The Jewish Lobby & Armenian Genocide Bill

[Aratta-Kingdom]

you'r so full of sh*t...

 

Don't expect much form an old man who calls himself phantom, nostradamus, hagarak, khoja,

 

On his old days, there isn't much left for Mr. Tulad but to jump on a tree and sing meow-meow. Hyeforum seems too complicated place for him.

 

 

 

----

 

Patrick, I'm gonna be on a business trip for a couple of months. We'll resume the talk after i come back.

[irlandahay]

Don't expect much form an old man who calls himself phantom, nostradamus, hagarak, khoja,

 

On his old days, there isn't much left for Mr. Tulad but to jump on a tree and sing meow-meow. Hyeforum seems too complicated place for him.

----

 

Patrick, I'm gonna be on a business trip for a couple of months. We'll resume the talk after i come back.

 

lol months?! i dont think I'l even remember the conversation by then!

 

honestly tho, everyone of his posts hes like: this guy did this, hes my great grandfather btw, this guy saved a jew...im related to him btw...I mean honestly...are you on craack or something?

 

did you know ghenkis khan is my great great grandmother?

[phantom22]

Nope, not full of s**t. Go to Yad Vashem and read the names of the families who saved Jews during WWII.

 

 

you'r so full of sh*t...

 

[Armenak]

Enough about the Hryas!

 

They get talked about more than they deserve.

[irlandahay]

Nope, not full of s**t. Go to Yad Vashem and read the names of the families who saved Jews during WWII.

 

right, il go to wherever it is, il read the names of the families that saved jews, il realise their armenians..then what? there'l be a marking saying "this one is somehow related to phantom22 from hyeforum, thank you phantom, for being part of this family"

 

right?

 

and after that...i should maybe go talk to the guy who renovated ani and ask him if your related, heck you know what? I'l even go ask the queen of england if your related...ah forget it, i just gave you an idea...soon youl be trying to pass her off as your cousin twice removed

 

you are full of sh*t phantom...im sure christopher columbus was your aunt....right?

[irlandahay]

Enough about the Hryas!

 

They get talked about more than they deserve.

 

and Armenak calm down with the Jews!

their not all that bad...

[Armenak]

and Armenak calm down with the Jews!

their not all that bad...

I didn't say anything about them all being bad.

[phantom22]

I am not related to the Queen of England, nor to her late daughter-in-law. Yet her late daughter-in-law was 1/64 Armenian. It is in the British Peerage Records. So the future king is most probably related to some of the Armenians from the East Indian colonies.

 

One of those Armenian named families is definately related to me.

 

I know exactly who my cousins are, both those who died in the Genocide and the few who survived (and their progeny).

 

My grandmother told me that her family line was descended from the younger brother of one of the Kings of Cilician Armenia. It seems that the papers were hidden in a clock in their home. Her parents and whoever of the family who were there in 1915 did not get out alive. That antique clock may be long gone, in some Turk's home or may be in some Turkish antique shop.

 

Grow up kid.

 

 

right, il go to wherever it is, il read the names of the families that saved jews, il realise their armenians..then what? there'l be a marking saying "this one is somehow related to phantom22 from hyeforum, thank you phantom, for being part of this family"

 

right?

 

and after that...i should maybe go talk to the guy who renovated ani and ask him if your related, heck you know what? I'l even go ask the queen of england if your related...ah forget it, i just gave you an idea...soon youl be trying to pass her off as your cousin twice removed

 

you are full of sh*t phantom...im sure christopher columbus was your aunt....right?

 

[ED]

guys calm down or I'll close the thread, and Patrick, tone down on the language you use.

 

there has been number of times where been said keep Genocide section to civil discussion, use manners and conduct your selfs within forum rules.

if you are going to use lol's, silly remarks, etc. similar approach and your posts will be removed

 

take this as a friendly reminder or get a warning

[Zartonk]

Unbelievable guys. Pat man, we all know phantom, no need to attack. Lets let it go....

[DominO123]

At least it made to the Kneset and being voted, that is something, and more positive than the US, when the motion isen't even presented to be voted.

[AK-47]

Israel will always play Realpolitik as long as it has everything to gain. En plus, the Israeli government and zionists will try everything to "monopolise" holocausts, to have the major attention on them...realpolitik. There is no moral in politics. Turkey would accept today if there were absolutely zero claims against it...if it would have nothing to lose. The reason why alot of Turks loved Dink as a matter of fact is cause he had one demand only and that was recognition, nothing else. It's not the reason they want everyone to believe but it's the truth.

[DominO123]

Israel will always play Realpolitik as long as it has everything to gain. En plus, the Israeli government and zionists will try everything to "monopolise" holocausts, to have the major attention on them...realpolitik. There is no moral in politics. Turkey would accept today if there were absolutely zero claims against it...if it would have nothing to lose. The reason why alot of Turks loved Dink as a matter of fact is cause he had one demand only and that was recognition, nothing else. It's not the reason they want everyone to believe but it's the truth.

 

 

 

Once the US recognize it, it will be only a question of time that Israel recognize it. Once the US recognize it, many countries will follow. I don't have faith for UK, but you never know.

 

 

[Yervant1]

Once the US recognize it, it will be only a question of time that Israel recognize it. Once the US recognize it, many countries will follow. I don't have faith for UK, but you never know.

When it comes to AG isn't US Israel?

[Aratta-Kingdom]

http://www.townonline.com/watertown/opinions/x1189853281

 

The Watertown TAB

Watertown, MA

 

Editorial: Watertown should keep `No Place for Hate'

 

It appears that the national head of the Anti-Defamation League lobbied

against Congressional recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

And, understandably, this has stirred up some strong feelings right here in

Watertown.

As you can see from a surge of letters to the editor, as seen on the

opposite page, the action by the ADL's national director, Abraham Foxman,

has some residents so furious that they are calling for an end to the

Watertown's participation in the ADL-sponsored `No Place for Hate' program.

Town councilors recently reaffirmed Watertown's participation in the

program, which aims to `provide communities with a solid framework for

promoting an inclusive environment while fighting all forms of hate and

bigotry,' according to its Web site.

But now, some say Watertown must respond to Foxman's action by pulling the

town out of `No Place for Hate.'

More than 8 percent of Watertown residents trace their heritage back to

Armenia, according to the Census. The actual number may be higher. Certainly

Watertown became a sanctuary for Armenians fleeing the World War I-era

attempt by the Turkish government to wipe them out.

Turkey's government continues to deny that the mass deaths of Armenians were

the result of government policy. To Turkey's great shame, it is still a

crime to `insult Turkishness' by calling it what is clearly was: genocide.

More than a million ethnic Armenians died in what was without doubt a

program by the Turkish government to eradicate Armenians. Hitler publicly

admired Turkey's methods.

The Armenian Genocide bill, House bill 106, is now in the House Foreign

Affairs Committee. There's a similar bill in the Senate. The new

Democratically controlled Congress appears to offer the best chance in years

of putting the U.S. government on record as calling Turkey to account for

its systematic campaign to eliminate Armenians.

So why in the world would the head of the ADL, an organization with a proud

history of fighting anti-Semitism and racism, argue against U.S. government

recognition of the Armenian Genocide?

Here's what Foxman said, according to the L.A. Times:

`I don't think a bill in Congress will help reconcile this issue. The

resolution takes a position. It comes to a judgment. The Turks and Armenians

need to revisit their past. The Jewish community shouldn't be the arbiter of

that history. And I don't think the U.S. Congress should be the arbiter,

either.'

It boggles the mind that the head of the ADL could actively work against

recognition of a genocide, given the centrality of the Holocaust to the

ADL's work.

But Foxman's line of thought isn't different from that of other public

figures from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to a wide range of members

of Congress: As a moderate Muslim state, Turkey is an important U.S. ally.

And Turkey may be the closest thing to an ally that Israel has among states

with a Muslim majority. Pushing recognition of the Armenian Genocide could

result in Turkey taking actions against U.S. and Israeli interests.

This `realpolitik' way of thinking envisions Turkish hardliners retaliating

by, for instance, shutting down U.S. military bases in Turkey. The thinking

goes: Israel still faces an existential threat from its neighbors, so

keeping Turkey friendly is a greater good than righting a historical wrong.

But these considerations of geo-politics should be removed from the

discussion about whether Watertown should participate in `No Place for

Hate.'

While `No Place for Hate' has attracted a vocal minority of people who make

the specious claim that it somehow muzzles free speech, the program itself

is a good one. It's a public statement that Watertown stands against bigotry

and hate.

`No Place for Hate' was created by the ADL New England Region, in

partnership with the Massachusetts Municipal Association. It has virtually

nothing to do with Foxman's national organization.

`The local `No Place for Hate' is very committed to efforts to reinforce

tolerance,' said Will Twombly, co-chairperson of the program's Watertown

committee. `We are not in any way part of efforts to deny the Armenian

Genocide.'

Watertown shouldn't pull out of `No Place to Hate' over Foxman's

hypocritical decision to work against governmental recognition of the

Armenian Genocide. To do so would be `throwing the baby out with the bath

water.'

The goals of `No Place for Hate' track well with the moral imperative to

recognize the Armenian Genocide. Put another way, when our friends

disappoint us, the solution isn't to stop being friends. It's to work to

bring our friends around.

Putting pressure on Foxman to reverse his stance is a good thing.

Getting rid of `No Place for Hate' in Watertown isn't.

 

[Aratta-Kingdom]

http://www.townonline.com/watertown/opinions

 

Watertown TAB & Press

Watertown, MA

email: Watertown@cnc.com

 

Friday, August 3, 2007

 

DiMascio: `No Place for Lies,' either!

 

By John DiMascio

 

The New England director of the Anti-Defamation League, Andrew Tarsy, would

have us believe that they are honest and neutral brokers with respect to the

Armenian Genocide.

 

According to Tarsy, Abraham Foxman and the ADL never lobbied against a

congressional genocide resolution. Rather, they just told inquiring media

minds: `... that this issue was one to be resolved by the two countries -

Turkey and Armenia.'

 

Under scrutiny however, Tarsy's claim seems to fall apart.

 

The Turkish news Web site `Today's Zaman' reported the following on April

26: `In a letter addressing influential members of U.S. Congress....

U.S.-based Jewish groups demanded that voting on congressional resolutions

urging the U.S. administration to recognize an alleged genocide of Armenians

be delayed.

 

`The letter was jointly signed by B'nai B'rith International, the

Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee and the Jewish

Institute for National Security Affairs.'

 

This testimony is corroborated by Ron Kampeas of the Jewish Telegraphic

Agency. Kampeas reported as follows on April 23:

 

`Four groups, B'nai B'rith International, the Anti-Defamation League, the

American Jewish Committee and the Jewish Institute for National Security

Affairs are set to convey a letter from Turkish Jews who oppose the

resolution to U.S. congressional leaders. The ADL and JINSA have added their

own statements opposing the bill.'

 

Joey Kurtzman, pundit for www.Jewcy.com, also adds a new wrinkle in his

column: `Fire Foxman - Denying the Armenian Genocide should be the last

atrocity perpetrated by the ADL chief.'

 

According to Kurtzman, Abdullah Gul, the Turkish foreign minister, met with

Foxman and others in February. Kurtzman asserts that at the said meeting,

Gul asked them `in essence, to perpetuate Turkey's denial of genocide.'

Kurtzman goes on to say that Foxman `acquiesced, and in so doing, performed

the pièce de résistance of Foxman's highly effective, if unintentional,

decades-long campaign to demoralize Jewish America and send young Jews

scurrying for the communal exit doors.'

 

These sources do not paint a particularly pretty picture. Let us ponder the

brushstrokes in review. A Turkish news site practically boasts that the ADL

lobbied Congress. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency corroborates the story. And

if Kurtzman's allegations of the February meeting are true, the lobbying was

done at the behest of the Turkish government.

 

Regrettably, there is no shortage of incriminating information about the

ADL's treatment of Armenians. One just needs to do a `Google' search.

Cyberspace is swarming with article after article, editorial after

editorial. All sides are weighing in with their indictments; including those

the ADL claims to represent.

 

One cannot help but conclude: At the very least, the ADL has a long history

of marginalizing the Armenian experience.

 

According to the Jewish Journal, in November 1998, the ADL and other Jewish

groups took out an ad (Nov.8, New York Sunday Times) congratulating the

Turkish Republic on its 75th anniversary. That's understandable.

Post-Ottoman Turkey assisted Jews fleeing Nazi Germany. The ADL promotes

Holocaust awareness and rightly recognizes those who aided Jewish refugees.

Therefore, it would follow that the ADL would observe the founding of the

Turkish Republic.

 

But that appreciation morphed from being understandable to becoming

outrageous! Commenting on some criticism related to the ad, Foxman said:

`...It [Turkey] has a magnificent history of tolerance.'

 

Granted, Foxman was referring to historic Judeo-Turkish relations. However,

denying the slaughter of 1.5 million people does not indicate `a magnificent

history of tolerance.' At least not where the sensibilities of Armenians are

concerned! It only indicates a shameful tolerance of Ottoman atrocities.

 

It's a sad but undeniable conclusion. The ADL overlooks and excuses Turkey's

genocide denial. It's deplorable and contradictory. Nevertheless it's their

Constitutional right to do so. However, it's time for them to stop the

elaborate masquerade. The ADL is supposed to cultivate tolerance and advance

human rights. It should stop acting like a self-serving lobby, wearing its

social conscience only as an ornate costume.

 

The ADL's behavior has other unintended consequences. The rapport between

the Armenian and Jewish communities is being strained. And therein lies the

distressing irony. The ADL, which is so devoted to fighting anti-Semitism,

is actually fostering resentment amongst Armenians towards Jews. So much for

promoting `No place for hate'!

 

Speaking of which, our local ADL surrogate, `No place for hate,' attempts to

evade complicity by claiming autonomy. Instead of trumpeting their

independence, why don't they prove it by repudiating Foxman? Surely, his

historical disregard for the Armenian experience, warrants a stern response;

especially from those on the `No place for hate' soapbox!

 

On the subject of local entities, there's another group avoiding the `No

place for hate' issue. The Town Council better jump off this runaway `Love

Train,' before anymore of the people's business gets derailed. It's time to

rescind the proclamation, take down the silly sign, and withdraw from this

unnecessary program.

 

Watertown has never been, is not now, and never will be a place to hate. And

we don't need Abraham Foxman, the ADL, or its ancillaries to say so!

 

John DiMascio of Copeland Street may be reached at

irevbacon@worldnet.att.net.

 

[Aratta-Kingdom]

Milford Daily News, MA

Daily News Tribune, MA

MetroWest Daily News, MA

Aug 5 2007

 

Mazzaglia: Rethink the Armenian genocide

 

 

By Frank Mazzaglia/Local columnist

GHS

Sun Aug 05, 2007, 12:21 AM EDT

 

 

An unlikely squabble broke out last week between Watertown's Armenian

community and the Anti-Defamation League. This is what happened.

 

Along with scores of other cities and towns, Watertown proclaimed

itself a "No Place for Hate" community back in 2005. The idea, of

course, was to promote public policy against discrimination. Indeed,

Watertown is one of the most densely populated communities in the

Commonwealth. It is also home to the state's largest Armenian

concentration. Closely built houses encourage neighborliness. Still,

there is genuine anger out there.

 

It turns out that the Anti-Defamation League, which sponsors "No

Place for Hate," refuses to acknowledge a dark period from 1915 to

1923. That's when the Turkish army implemented a policy of ethnic

cleansing and mercilessly murdered an estimated 1.5 million helpless

Armenian civilians. Turkey's subsequent denial of having anything to

do with the Armenian genocide caused Hitler himself to believe he

could get away with the ruthless slaughter of Jews which we now know

as the Holocaust.

 

Leaders of Watertown's Armenian community want to maintain the "No

Place for Hate" program but are lobblying to separate its connection

with the ADL.

 

Mark me down as one who believes that there is real danger in looking

the other way when any nation attempts to cover up shameful episodes

of its past. Japan attempted to do that by changing school textbooks

and omitting its unspeakable attrocities in China and Korea.

 

Modern China, too, gets more than a bit touchy when the subject of

Tibet comes up.

 

Turkey's refusal to accept any responsibility for its past history

against the Armenian people, however, gets a bit more problematic

because of its political and strategic importance. Even the United

States drags its feet when it comes to Turkey. It's more in our

interest to be concerned about the present and the future than to

dwell on the past.

 

Still, there are some of us who get very angry with anyone who denies

the Holocaust. That's why the ADL's position, or rather lack of

position, about the Armenian genocide just doesn't make sense.

 

Founded in 1913 to fight anti-Semitism, the ADL has taken risky

positions which have done us all proud. The ADL condemned the

senseless killings in Darfur and the genocide in the Balkans. That's

part of the problem. There's nothing 'selective' about genocide. It's

wrong to condemn one genocide and turn a blind eye to another.

 

Following World War II, a huge wave of anger was directed against

Pope Pius XII for his 'silence' during the Holocaust. Some still seem

to think the Swiss Guard could have been a real match against the SS.

Dan Kurzman's new book "A Special Mission," however, reveals evidence

concerning a secret Nazi plot in which Hitler planned to kidnap and

then kill Pope Pius XII precisely because he was aiding and abetting

Jews whenever and wherever he could. Notwithstanding Kurzman's

evidence, there has been no apology for the defamation.

 

The real problem comes right down to money. To acknowledge its past

would mean that Turkey would have to pay compensation to Armenians

who suffered under the genocide in the same way the German government

was required to compensate the victims of its Nazi past.

 

The sad fact remains that no amount of compensation could ever be

enough for what Jews and Armenians have suffered at the hands of

morally sick tyrants.

 

Sadder yet is the growing conflict between two groups that have both

experienced the terrible result of senseless hatred and intolerance.

In the end, the ADL's refusal to support the truth about the Armenian

genocide places a serious dent in its own integrity. That's why it

makes sense for the ADL to re-think its position. It's too important

an organization to risk losing its moral authority.

 

The faster wise minds come to that conclusion, the better it will be

for us all.

 

Frank Mazzaglia can be reached at fmazzaglia@aol.com

 

http://www.milforddailynews.com/opinion/x510835716

 

[Aratta-Kingdom]

 

 

NO PLACE FOR DENYING GENOCIDE

Anna Meschian

 

Boston Globe

August 5, 2007

 

TO KEITH O'BRIEN (and his employer): I am truly appalled by your recent

Globe article on the Armenian genocide, "Antibias effort stirs anger in

Watertown" (Page A1, Aug. 1). By writing a supposedly neutral article,

you are basically denying the genocide and following the lead of the

Anti-Defamation League.

 

Sign up for: Globe Headlines e-mail | Breaking News Alerts You write,

"According to Armenians and many historians, the Turks systematically

killed as many as 1.5 million Armenians." Many historians? How many,

exactly? How about "According to Armenians and historians who have

no personal gain from denying the genocide . . ."?

 

It's not only the Armenians who have been fighting to have the

genocide recognized. There are plenty of human rights activists and

historians who have looked into the issue and realized that there

can't be a neutrality on genocide. When ADL's national director,

Abraham H. Foxman, says, "I'm not going to be the arbiter of someone

else's history," someone should remind him of the statement made

by Adolf Hitler in August 1939, in which he justified his plan to

destroy Poland and create a new order by asking, "Who remembers now

the destruction of the Armenians?"

 

[Aratta-Kingdom]

NO PLACE FOR DENIAL

Your source of news and information on No Place for Hate/Anti-Defamation League/Armenian Genocide denial

http://www.noplacefordenial.com/


This website is managed by Watertown, Mass based Armenian-American activists who are outraged by the local No Place for Hate (NPFH) program’s association with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), an organization that refuses to properly acknowledge the Armenian Genocide and supports the Turkish government’s efforts to defeat Armenian Genocide related resolutions and legislation in the U.S. Congress. We welcome your comments and suggestions and encourage you to submit relevant links, articles and blog entries for posting. Edited August 13, 2007 by Aratta-Kingdom

[Aratta-Kingdom]

 

 

WATERTOWN VOTES TO SEVER TIES WITH ANTI DEFAMATION LEAGUE CITING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DENIAL

 

The Watertown, Massachusetts Town Council voted unanimously this evening to cut ties with the Anti-Defamation League, citing concerns about ADL National Director Abraham Foxman's denial of the Armenian Genocide and opposition to Congressional legislation reaffirming that crime against humanity, reported the Armenian National Committee of Eastern Massachusetts (ANCEM).

 

"The ANCEM applauds the Town Council for stating clearly and unequivocally that there is no place for Armenian Genocide denial in Watertown," stated ANCEM chairperson Sharistan Melkonian "We hope that this action will prompt the ADL and its National Chairman Abe Foxman to rethink their flawed policies on this issue, recognize the Armenian Genocide and end their efforts to stop its reaffirmation by Congress."

 

The proclamation, introduced by Watertown Councillor-At-Large Marilyn Petitto Devaney, stated: "The Town Council has become aware that the ADL, denies the facts of the horrific Armenian Genocide, that occurred from 1915 to 1923, in which the premeditated, systematic and deliberate murders of more that one and one half million Armenians from 1915 to 1923 took place, as well as continuing to deprive the Armenian people of a right to their history - The Town Council can not continue to join with such an organization."

 

The proclamation went on to reaffirm Watertown's commitment to "celebrate its diversity and continue to honor its tradition of tolerance and respect for all people for which it has always been known."Watertown residents spoke poignantly before the capacity crowd in attendance to express their concerns about local affiliation with the ADL's genocide denial policies, moving Town Council members to take decisive action and encourage other Massachusetts towns to follow in their footsteps.In her remarks before the Town Council, ANCEM representative Grace Kulegian stated that "We are confident that the just resolution of this matter will deepen Watertown's commitment to tolerance, strengthen No Place for Hate's ability to speak with real moral clarity, and - for the sake of its members and its own future as an organization - end the ADL's truly unfortunate affiliation with genocide denial."

 

The Watertown - ADL controversy erupted in recent weeks, with Boston area civil rights advocates, and local Armenian and Jewish American community members expressing disappointment and outrage at recent statements by ADL National Director Abe Foxman denying the Armenian Genocide. Editorials and community letters in the local Watertown Tab and Boston Globe cast a shadow on the credibility of the anti-racism program, No Place for Hate, due to its affiliation with the ADL.

 

[Aratta-Kingdom]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Will 'No Place for Hate' debate spread?

 

 

Thu Aug 16, 2007, 12:21 PM EDT

 

 

WATERTOWN, MA -

The sign is down. Watertown has cut its ties to the Anti Defamation League’s “No Place for Hate” anti-bigotry program over the ADL’s stance on the Armenian Genocide.

So what does the future hold, and will Watertown’s decision prompt a national “No Place for Hate” controversy?

 

At-Large Councilor Marilyn Devaney — after pushing forward a unanimous vote for a proclamation to rescind the relationship with the ADL — said she would lobby the other 50-plus “No Place for Hate” communities in the state to do the same.

 

State Rep. Rachel Kaprielian, D-Watertown, is also on board. She plans to gain support from scholars on the subject of the Armenian Genocide and rally supporters of all backgrounds to urge other “No Place for Hate” towns to sever their ADL ties.

 

“This isn’t a bunch of Armenians saying ‘stand up for us’,” she said. “This is the fact of the matter. It really is an outrage … we need to yield some results.”

 

Controversy began last month when the TAB & Press published a letter that highlighted statements from ADL’s national director, Abraham Foxman, that Congress should play no role in recognizing the Armenian Genocide. Some have classified his words as “genocide denial” regarding what most historians agree was a campaign waged against ethnic Armenians by the Ottoman government during and after World War I.

 

From 1915 to 1923, as many as 1.5 million Armenians died.

 

On Tuesday night, there was no denying the intense emotion and aggravation inside the Council Chambers.

 

Close to 100 Armenian-Americans packed the room and spilled into the hallway, some speaking passionately to council members in anticipation of their decision.

 

“Armenian-Americans have never asked the ADL to be the arbiter of Armenian history,” said Arman Baghdoyan. “What concerns me seriously is the injection of a sectarian agenda in the political life of the peaceful town of Watertown in the form of a ‘No Place for Hate’ campaign by the ADL.”

 

Narini Badalian, a 25-year-old Watertown resident, silenced the crowd with her words and left the podium to applause.

 

“I’ve learned not to be bullied by politics and stand up against hatred, to stand up against bigotry, to stand up against racism,” she said. “ADL does not have a monopoly on battling intolerance.”

 

David Boyajian of Newton, who wrote the letter that sparked the controversy, labeled the ADL as an “unfair sponsor.”

 

“There is no reason why you can’t be independent and function just fine,” he said.

 

And that’s what Watertown plans to do, said Will Twombly, co-chairperson of the “No Place for Hate” committee. For now, at least.

 

In an amendment to the Town Council proclamation, Twombly asked for 90 days for the 13-member committee to continue to pressure the ADL to change its stance, create new alliances within the community and seek program funding to continue its anti-bigotry agenda and public education work.

 

“We find the ADL’s decision unacceptable,” he said. “Such atrocities should not be ignored or passed off as someone else’s problem.”

 

To a reaction of “boos” and taunts of “liar” from the crowd, ADL Regional Director Andrew Tarsy stood at the podium and pleaded to keep “No Place for Hate” in Watertown.

 

“ADL’s mission and duty is to protect and defend Jewish communities and seek justice for all people,” he said. “Look at the record. It’s not just the pain and emotion this is certainly causing to have this discussion.”

 

Tarsy said the ADL has never denied what happened at the close of the First World War. Their mission now is to urge the Turkish government to reconcile with Armenians.

 

Discuss the decision and its impact

On Tuesday night, that did not sit well with the crowd, as shouts of “genocide,” “baloney” and “denial” filled the room and stirred tension.

 

“Some statements are plain untrue about the organization,” Tarsy added.

 

But others spoke to the council with inclinations that the ADL’s stance on the genocide will remain.

 

“Ninety days or 90 years, it wouldn’t make the ADL change their decision,” said John DiMascio, who writes a column for the TAB & Press. “Tear down that silly [No Place for Hate] sign and send it back to the ADL postage due.”

 

By 10 p.m. Tuesday, it was taken down by the Department of Public Works.

 

“No Place for Hate” aims to be a community-based campaign established by the ADL and geared to bring awareness to and fight against anti-Semitism, racism and all other forms of bigotry. Some 50 cities throughout Massachusetts are termed “No Place for Hate” zones, and participation is growing throughout the United States.

 

Grace Kulegian, representing theArmenian National Committee of Eastern Massachusetts, said the controversy was not invited by Watertown, but there is plan to see a solution through.

 

“We are confident that the just resolution of this matter will deepen Watertown’s commitment to tolerance, strengthen “No Place for Hate’s” ability to speak with real moral clarity, and for the sake of its members and its own future as an organization, end the ADL’s truly unfortunate affiliation with genocide denial,” she said.

 

At-Large Councilor Mark Sideris said Watertown is in a spot now that could affect politics throughout the country.

 

“We are sending a message across the nation,” he said.

As the sole Armenian on the now-rescinded “No Place for Hate” committee, Ruth Tomasian said there are many people who are on board in creating a new future for the community.

 

“Watertown is at the center of this controversy,” she said. “It’s about where we are going from here.”

 

[Aratta-Kingdom]

The Jewish Daily

 

On Armenian Genocide, Politics Trumps Truth

 

 

Leonard Fein

Wed. Aug 15, 2007

 

 

On the surface, it should be an easy call. Here, for example, is the text of a cable that Henry Morgenthau, Sr., then America’s ambassador to Turkey, sent to the State Department on July 10, 1915: “Persecution of Armenians assuming unprecedented proportions. Reports from widely scattered districts indicate systematic attempt to uproot peaceful Armenian population and through arbitrary arrests, terrible tortures, whole-sale expulsions, and deportations from one end of the Empire to the other accompanied by frequent instances of rape, pillage and murder, turning into massacre, to bring destruction and destitution on them. These measures are not in response to popular or fanatical demand but are purely arbitrary and directed from Constantinople in the name of military necessity, often in districts where no military operations are likely to take place.” And then, on August 11, his cable back home referred to “this effort to exterminate a race.”

 

 

 

Morgenthau couldn’t use the word “genocide”; it wasn’t invented until 1944. But today, the overwhelming majority of scholars around the world are in agreement: The first genocide of the 20th century was committed by Turkey, and the Armenians were its victims.

 

But Turkey disagrees, labors mightily to impeach the scholarship, to expunge the term, to establish its claim that Armenians were mere casualties of war. Unlike the many nations that have established commissions of truth and reconciliation, that have looked fearlessly into their own past crimes against humanity (most notably, Germany itself), Turkey hires K Street lobbyists to persuade the American public and the U.S. Congress that its hands are clean, its heart is pure. (See, for an example, the statement of former Congressman Bob Livingston, who has been paid at least $700,000 by Turkey, here.

 

It is doubtful that many people are persuaded by the Turks and their lobbyists. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum recognizes the Armenian genocide, as does the Reform Jewish movement, as, one assumes, do most Jewish leaders, at least privately — perhaps even the leaders of the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs and B’nai B’rith International. Yet the leaders of these organizations have steadfastly refused to endorse a bill currently before Congress that would formally acknowledge the fact of the Armenian genocide.

 

How can that be? Why do they shy away from using the word “genocide” to describe the tragedy of the Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turkey?

 

The answer is unsettling. It has nothing to do with history or truth; it has everything to do with the strategic interests of Israel, as also, to a lesser degree, of the United States.

 

Turkey is a Muslim country that maintains cordial and strategically important relations with both Israel and America. That is presumably why, in 2001, Shimon Peres, then Israel’s foreign minister, could say, “We reject attempts to create a similarity between the Holocaust and the Armenian allegations. Nothing similar to the Holocaust occurred. What the Armenians went through is a tragedy, but not genocide.”

 

The Peres dismissal led Professor Israel Charny, executive director of the Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide in Jerusalem, to write to Peres: “Even as I disagree with you, it may be that in your broad perspective of the needs of the State of Israel, it is your obligation to circumvent and desist from bringing up the subject with Turkey, but as a Jew and an Israeli I am ashamed of the extent to which you have now entered into the range of actual denial of the Armenian Genocide, comparable to denials of the Holocaust.”

 

The matter has suddenly become a volatile disruption. In Watertown, a suburb of Boston that is home to some 8,000 Armenians, a challenge has been mounted against ADL’s “No Place For Hate” program, a popular anti-bigotry campaign in which hundreds of communities around the nation participate. And cyberspace is filled with criticism of Abe Foxman, the ADL’s chief, who recently said, “This [the genocide] is not an issue where we take a position one way or the other. This is an issue that needs to be resolved by the parties, not by us. We are neither historians nor arbiters.”

 

It is true that Foxman is neither a historian nor an arbiter. But it is not possible to believe that he is unaware of the relevant history. And that raises a number of pressing questions:

 

At what point do we allow Israel’s raisons d’etat to override the sober and sobering truth? There’s a long record on this one, going back to Israel’s efforts to impose silence on American Jews regarding the plight of Soviet Jewry, regarding our views of the junta in Argentina, even regarding the war in Vietnam. Israeli officials will necessarily act in what they perceive as their nation’s interests, but is there no way for Israel’s friends to express their own considered views without impinging on those interests?

 

Does not the outrageous stubbornness of Turkey require that Turkey’s friends and allies seek to persuade the Turkish government that this abrasive issue will continue to foul Turkey’s reputation, that it would be a mature and cleansing act for Turkey at long last to lay open the record and deal frankly with its past, as so many others have done and are doing? Would not such candor raise Turkey’s reputation in the family of nations?

 

And a question for the authors of HR106, the House bill that would formally recognize the genocide: Have you no shame? The resolution “calls upon the President… to recall the proud history of United States intervention in opposition to the Armenian Genocide.” But America’s record was not proud; it was shameful, as Samantha Power carefully documents in her masterful “A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide.” We, too, ought be honest about the past.

 

[Aratta-Kingdom]

 

 

 

 

ADL local leader fired on Armenian issue

Genocide question sparked bitter debate

 

 

The Boston Globe

By Keith O'Brien, Globe Staff

August 18, 2007

 

 

 

 

The national Anti-Defamation League fired its New England regional director yesterday, one day after he broke ranks with national ADL leadership and said the human rights organization should acknowledge the Armenian genocide that began in 1915.

 

[Aratta-Kingdom]

 

 

 

WATERTOWN, MASS

 

 

 

'NO PLACE FOR HYPOCRICY'

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 20, 2007 by Aratta-Kingdom

[Aratta-Kingdom]

 

 

Bostonist, MA

Aug 18 2007

 

 

 

ADL's Regional Director Says ADL Should Acknowledge Armenian

Genocide; ADL Fires Him

 

 

Only a few days ago, Andrew Tarsy, the regional director of the

Anti-Defamation League, backer of the "No Place for Hate" program,

tried to defend the ADL's stance on the Armenian Genocide at the

Watertown City Council meeting. The ADL refused to recognize the

genocide, Watertown residents - including a large Armenian population

- was furious, and Watertown kicked the ADL out of its borders.

 

Then, presumably influenced by Watertown's decision to remove hate

from its city limits by removing the "No Place for Hate" program,

Tarsy said it is high time for the ADL to recognize the genocide and

told ADL head Abraham Foxman that the ADL's position is "morally

indefensible."

 

How did the ADL thank him for him for fighting against hate and

promoting a worthy cause? They canned him.

 

Firing Tarsy is not going to make the existence of the Armenian

Genocide go away. In fact, it has raised more awareness of why it is

so important to acknowledge the genocide, and people who probably

never knew about the Armenian Genocide certainly know about it now.

 

The ADL has lost much of its reputation on this matter. Do the words

"Anti-Defamation" apply to only a few groups? And why are the

Armenians left out? In a long letter the ADL plans to run in papers

next week, Turkey is one of the only Middle Eastern nations that

accepts Israel, so they don't want to alienate Turkey, but every

nation needs to be called to account for its errors.

 

What exactly is the purpose of the Anti-Defamation League? If they

insist on not recognizing the genocide, then they should change their

name because "Anti-Defamation League" clearly doesn't apply to

everyone.

 

Other towns are moving to get the ADL out, and leaders are moving to

distance themselves from the ADL. The ADL's regional board has called

on the national group to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide. And,

eventually, the ADL will be left standing all alone with a

bowdlerized history that they don't share with anyone.

 

http://bostonist.com/2007/08/18/adls_regional_d.php