is simply unacceptable. We are surprised that, as the officials in charge of the alma mater of a nation that rose from the ashes of another genocide, they did not take this fact into consideration before deciding to award the honorary degree."
=Announcement: Boston area activists are urged to participate in the ANC Phone Banking TODAY, Wednesday, October 24, 4:30-8pm at the Hairenik (80 Bigelow Ave, Watertown), to help pass the Armenian Genocide Resolution. Click here for a phone script and phone numbers.
=In a front page article entitled "Turkey blames US Jews for genocide bill," the Jerusalem Post reprints Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan's infamous threat directed at Turkish Jews and intended to pressure American Jewish leaders to do more to defeat the Armenian Genocide bill: "We have told them that we cannot explain it to the public in Turkey if a road accident happens. We have told them that we cannot keep the Jewish people out of this." A few paragraphs below, Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, is quoted as saying "There is the same commitment on the part of the organized community to support Turkey."
=In the same article, Jerusalem Post reporter Vigal Schleifer goes on to state: "Yet despite the [27-21] vote [in committee], US Jewish groups said they lobbied against the bill - just as they have done in the past." The article quotes a research coordinator at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy as saying: "Behind-the-scenes support [from US Jewish groups] has been quite powerful" in persuading congressmen to oppose the bill. It may yet help prevent the bill from being brought to a vote in the full House.
Tuesday 10/23
=The Jerusalem Post reports that the Armenian community in Jerusalem has staged a protest on Monday Oct 22 demanding that Israel recognize the Armenian genocide: "A group of teenage girls stood in school uniforms alongside an elderly woman holding a sign that read, "I am a survivor," in English and Hebrew." The report notes that "Turkey has threatened to cool its ties with Israel if it doesn't use its influence in Washington to quell the campaign [for genocide recognition]."
=The Jewish Journal has published an extensive article on the No Place for Denial campaign that first appeared on the JTA website on 10/17. The report starts from Lexington severing ties with the ADL on 10/15 and goes on to present a chronology of events, placing them in the context of the Armenian genocide resolution pending in Congress. Boston area activists Laura Boghosian and Sevag Arzoumanian are quoted in the article. Speaking of the ADL's support for Turkish calls for a joint commission, Arzoumanian is quoted as saying: "They’re asking us to sit down with the equivalent of David Irving to work something out as if history is a bazaar."
Monday 10/22
=Metro West Daily News has a major article on the Armenian Genocide that features an interview (also posted on YouTube) with Kevork Norian, the genocide survivor who spoke at the Arlington town hall meeting last Monday. The article quotes David Boyajian and Shari Melkonian. It also quotes Turkish historian Taner Akcam who explains the roots of Turkey's denial of the genocide as follows: "The founders of the republic were members of the party which organized the genocide. They either participated in the killing, or they became rich by plundering Armenian property. It's not easy for a state or a nation to call its founding fathers murderers and thieves."
Sunday 10/21
=Watch the ANCA Special Report: Call for Justice, today, Sunday, October 21, 5-8pm (PST) on Horizon Television or log on to www.horizonarmeniantv.com to hear updates about how we will win the Congressional vote for the Armenian Genocide Resolution.
=In an article reporting Westwood severing ties with the ADL, the Boston Globe quotes Nancy Hyde, chairwoman of the Westwood Board of Selectmen as saying: "The town of Westwood has concluded that our ability to carry out the founding principals of the No Place for Hate program is seriously compromised by the ADL's position on the Armenian genocide and the House and Senate resolution."
=The Boston Globe reports that after severing ties with the ADL, "Lexington selectmen are appointing an organizing committee to recommend how to carry on the work of No Place for Hate without the offending political ties". Speaking of the Selectmen's decision to have local and statewide organizations as watchdogs against bias instead of No Place for Hate, Sosse Beugekian, a Lexington High School senior who helped persuade more than 250 fellow students to sign a petition asking them to sever ties to the ADL's No Place for Hate program because of ADL's stance on the Armenian genocide, is quoted as saying: "I think that's the best solution [...] They've [NPFH] done a lot of good work, and we've heard about them in school, too. We all appreciate their work."
Saturday 10/20
=In an opinion piece published in the Haaretz, the author asks: "What can we learn from the German response to the Holocaust that might help Turkey alter its attitude toward the Armenian genocide? [...] They [the Germans] did take responsibility, with the understanding that they could not escape history and that if they could muster the courage, they could use that experience to build a better future." The article concludes that "Recognizing past wrongs and calling them by name is difficult, and may even seem insurmountable, but the Turks must find the courage to try to do so."
=Bloomberg News reports that: "Turkey, which has close ties with Israel, has long relied on lobbying from Jewish groups in Washington to aid in fending off proposals like the one endorsed by a House of Representatives panel Oct. 10 [...] Turkey's complaint: Its usual allies among pro-Israel U.S. lobbyists didn't work hard enough to block the resolution. [...] 'There have been insinuations that our security and well- being in Turkey is linked to the fate' of the resolution, Jewish leaders said in a half-page ad in the Washington Times urging its rejection [...] Babacan, in an Oct. 6 interview with Turkey's Vatan newspaper, said that 'we would not be able to keep the Jews out of this business' if the resolution is adopted."
The article concludes with an analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy saying "Turkey's perception of its good ties with Israel is that this relationship stands on American Jewish support for Turkey in Washington. This is not a bilateral relationship, it is a trilateral relationship.'"
=The Jewish Exponent reports that in an interview dated 10/11, Abraham Foxman has reiterated that "[...] as painful as the Armenian experience was in 1915, the way to reconcile it is not with a resolution in Congress [...] I hope the American Jewish community will also understand that it is not only counterproductive to America's best interests and to Israel's best interests, but also the best interests of Turkey's Jewish community."
Friday 10/19
=The New York Times reports on Massachusetts cities and towns severing ties with the ADL. The article quotes Mr. Patrick Mehr, a Lexington resident and the son of a Holocaust survivor as saying: “Abe Foxman, like George W. Bush, is mumbling that it may not have been genocide. Foxman talks about commissions of scholars who should study this. That, to me, rang exactly like Ahmadinejad saying, ‘Let’s have a committee to study the Holocaust.’ Give me a break.” Dr. Jack Nusan Porter, another child of Holocaust survivors and a genocide studies scholar, is quoted as saying: “If you deny one genocide, you deny all genocides.”
=In a Haaretz article entitled Mozart and the Armenian genocide, Tom Segev writes about Turkey's denial of the Armenian genocide. He also attacks Turkey's threats against Israel and the Jewish community in Turkey: "[...] the Turks are also issuing threats: The Congressional decision could put the Jewish community in Turkey at risk. This galling threat is just as despicable as the denial of the Armenian genocide itself, and just goes to show why decent people need to demand that Turkey finally learn to look in the mirror. The Germans have done so; it was painful at first, but worth it in the end."
=The Boston Globe reports that "several Massachusetts towns are still calling on the Anti-Defamation League to clarify its position on the matter and support the resolution." Referring to Congressmen who recently withdrew their co-sponsorship of the Armenian genocide resolution, Abraham Foxman has told the Globe: "I think the good people of Congress have seen the light [...] Maybe the good people in the Massachusetts towns who penalized us will also see the light."
= Jewcy has published a column by a Memphis based Armenian-American activist Dany Beylerian, who writes: "Congressman Cohen (D-Tenn.) claims that House Resolution 106 -- the Armenian Genocide Resolution -- would threaten our troops in Iraq. This resolution is an affirmation of the American role in its humanitarian effort during the Armenian Genocide. It does not threaten our troops --Turkey does."
Thursday 10/18
=Announcement: The Somerville No Place For Hate Committee will meet TODAY, Thursday, October 18, 6-7pm at the Tufts Administration Building (167 Holland Street, Somerville, 2nd Floor.) From the S-HRC's announcement: "The meeting will discuss the recent controversy around ADL and the Armenian genocide and whether Somerville's NPFH committee will take any action on this matter. All concerned parties are invited to attend and contribute. This meeting will be followed by the regularly scheduled meeting of the Somerville Human Rights Commission, which will take place from 7-8:30pm. That meeting is open to the public as well."
=BREAKING NEWS: Yesterday evening, the Medford Human Rights Commission voted unanimously to suspend ties with the ADL pending a more sincere acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide by the latter.
=Read the ANCEM Press Release on 3 additional Massachusetts towns breaking ties with the ADL.
=The national director of the Anti-Defamation League Abraham Foxman gave an Oct. 11 talk at Temple Sholom in Broomall that dealt primarily with the arguments he advances in his new book, The Deadliest Lies: The Israel Lobby and the Myth of Jewish Control, reported the Jewish Exponent today. "I think that, as painful as the Armenian experience was in 1915, the way to reconcile it is not with a resolution in Congress," said Foxman in an interview after his presentation. "I hope the American Jewish community will also understand that it is not only counterproductive to America's best interests and to Israel's best interests, but also the best interests of Turkey's Jewish community."
=The Jewish Telegraphic Agency has just published a feature article on the movement that is gaining momentum in Boston area towns and communities to sever ties with the ADL.
=Read the Time Magazine article by Samantha Power entitled "The U.S. and Turkey: Honesty Is the Best Policy."
=The Zoryan Institute has just announced a public lecture, "Nazi Germany, the Armenians and the Jews," as part of the United Jewish Association's Holocaust Education Week in Toronto, November 1-11. The lecture will be presented by Prof. Eric D. Weitz, Distinguished McKnight University Professor of History at the University of Minnesota.
Wednesday 10/17
=Announcement: A meeting of the Medford Human Rights Commission to discuss the ADL/NPFH issue will be held TODAY, OCTOBER 17 at 5:30PM at the Medford City Hall, Room 201 (85 George P. Hassett Drive). Medford residents and friends are encouraged to attend this key meeting. An article just published in Inside Medford suggests that Medford may become the 7th Massachusetts town after Watertown, Belmont, Newton, Lexington, Arlington and Westwood to pull out of the ADL program.
Tuesday 10/16 
=On October 15, the Westwood Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to suspend their ties with the ADL until the ADL changes its position on the Armenian genocide. The selectmen have also renamed the No Place for Hate committee as the town’s Human Rights Committee.
=On the same day, following the recommendation of its Human Rights Commission, the Arlington Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to sever ties with the ADL.
=The Lexington Minuteman reports that "The Lexington Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to end their participation in the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) No Place For Hate program Monday [October 15]. In the next breath, they laid the groundwork for a similar committee with a more official, and recognizable, link to Lexington."
At the meeting, Laura Boghosian read a statement on behalf of the steering committee of the Lexington Armenian community, and Patrick Mehr read a moving statement on behalf of his wife Helen Epstein, author of Children of the Holocaust.
= Jewcy has published a statement delivered by a Boston area Armenian activist at a recent meeting of the Mass. Association of Human Rights Commissioners. In his introductory remarks, Joey Kurtzman writes: "[...] Armenian-Americans continue to plead with Jewish-American organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee, as well as with the foreign ministry of Israel, to stop abetting Turkish efforts to destroy the memory of the Armenian Genocide. "
= Speaking to Salon.com about the Armenian genocide resolution, Turkish historian Taner Ackam says "Whoever is against the resolution must show an alternative to the Armenian people. Unless you give an alternative policy, saying 'Shut up and stop' is not a policy. The Armenians don't have any options. As long Turkey criminalizes the past, as long as Turkey kills journalists, as long as Turkey drags its intellectuals from court to court, as long as Turkey punishes the people who use the G-word, as long as Turkey doesn't have any diplomatic relations with Armenia, as long as Turkey threatens everybody in the world who opens the topic of historical wrongdoing, it is the legitimate right of a victim group to make its voice heard."
Monday 10/15
= BREAKING NEWS: The Boards of Selectmen of 3 Massachusetts towns -- Arlington, Lexington and Westwood -- voted unanimously to break ties with the ADL this evening. Details to follow.
=Speaking of Newton Mayor David Cohen's statement that "we certainly hope the national ADL will do the right thing", the Jerusalem Post writes that "he's liable to be disappointed. The ADL's National Commission, its highest policy-making body, is scheduled to meet during the first week of November to discuss the issue. According to sources in the organization, it is likely to support Foxman's position in not backing the resolution."
=In light of the conviction of Arat Dink and Serkis Seropyan, Amnesty International has updated action on Article 301. The link can be found here. This action is also currently being highlighted on Amnesty's "Music for Human Rights" site.
=The Palm Beach Post reports that "[Congressman] Wexler's announced Democratic primary opponent, former Broward County Commission Chairman Ben Graber, has criticized Wexler for opposing the Armenian genocide resolution. A son of Holocaust survivors, Graber has called Wexler an "embarrassment" to the Jewish community for opposing the resolution."
=Armenia Liberty reports that "a large number of Armenian nationals have been arrested in Turkey in recent days for violating the country’s immigration rules. [...] Turkish officials have indicated that the closure of Turkish airspace for civilian aircraft flying to and from Armenia is one of the measures Ankara could take in response to the passage of the genocide resolution."
Sunday 10/14
= Announcement: The Lexington Board of Selectmen will meet on Monday October 15, at 7:30pm to vote on the future of the ADL sponsored No Place for Hate program. The meeting will be held at Cary Hall, 1605 Mass Avenue, Lexington.
= Announcement: The Arlington Board of Selectmen will meet on Monday October 15, at 7:00pm to vote on a recommendation by its Human Rights Commission to sever ties with the ADL. Location: Town Hall, 730 Mass Avenue, Arlington.
Saturday 10/13 
=Today's Boston Globe editorial reads: "The historical evidence shows that the 1915-1917 massacres of Armenians in eastern Turkey constituted what the world now knows as genocide, and Turkey ought to acknowledge this reality. But a resolution before Congress has provoked an upsurge of nationalism that threatens US interests and would do nothing to lift Turkey's willful amnesia. It should not be pursued at this time." The editorial concludes that "the Turks need to begin an honest dialogue about the birth of their nation and repeal the "Turkishness" laws", but that "the House resolution, by inciting the worst aspects of Turkish nationalism and creating government-to-government friction, would delay a reckoning with history."
To submit a letter to the Boston Globe editor, email letter@globe.com.
Friday 10/12
= Jewcy's Joey Kurtzman has just published a post that directly challenges ADL national leadership's moral credibility. He references a recent op-ed by Boston area activist Berge Jololian, and concludes: "What Jololian describes--the hypocrisy, the arrogance, the ignorance, and worst of all the high-minded universalist rhetoric in defense of Jewish rights matched with utter contempt for the rights of other communities--these things are simply poison to any organization or cause that hopes to influence the general population. For Israel's sake, I hope the ADL never says another word about her. And for any organization that maintains a working relationship with the ADL, I hope you jump ship now. "
=Today's Boston Globe quotes Massachusetts State Rep. Peter Koutoujian as saying: "Turkey's response should encourage people to press on with the genocide resolution. The United States has to stand up for truth," said Koutoujian, whose grandparents survived the massacres. "Unless you stand up for truth, you can never lead."
=In a poweful Op-Ed in today's Haaretz, former Israeli Minister of Education Yossi Sarid writes: "Denying another nation's Holocaust is no less ugly than denying ours. It is also dangerous. Today's denial is tomorrow's Holocaust. The Armenian genocide wasn't the first in this era. The German imperial army slaughtered 100,000 Namibians in 1904. In 1915, the Armenian genocide began; the Ottomans killed 1.5 million of them in various ways. If the world had risen up in protest against the genocide of the Namibians and Armenians, the Holocaust of the Jews might also have been averted."
=The Armenian National Committee of Jerusalem issued a statement yesterday expressing "grave concern" for the pressures applied by Turkish officials on Israel. "It is with grave concern and consternation that we are following Israeli Foreign Ministry attempts to influence congressmen not to vote for the Armenian genocide resolution in the U.S. Congress," read the statement. "On October 8th, the Turkish foreign minister, Mr. Ali Babacan paid a two-day visit to Israel with the declared objective to seek Israel's help to pressure Jewish organizations in America to lobby and fail the Armenian Genocide legislation. We regret to say that this shameful visit is taking place in open daylight," it went on. The statement strongly condemned "the efforts to undermine the Armenian genocide bill" considering it "an insult to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust." It called upon Israeli intellectuals and people of conscience to break their silence and speak out condemning this shameful intervention.
=The Daily Show ran a segment (in 2 parts) yesterday on the Armenian genocide resolution.
=In an article in the Independent today, Robert Fisk writes, "The story of the last century's first Holocaust – Winston Churchill used this very word about the Armenian genocide years before the Nazi murder of six million Jews – is well known, despite the refusal of modern-day Turkey to acknowledge the facts. Nor are the parallels with Nazi Germany's persecution of the Jews idle ones."
=Armenia's president has welcomed a vote by US lawmakers backing the description of the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks after 1915 as genocide, reports the BBC. Robert Kocharyan told reporters he hoped the vote would lead to "full [US] recognition... of the genocide."
Thursday 10/11
=Breaking News: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters today she will not back down to Turkish and White House pressure and intends to bring the Armenian Genocide resolution (H. Res. 106) to the floor for a vote by the full House.
=Breaking News: Arat Dink--the son of a Agos editor Hrant Dink who was killed earlier this year after calling the massacre of Armenians genocide--was convicted today of insulting Turkey’s identity for republishing his father’s remarks. He and Serkis Seropyan, another Agos editor, each received a one-year suspended sentence for "insulting Turkishness," said their lawyer, Erdal Dogan. He said they would appeal the sentences.
=Breaking News: Turkey recalls its ambassador to U.S. over the Armenian Genocide bill. According to CNN, the foreign policy adviser to Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan said: "Yesterday some in Congress wanted to play hardball. I can assure you Turkey knows how to play hardball." According to the BBC: Turkey's foreign ministry said the ambassador would return to Turkey for a stay of "a week or 10 days". "We are not withdrawing our ambassador," said ministry spokesman Levent Bilman. "We have asked him to come to Turkey for some consultations."
= MSNBC is running an online poll on H.Res 106: "Should the United States formally recognize the World War I-era killing of Armenians as genocide?"
=In today's Haaretz, Anshel Pfeffer writes, "The Turkish rage following [ADL's change of position] was not directed at the ADL's offices in Washington but toward Jerusalem. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan called President Shimon Peres and asked him to intervene. Peres contacted Foxman who promised to issue a new statement saying that the matter was merely semantic and that the ADL objected anyway to a resolution proposal in Congress."
=In an article in the Boston Globe titled "Genocide vote sets a face-off with Bush," Farah Stockman writes, "In a rare show of urgency, Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates each declared that the resolution the House Committee on Foreign Affairs approved could lead Turkey's leaders to curb vital US military supply routes through their country, leaving American troops without enough equipment to conduct operations in neighboring Iraq." Stockman concludes with the following: "[A Boston area activist], who spearheaded the local movement against the Anti-Defamation League, said yesterday that he is 'really disappointed' that Turkey can bully Bush, the leader of a superpower. 'Every time it comes up in Congress, it is killed by the administration, the Pentagon, the State Department,' he said. 'They say, 'It is not the right time.' It is never the right time.'"
=Bloggers are outraged by President Bush's opposition to the genocide resolution, writes Michael Weiss of Slate. The article presents quotes from different blogs on the issue. His concluding quote is from Joey Kurtzman. "At the Daily Shvitz blog, Kurtzman reminds readers that George W. Bush once spoke differently about historical fact when he was trying to drum up support for his tax policy: 'The Armenians were subjected to a genocidal campaign that defies comprehension and commands all decent people to remember and acknowledge the facts and lessons of an awful crime in a century of bloody crimes against humanity.'"
Wednesday 10/10
=BREAKING NEWS: The House Foreign Affairs Committee adopts H.Res.106 with a vote of 27 to 21. Read the ANCA and AAA press releases. Watch video of the entire sitting (in 3 parts) courtesy of Hairenik Web TV.
= ANNOUNCEMENT: ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VOTE TODAY! At 1:30pm Eastern Time, the House Foreign Affairs Committee will vote on the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.106). Visit the Committee website to watch the proceedings LIVE! Read the ANCA Action Alert for more information.
= Read the Jerusalem Post article on the Armenian Genocide bill and Turkish Foreign Minister Babacan's threats of retaliation. Here's an excerpt:
He [Babacan] warned that if a measure characterizing the killing of Armenians as an act of genocide was approved by Congress in the coming days, it would not only harm Turkey's ties with the US, but also Ankara's ties with Jerusalem. Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, who has publicly acknowledged the Armenian genocide, harshly criticized the recent threats by the Turkish government. "This is an ugly and inappropriate threat by Turkey and it really tells you something about them when they blame Israel for something the US is doing," said Klein. "This doesn't have to do with Jews because they aren't lobbying for it, and I don't think Israel or America or anyone should respond to this type of inappropriate threat."
Tuesday 10/09
= Read the Jerusalem Post article on Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan's visit to Israel. Here's an excerpt: One of the main agenda items was the proposed US congressional resolution branding the killing of Armenians "genocide." Babacan said Turkey "would be happy if the Israeli authorities" could use their leverage in Washington "so that nothing goes wrong over there." He did not spell out what specifically he expected from Israel, other than to say, "What we have done is told them the problems, and it is up to them to decide what to do and how to help the situation."
= Read the Press Release on HH Karekin's visit to the Holocaust Memorial in Boston.
= In a Daily Zaman article on the Armenian Genocide resolution in Congress, Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan issues retaliatory threats directed at the Jewish community in Turkey. Here's an excerpt:
Babacan said if the resolution is passed in Congress, the Jewish population will inevitably be the target of public anger in Turkey. [...] He said: “We have told them that we cannot explain it to the public in Turkey if a road accident happens. We have told them that we cannot keep the Jewish people out of this.”
Monday 10/08
= In a joint letter dated 10/06, the Armenian National Committee of Massachusetts and the Armenian Assembly of Massachusetts respond to the recent statement issued by ADL-New England. The letter reads: "In a recent statement, New England Regional ADL Director Andrew Tarsy and Chair James Rudolph accused “some” Armenian-Americans of spreading “misinformation” and “attacking” the No Place for Hate program. Not only do they fail to provide a single example of alleged misinformation, but their charges are simply incorrect [...] Rather than “blaming the victim,” for what is happening to NPFH programs, the ADL should reverse its immoral positions if it is truly concerned with NPFH’s future."
"In August, the NE Regional ADL leadership took a courageous stand against the national ADL’s policy of genocide denial. We look to them to continue their principled stance against national ADL’s disingenuous statement on the Armenian Genocide and its lobbying for the Turkish government. We also ask that they meet with the New England Armenian community without delay so that any misunderstandings or misapprehensions may be resolved."
Sunday 10/07
= In a letter dated 10/05, the International Association of Genocide Scholars urges the US House of Representatives to pass HR 106. The letter reads: "The Armenian Genocide is not a controversial issue outside of Turkey. Just as it would be unethical for Germany to interfere with the historical memory of the Holocaust, we feel it is equally unethical for Turkey to interfere with the memory of the Armenian Genocide [...] We believe the US government should not be party to efforts to kill the memory of a historical fact as profound and important as the genocide of the Armenians, which Hitler used as an example in his plan to exterminate the Jews."
"We also believe that security and historical truth are not in conflict, and it is in the interest of the United States to support the principles of human rights that are at the core of American democracy", the letter concludes.
Saturday 10/06
=The Jerusalem Post reports that during his visit to Israel on Sunday, "[Turkish Foreign Minister] Babacan is expected to talk with his Israeli interlocutors about legislation [...] that would declare the World War I era killings of Armenians a genocide." The article reminds its readers that "in August Turkey's ambassador to Israel Namik Tan told The Jerusalem Post that Turkey expected Israel to "deliver" American Jewish organizations and ensure that the US Congress did not pass the resolution." The article further quotes Tan as having said that "Israel should not let the [US] Jewish community change its position. This is our expectation and this is highly important, highly important."
=The IHT reports that "George W. Bush and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan talked by telephone about their opposition to the legislation [HR106]. [...] The Bush administration has been telling lawmakers that the resolution, if passed, would harm U.S. security interests. [...] The Turkish government has been holding back from public threats while making clear that there will be consequences if the resolution is passed." Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of America says that "Turkey has been threatening every sort of doomsday scenario... We have been saying that Turkey would harm itself more than the United States, if it carries through with these threats."
Friday 10/05
= ANNOUNCEMENT: CARRY THE TORCH FOR THE PEOPLE OF DARFUR this Sunday, October 7, 3:30PM, Government Center, Boston. Please join us and friends and neighbors from throughout the region as Massachusetts Dreams for Darfur and calls on China to use its influence to help end the genocide in Darfur. For details please read our announcement.
Thursday 10/04 
=In an editorial opposing HR106, the Wall Street Journal writes: "There can be little doubt that the Armenian repression was a terrible chapter in history... But it was only one part of a global tragedy that claimed nearly 15 million lives. Dredging it up now in Congress [...] may be a generous gesture toward Americans of Armenian descent but is hardly an appropriate signal to U.S. enemies. Or to our Turkish friends." Letters to the editor can be sent to wsj.ltrs@wsj.com.
=An on-line poll at the Lexington Minuteman asks: "Should Lexington's No Place for Hate Committee remain linked to the Anti-Defamation League?"
=Read the Minuteman article on the Lexington No Place For Hate steering committee's closed door meeting on Monday with ADL regional director Andrew Tarsy, whose October 2 commentary "ADL critics going too far" was today published in the Lexington Minuteman.
=Read the letter of support issued by the national office of Jewish Voice for Peace. Mitchell Plitnick, Director of Education and Policy for JVP, writes: "While the Anti-Defamation League has unquestionably done some very important work in fighting hate groups and bigotry, their blind spot when it comes to Israel renders them an inappropriate choice for the “No Place for Hate” campaign. We applaud the many Massachusetts groups that have come to the same conclusion." The letter concludes: "In fact, an American resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide protects Jews, including the 26,000 Jews in Turkey as well as all ethnic, religious and other minorities, as it places the world’s sole superpower firmly against such atrocities. It frankly boggles the mind that any Jewish group could possibly justify any sort of minimization of atrocities committed against another group. "
Wednesday 10/03
=In a commentary published in the Newton Tab, ADL New England Regional Director Andrew Tarsy and Board Chairman James Rudolph ask "why some activists are directing their efforts against ADL’s No Place for Hate" and write that "[these efforts] look increasingly like an organized campaign to blur the line between the moral issue of acknowledging the genocide and the political issue of the Congressional resolution ". The Newton Tab is accepting comments.
Tuesday 10/02
= ANNOUNCEMENT: Community Public Forum on the Armenian Genocide and the Anti-Defamation League, TODAY, Tuesday, October 2 at 8:00PM, at the First Armenian Church (380 Concord Avenue, Belmont, MA). Attend this important public forum to hear a community-wide perspective on recent events surrounding the Armenian Genocide, the Anti Defamation League, and U.S. House/Senate Resolution 106. This event is being hosted by the First Armenian Church and is jointly sponsored by individuals and organizations of the greater Boston Armenian community. Read the announcement for details.
= Read the follow-up letter sent by Lexington residents to the Lexington Board Selectmen urging the latter "to decide expeditiously to sever Lexington’s ties with the Anti-Defamation League." The letter states: "The Anti-Defamation League not only continues to define the Armenian Genocide in a way that fails to meet the international legal definition of genocide, but it is actively aiding the Turkish government in its genocide denial by advocating scholarly examination to create doubt about settled history – a tactic used by global warming deniers, tobacco companies, and intelligent design advocates. Further, they continue to lobby against consideration and passage of the Congressional resolutions to affirm the Armenian Genocide." It concludes: "Every day that Lexington delays a decision to dissociate itself from such actions is a day of deep pain for its Armenian-American residents."
= Read the Boston Globe Op-Ed by Adrian Walker on the Armenian Heritage Park. Walker writes that the dispute over the park "has echoes of the recent battle between the Armenian community and the Anti-Defamation League over the ADL's reluctance to embrace the term genocide to describe the massacre of Armenians by Turks. The Armenian community won that round handily."
Monday 10/01
= BREAKING NEWS: Lexington NPFH Committee Holds Closed-Door Meeting with Tarsy, Excludes Armenian Residents. In a Press Release entitled LEXINGTON NO PLACE FOR HATE COMMITTEE SHOWS BAD FAITH, the ANCEM reports that Lexington residents Laura Boghosian, Michael Kouchakjian, and Nora Aroyan arrived for the 8 AM Town Hall meeting on time but were soon asked by a representative of the Town Manager’s office speaking for the LNPFH committee to leave the closed meeting, which they did, under protest, stating that they had a right as Lexington residents to be heard on an issue which affects their town. Read the letter of complaint submitted to the Lexington Board of Selectmen by the Armenian-American residents who were excluded from the meeting.
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