Friday 06/05
Asbarez reports that Armenian and other human rights activists at UC Santa Barbara have convinced campus organizations to disassociate with the ADL because lobbying against recognition of the Armenian Genocide is “inconsistent with such a profound human rights issue.” Student leaders organized a letter-writing campaign, spoke to university officials and legislators, sponsored a panel discussion, and educated campus groups. Students vow to “continue to work to keep the genocide deniers at the ADL off their campus.”
Wednesday 04/29
The Anti-Defamation League has announced its continued opposition to a Congressional resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide. In an e-mail to the Jewish Daily Forward, the ADL wrote, “...our position is that a Congressional resolution on such matters is a counterproductive diversion and will not foster reconciliation between Turks and Armenians, who should work out the issue between themselves.”
The Forward article reports that the Jewish community is split on the issue: “While some groups see this as a human rights issue related to the Holocaust, others have stayed silent or even actively opposed the ‘genocide’ designation.”
According to the Forward, “A handful of powerful Jewish advocacy groups, including the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, and the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, has declined to support the resolutions in past years, and some Jewish groups have even worked against them. Still, a host of other Jewish groups, including American Jewish World Service; the Progressive Jewish Alliance, a California-based activist group, and Jewish World Watch, which mobilizes synagogues around human rights issues, have supported efforts to recognize the mass killings of Armenians as a genocide.”
Wednesday 03/25
Israel will not recognize the Armenian Genocide despite its friction with Turkey over Gaza, according to an article in the Jerusalem Post. “Israel’s position on this is important,” according to the Post, “because it impacts the position of major American Jewish organizations which in the past have helped Turkey lobby against the legislation in Congress to declare the event a genocide.”
Jess Hordes of the Anti-Defamation League’s Washington office attests to the bond between Israel and Turkey: “Both countries recognize they have strategic relations that are important to maintain.” He also reiterates the ADL continues to oppose a Congressional resolution affirming the Armenian Genocide. Likewise, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations Executive Vice Chairman Malcolm Hoenlein is quoted as saying, “The relationships between Turkey, Israel and the United States remain very important.”
Not all Jewish groups agree with the ADL or the Conference, however, according to the article. One senior official of a major American Jewish organization reported, “The grassroots membership of the major organizations has never been happy about looking the other way about the massacre of Armenians . . . There’s not a lot of support in the grassroots for bending over backwards to meet the needs of Turkey right now.”
Thursday 03/19
Responding to the March 4 letter to Hampshire College by the Armenian National Committee of Massachusetts, the Turkish American Legal Defense Fund has written to the school in support of the Anti-Defamation League. Authored by attorneys Bruce Fein and David Saltzman, the letter proclaims, “In contrast to the Holocaust, no court has ever adjudicated the Armenian genocide accusation,” and says Armenian Americans oppose “debating the question.The letter also lists those who “dispute the Armenian genocide,” such as Justin McCarthy and Guenter Lewy, and accuses the ANC-MA of defaming the ADL.
Friday 03/13
Former ADL New England Regional Director Andrew Tarsy has stated that it is important to call the massacres of Armenians “a genocide,” and that “I was fired for that.” In a March 7 speech to Bay Area Armenians, Tarsy also described watching the No Place for Hate program, which he had helped build, “literally fall apart because of the politics that our organization decided to get involved in, that . . . really contradicted our very mission.” He added, “When you begin to make exceptions to statements like No Place for Hate, or social justice and equality and validation for all, the whole enterprise begins to crack.”
Tarsy also questioned why that despite his education, he had “no knowledge at all about the Armenian Genocide.” Yet, he pointed out, “While the Armenian Genocide was taking place, the entire world knew exactly what was going on . . . in the New York Times in 1915 alone, there were 145 articles about what was happening. There were 145 articles in one year about the systematic destruction of this people, of this culture, of these human beings.”
Tarsy, who is currently Chief Institutional Advancement Officer at Facing History and Ourselves, spoke at the annual Hye Tahd banquet hosted by the Bay Area Armenian National Committee.
Thursday 03/12
The town of Easton became the 14th Massachusetts town to withdraw from the No Place for Hate program due to the ADL’s position on the Armenian Genocide. According to an article in the Easton Journal, town selectmen created a new human rights committee to replace the NPFH committee “which was disbanded in February after the Anti-Defamation League, their sponsor, refused to fully recognize the Armenian genocide that killed up to 1.5 million ethnic Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire during and after World War I.”
Wednesday 03/04
The Armenian National Committee of Massachusetts has sent a letter to the president of Hampshire College decrying the school’s invitation to the Anti-Defamation League to visit the campus “to ensure that all students feel welcome and safe on campus.” This invitation follows reports, disputed by college officials, that Hampshire College had divested in companies that profit from Israel’s occupation of Palestine.
“The Anti-Defamation League is an organization that actively engages in genocide denial, which is the highest form of hate speech and the final stage of genocide,” wrote the ANCMA. “Hampshire College’s inclusion of the ADL in campus discussions on tolerance is an affront to all those fighting for genocide prevention and human rights.
“It is highly hypocritical for the ADL to present itself as an organization that secures the rights of all people while it actively perpetrates the worst form of hatred against Armenians,” the ANCMA declared. “The Anti-Defamation League is most assuredly not the group upon which Hampshire College should call to ensure an atmosphere of respect and safety for all members of its community.”
“Hampshire College, widely known for its progressive values and mandate, must not sanction the ADL’s unethical actions by allowing it to define the terms of tolerance. By partnering with the ADL, Hampshire College will become indelibly associated with genocide denial,” the letter concluded.
Tuesday 02/24
According to the Guardian, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan “dismissed fears that the US pro-Israel lobby would retaliate” against his walkout at Davos by lifting its opposition to a congressional resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide. “I believe the United States feels and knows the importance of Turkey within the region,” he said. “The so-called Armenian genocide is not an issue that can affect Turkey-American relations in a very strong way. I don’t believe the US Congress would take a decision based on emotions. It should be left to historians.”
Monday 02/16
In an editorial entitled "A cynical use of morality," Haaretz argues that Israel should not threaten to recognize the Armenian Genocide as a punishment for Turkey's "blunt statements" about Israel's actions in Gaza. "If Israel seeks to alter its stance on the question of the murder of the Armenians," writes Haaretz, "it would be wise to do so at a more appropriate time, from a worthy position of morality and not as a way to make threats."
Friday 02/13
“Does it take an outburst by an imbalanced head of state [Erdogan] for Jewish organizations and the state of Israel to re-posture on something as fundamental as recognizing the Armenian Genocide?” asks Ara Khachatourian in The Armenian Weekly.
This is a question “that should boggle the minds of all human rights advocates and supporters of genocide recognition,” he says, and wonders if the decision will be “based on historic fact or for political expediency.”
Thursday 02/12
Writing on the Armenian Genocide, journalist Sean Gannon argues in The Jerusalem Post that despite repercussions for Turkish-Israeli relations and Turkey’s Jewish community, “Israel, perhaps more than other nations, has a moral obligation to call this crime by its name.” Describing Turkish denial as “part of Turkey’s founding mythology,” Gannon writes, “The fact is that the Armenian massacres constituted genocide by any international standard.”
Sunday 02/07
The former executive director of the ADL, Andrew Tarsy, says that the "entire Jewish community of Greater Boston" stood with him in his battle against the national ADL over recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Participating in a panel discussion on the legacy of Hrant Dink, Tarsy told the audience that "for those of you who didn't know that then, it's important you know that now."
Wednesday 02/04
=Abraham Foxman provides yet more proof that the Anti-Defamation League prioritizes Israel’s interests over securing the human rights of all people in his comments to The New York Times on the strain in the Israeli-Turkish alliance resulting from Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan’s denunciation of Israel’s attack on Gaza.
Acknowledging that American “Jewish groups have helped Turkey block a resolution that condemns the genocide of a more than a million Ottoman Empire Armenians from being discussed in Congress,” the Times reports: “Abraham H. Foxman, director of the Anti-Defamation League, said that Mr. Erdogan’s criticism was ‘like a shock to the system,’ but added that the league had not changed its opposition to the genocide bill in Congress. ‘It’s not a question of punishment,’ he said. ‘There’s too much at stake in the relationship.’”
=Unlike other Jewish groups, the ADL is still “actively opposing” a Congressional resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide, reports The Jewish Daily Forward. “Right now we have no intention of changing our position from last year,” states Jess Hordes of the ADL’s Washington office. According to the Forward, “Turkish diplomats in Washington have ratcheted up their outreach efforts to the Jewish community in recent weeks.”
Tuesday 02/03
=The Jerusalem Post reports that an official with a leading American Jewish organization said his and other groups may “reconsider Armenian efforts to win recognition of the century-old Turkish massacres as genocide.” The Post writes that the Congressional resolution “sparked a row in the American Jewish community between those who sided with Turkey in an effort to protect Israel's political interests, and those who argued that Jews were particularly responsible for helping other groups block the public denial of genocide.”
Yet, the ADL’s Abraham Foxman told the Post “that as long as Israel maintained diplomatic ties with Turkey, he saw no immediate reason to change his position on any future genocide resolutions.”
Maintaining his opposition to a resolution, Foxman declared, “The interests between Israel and Turkey continue,” and the two countries remain “friends.”
=Turkish analysts are attempting to predict the ramifications of the possible loss of the Israel lobby and President Obama’s pledge to recognize the Armenian Genocide reports Today’s Zaman. The paper also says that Israeli parliamentary sources predict a bill acknowledging the Armenian Genocide will be introduced again this year. It quotes Likud member Zeev Elkin as stating, “Ankara’s stance has proven the absolute inevitability of the recognition of the Armenian genocide by the Israeli parliament.”
Friday 01/30
=Turkey’s geopolitical position has actually benefited from its harsh criticism of Israel, writes Allen Yekikan in Asbarez. The intelligence group Stratfor states, “Erdogan and the ruling Justice and Development Party are making use of the Gaza crisis to further their goals of reasserting Turkey's leadership of the Arab Middle East, and of the wider Muslim world.”
=Emrullah Uslu writes in Eurasia Daily Monitor that although Turkish-Isareli relations have been harmed, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan “has become a hero of the masses” for his condemnation of Israel’s attack on Gaza, and may become a “new Nasser” in the Arab world.
Thursday 01/29
=“We’re not convinced that Turkey has earned the right to lecture Israelis about human rights,” declares the Jerusalem Post in a story on tensions between Turkey and Israel, according to the Armenian Reporter.
=Writing in the Huffington Post, Harut Sassounian says, “There are serious indications that Israel and American-Jewish organizations are no longer willing to support Turkey's lobbying efforts in Washington.” Sassounian quotes Professor Benjamin Yafet as saying he had "very reliable information that all major American Jewish organizations are now fed up with Turkey and are ready to support the Armenian Genocide resolution."
=The Economist has weighed in on how strains in Turkey and Israel’s “special relationship” might affect an Armenian Genocide resolution: “But if anti-Israeli rhetoric in Turkey persists, the Israeli lobby in the United States could hit back by backing a congressional resolution to call the mass killings by Turks of some 1m Armenians “genocide”. Hitherto, Israel’s influential lobby in America has repeatedly helped block such a resolution, though Barack Obama and his vice-president, Joe Biden, have both referred to genocide in the past and have pledged to back the bill.
Secret talks between Turkey and Armenia to open diplomatic ties and reopen their borders are hotly opposed by some in the Armenian diaspora’s lobby in America. American Jews have long felt queasy about defending Turkey over the massacre of Armenians. Hitherto, pragmatism has prevailed and they have sided with the Turks. But if Mr Erdogan keeps on lambasting Israel, they may change their mind.”
Wednesday 01/28
=Under Abraham Foxman, “antidefamation is not really the ADL’s line; defamation is,” charges Eric Alterman in scathing criticism published in The Nation. Alterman declares: “Foxman's moral compass has gotten so twisted, he has the ADL working to undermine Congressional resolutions condemning genocide--specifically, that committed by Turks against the Armenians. Foxman does not dispute that genocide took place; rather, he argues that it would be inconvenient for Turkish (and Israeli) Jews were Congress to take note of it. So we have reached a point where an organization founded by Jews in 1913 to "secure justice and fair treatment to all citizens alike" is now in the business of defaming those with whom its director disagrees and purposely turning a blind eye to genocide. In light of the desire of so many anti-Semites to treat the Holocaust in a similar fashion, Foxman's position strikes this Jew at least as one too many ironies to be tolerated.”
=David Boyajian writes in the Newton Tab that the ADL has been criticized by Jews as well as Armenians, and that the ADL, the AJC and other organizations lobbying “to support Turkey’s genocide denials . . . clearly have a moral obligation to repair the immense damage they’ve done to human rights and Armenians.”
Friday 01/23
=Reporting on the Turkish-Israeli strategic alliance, Gerald Caplan writes in Toronto’s Globe and Mail: “As part of the Faustian bargain between the two countries, a succession of Israeli governments of all stripes has adamantly refused to recognize that in 1915 the Turkish government was responsible for launching a genocide against its Armenian minority.”
“Over the years, Israelis, with a few notably courageous exceptions, have actually worked against attempts to safeguard the memory of the Armenian genocide,” writes Caplan, and “many established Jewish organizations in other countries, especially the United States, have followed suit. In the United States, those who argue that denying the Holocaust is psychologically tantamount to a second holocaust have taken the lead in pressuring presidents and Congress against recognizing the reality of 1915.”
Noting the recent tensions between Israel and Turkey over Gaza, Caplan conjectures leading Jewish organizations may no longer support Turkey on this issue. “Whatever the outcome,” he concludes, “be sure that politics, not genocide, will be the decisive factor.”
=Asbarez reports that ADL National Director Abraham Foxman accused Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan of using “very sharp words” in his denunciation of Israel’s actions in Gaza, according to the Turkish paper Milliyet. “Turkey was our friend. I am sorrowful and confused,” lamented Foxman.
=The Anti-Defamation League is one of five American Jewish organizations that sent a letter to the Turkish prime minister expressing concern over the current wave of anti-Semitism in Turkey, reports PanARMENIAN.Net. The letter points to a connection between “the inflammatory denunciation of Israel by Turkish officials and the rise of anti-Semitism.”
Wednesday 01/21
Three letters published in the Newton Tab support David Boyajian's criticism of the ADL: Ralph Filicchia writes that Larry Epstein's charge of anti-Semitism is "way out of line" and that many Jewish people and groups agree with Boyajian on the question of the Armenian Genocide. Joseph Dagdigian points out that recognition of the Armenian Genocide is not a historical issue, but a political one. He adds, "Mr. Epstein should read his history a bit more closely. Turkey was not at war with Armenia; Turkey committed a genocide against its own civilian Armenian citizens." Finally, Karnig Boyajian states that "genocide cannot be considered the sole domain of the Jewish nation" and that acknowledging the Armenian Genocide would not "somehow diminish the Holocaust."
Friday 01/16
Harout Sassounian reports in Asbarez that Turkey’s condemnation of Israel’s attack in Gaza has so angered Israeli officials that they may “retaliate either by recognizing the Armenian Genocide or refusing to help Turkey to lobby against a congressional resolution on the genocide.” Several Turkish media outlets quoted Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Majalli Whbee, for instance, as saying, “Erdogan says that genocide is taking place in Gaza. We will then recognize the Armenian related events as genocide.”
“While it is unlikely that Israel would reverse its long-standing refusal to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide,” writes Sassounian, “it may decide not to accommodate future Turkish requests to have American Jewish organizations to lobby against a congressional resolution on the Armenian Genocide.”
Tuesday 01/13
Andrew Kevorkian replies to Larry Epstein by pointing our that professional historians associated with the International Association of Genocide Scholars, the International Commission for Transitional Justice, and others, including 56 professional Israeli and Jewish historians who called on Turkey in 2001 to recognize the Armenian Genocide all agree with Mr. Boyajian. The only “so-called scholars” who deny the historical fact of the Armenian Genocide are those “who are now or who have been in the pay directly or indirectly of the Turkish government.”
Tuesday 01/06
A response to David Boyajian’s article in the Newton Tab claims that there “is legitimate debate among historians regarding the question of genocide in Armenia,” and that professional “historians disagree on the intent of the Turks’ war upon Armenia.” Larry Epstein also accuses Boyajian of anti-Semitism and scapegoating of Jews.
Wednesday 12/10
In an article printed in the Belmont Citizen-Herald and the Newton Tab, David Boyajian writes that the ADL is “taking blatant advantage of” the spray-painting of a swastika on a Newton synagogue and is trying “to recoup its lost standing” by declaring that Newton is “not a place for hate.”
“Though the Newton incident was atrocious,” writes Boyajian, “the ADL lacks the credibility to lecture anyone about hate [because] the ADL is guilty of hate regarding the Armenian Genocide.” It is also “guilty of major hypocrisy,” he writes, because the ADL prioritizes its dealings with Turkey over universal human rights, causing it to engage in genocide denial.
Boyajian asserts that by its political wheeling and dealing and insincerity over the human rights of others, the ADL does a “far greater disservice to Jews and humanity than any spray-painted swastika.”
Other major Jewish organizations have also opposed Armenian Genocide recognition, adds Boyajian, who quotes a JINSA spokeswoman as saying, “The Jewish lobby has quite actively supported Turkey to prevent the so-called Armenian genocide resolution from passing.” An American Jewish Committee official also pledged to “champion to the best of our ability Turkish interests in the U.S. Congress.”
Unlike the ADL and many national Jewish organizations, the American Jewish World Service and the American Jewish League for Israel, among others, have joined over 70 organizations in supporting Congressional recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
Saturday 12/06
=Responding to Shahkeh Setian’s piece, the Barnstable County Human Rights Commission declares that it will not refuse to work with organizations such as the ADL who may take “a position contrary to its own.” Although the “commission doesn’t endorse the view of the ADL,” it states that local NPFH committees “have all done good work.”
=Nick Zeytoonian writes in a letter to the Cape Cod Times that the ADL “must put aside their political Turkophile agenda and recognize the Armenian Genocide.”
=Edward and Lucy Sahagian argue that Barnstable County should stop funding its human rights commission until it severs ties with the ADL, which they state, “is clearly a political lobbying organization [that] works against acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide. It’s the opposite of what human rights is all about.”
Tuesday 12/02
In a hard-hitting opinion piece printed in the Cape Cod Times, Shahkeh Setian charges that the Barnstable County Human Rights Commission (BCHRC) does not take human rights seriously because they continue to support the ADL’s No Place For Hate program. Setian, an educator and writer, states, “Had No Place for Hate’s sponsor denied the Jewish genocide and huddled with foreign lobbyists to persuade the U.S. to not recognize that genocide, the Barnstable County commission would long ago have rejected the program and its sponsor. The commission refuses to show similar respect for Armenians and their genocide.”
Setian concludes that if the BCHRC “doesn’t sever ties with the ADL and rededicate itself to its mandate of truth, honor and non-discrimination, the commission must remove the ‘human rights’ from its name.”
Thursday 11/06
“Armenian activists are crying foul over Turkey’s hiring of a Jewish lobbyist to work against the recognition of the Armenian genocide,” reports The Forward. Noam Neusner, former liaison to the Jewish community from the Bush White House, was hired by Turkey “to promote strong ties with major Jewish groups and to urge these groups to oppose House Resolution 106, which would have labeled the murders genocide.”
Filings under the Foreign Agents Registration Act reveal that Neusner’s firm communicated heavily with most major Jewish organizations during the Congressional debate on the resolution; groups contacted included the Anti-Defamation League, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, B’nai B’rith International, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, the American Jewish Congress, and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian called Turkey’s hiring of Neusner “a misguided attempt to manipulate Jewish-American opinion.”
Saturday 11/01
American Jewish Committee Director of Strategic Studies Barry Jacobs is retiring, according to Harut Sassounian in an article published in AZG. Jacobs, according to Sassounian, "has been at the forefront of AJC's attempts over the years to undermine the adoption of various congressional resolutions on the Armenian Genocide."
On February 21, Jacobs declared, "The position of all the Jewish organizations, including ADL, was not to have a position on the facts of what happened, or not taking a public position on what happened in 1915, we did not think, do not think, that the United States Congress is the place to settle this."
In 1999, Jacobs told the Turkish Daily News that "We will champion to the best of our ability Turkish interests in the U.S. Congress . . . We don't want those who are not friends of Turkey to have the means to use human rights or other issues against your interests."
Thursday 10/23
=The Boston Globe reports that although Watertown Town Council president Clyde Younger feels the ADL recognized the Armenian Genocide, he says it is “just my personal opinion. The council has not voted on the matter whatsoever.” Younger also commented, “I guess I need further feedback” to see how people interpret the memo.
=Weighing in on Blue Cross Blue Shield’s support for the ADL’s No Place for Hate program, Armenian Assembly of America Massachusetts state chair Herman Purutyan told the Armenian Mirror-Spectator that “Blue Cross said they were satisfied with private assurances, but there was no public assurance. That’s not fair to say they were privately satisfied.” Purutyan also observed, “For all the private assurances, the matter would go away if they could just do it publicly and put some power to their words. That would basically put the ADL on the right side of the issue.”
Watertown Town Council member Marilyn Devaney likewise criticized the notion of private assurances, asking, “Why haven’t they said it publicly?” “The ADL fight is not over,” she declared, adding, “I respectfully disagree with Clyde Younger . . . that the ADL recognized the Armenian Genocide.
David Boyajian commented, “I think Mr. Younger, whom I respect, has become confused by the layers of deception Abraham Foxman has tried to foist on elected officials.”
Tuesday 10/21
The Armenian National Committee of America reports that a public relations firm hired by the Turkish government to push “U.S. Jewish efforts to promote a pro-Turkey agenda in the U.S. Congress” contacted Jewish American groups at least 100 times in the past year; 32 of those contacts dealt specifically with Armenian Genocide legislation or other areas of concern to the Armenian community.
Neuser Communications, headed by Noam Neusner, the Bush administration liaison to the U.S. Jewish community from 2002-2005, filed reports that detail communications with the ADL regarding “ADL action on HR106” and “Abe Foxman’s visit to Turkey.”
Other American Jewish organizations contacted on HR 106, the Congressional resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide, include American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, American Jewish Congress, B’nai B’rith, Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.
Turkey expends over $3 million a year on public relations firms to promote its interests in Washington, D.C.
Monday 10/20
In a letter to Watertown Town Council President Clyde L. Younger, the Armenian National Committee of Massachusetts expressed its surprise to have read in the Boston Globe that Younger is now comfortable with ADL assurances that it has recognized the Armenian Genocide. “We would welcome a sincere, unambiguous acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide by the Anti-Defamation League,” wrote the ANC MA. “Rather, what we have observed is an organization engaged in a double game: issuing disingenuous statements that do not actually recognize the Armenian Genocide but are crafted in such a way as to mislead the public, while continuing to engage in genocide denial by promoting Turkey’s agenda with regard to a historical commission and Congressional recognition of the Armenian Genocide.”
Sunday 10/19
The Boston Globe reports that Watertown Town Council President Clyde L. Younger “now feels comfortable” with assurances from ADL National Director Abraham Foxman that the organization recognizes the Armenian Genocide.
Thursday 10/09
Discussing the ADL’s position on the Armenian Genocide, National Office Media Director Myrna Shulman told the Watertown Tab, “Our statements stand and continue to stand as we’ve gone back to August 2007. There’s nothing new to this issue. We say this over and over again. The statements are what the statements are.”
Wednesday 10/08
In a letter published in the Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle, Laura Boghosian points out that “The ADL has been playing a double game, issuing a disingenuous statement while simultaneously advancing the Turkish government’s agenda by opposing a Congressional resolution formally affirming the Armenian genocide.”
Friday 10/03
In a powerful letter to the Watertown Tab, Dr. Michael Siegel writes, “As a Jew who has previously been a strong supporter of the ADL, I find the organization’s statement woefully inadequate. Worse, its actions – lobbying, for purely political reasons, to prevent passage of a resolution which merely acknowledges the Armenian Genocide – are appalling . . . there seems no question that the Jewish community would be calling for any and all organizations to sever ties with any group that was lobbying against the acknowledgment of the Holocaust as genocide.”
Thursday 10/02
=Read the ANC Press Release: Watertown Town Council Calls on BCBS to Dissassociate with Controversial ADL Program .
Wednesday 10/01
=An Armenian National Committee of Massachusetts press release announced that Blue Cross Blue Shield has mailed form letters to individuals and organizations that had asked the corporation to terminate its support of No Place for Hate. These letters stated, “It had been our understanding that the ADL recognized the terrible events perpetrated against the Armenian people between 1915 and 1923 as genocide . . . our CEO asked the ADL leaders about the organization’s ‘official’ position. He was assured that the ADL unequivocally recognizes the killing of more than one and a half million Armenians as genocide.”
ANCA spokesman Ara Nazarian is quoted as saying, “Foxman’s verbal assertions to the BCBSMA fly in the face of his statements in Turkey just three months ago, where he dared not properly characterize the Armenian Genocide as ‘genocide,’ lauded the ADL’s opposition to Congressional legislation on the issue, and went so far as to advise the unrepentant perpetrators of genocide on how to sweep history under the rug.”
Meanwhile, the ANC MA responded to Blue Cross’s letter, writing, “We are very disappointed that Blue Cross Blue Shield has decided to turn a blind eye to what is clearly genocide denial by the Anti-Defamation League . . . The Armenian community has struggled against genocide denial for ninety-three years. The entire community is united in its determination to see justice prevail in this matter.”
Sunday 09/28
=The Boston Globe reports that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts does not plan to end its sponsorship of the No Place for Hate program despite a resolution unanimously passed by the Watertown Town Council urging the company to do so. Robert Crestan, civil rights counsel for the New England ADL office, is quoted as saying there is no difference between the national and New England ADL on the Armenian Genocide. “There is only one position. There is no ‘one position in Boston and one position in New York,’” he said. Watertown Town Councilor Stephen Corbett, however, stated, “I see the situation as not having changed at all. It’s a fairly straightforward thing we’re looking for. This is a matter of principle.”
Thursday 09/25
=An article in the Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle states that the ADL was pushed into releasing its August 2007 statement on the Armenian Genocide after a “weeks-long standoff that began with a ragtag group of activists in Boston goading one of the most formidable organizations in the Jewish world.”
The Chronicle included the ADL campaign in a list of “upstart activists and new groups challenging the Jewish establishment on a widening range of issues,” likening “the Armenian and Jewish activists who challenged the ADL” to David and Goliath.
Wednesday 09/24
=The Watertown Tab reports that Watertown Town Council members “implored Blue Cross Blue Shield to end its endorsement of the ‘No Place for Hate’ anti-bias program,” but that BCBS officer John Curley, Jr. “was not going to play along.”
In response to Councilor Mark Sideris’s request to “help us to get unequivocal recognition” for the Armenian Genocide, Curley said, “Getting involved in national politics is not something we do.”
Referring to the ADL’s disputed comments on the Armenian Genocide, Councilor Stephen Corbett declared, “I just can’t believe they can’t come up with a clearly worded written statement.”
Councilor Jonathan Hecht told Curley, “By continuing to prevaricate and play these games between the national and local offices of the ADL, you are undermining the effort to prevent future genocides.”
The town council unanimously passed a resolution asking Blue Cross Blue Shield to end its involvement with NPFH.
=The Boston Globe also reported on the Watertown Town Council meeting, quoting BCBS Vice President John Curley as saying that his company intends to keep sponsoring NPFH because they were “very satisfied with the response we got” from the local ADL on the question of the Armenian Genocide. “If it was ambiguous, we would have ended our partnership,’ he said.
In response, Councilor Vincent Piccirilli pointed out that the difference between the statements of the local and national ADL bodies is the problem, stating, “Most of the citizens of Watertown are somewhat dismayed with the talking around the issue and the failure to come clean.” “All citizens of Watertown are tired,” he said, of “this kind of two-faced action and statement.”
Tuesday 09/23
=BREAKING NEWS: The Watertown Town Council voted tonight (09/23/08) to pass a resolution calling on Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts to ends its endorsement of the Anti Defamation League's (ADL) No Place for Hate program due to the ADL's refusal to unambiguously acknowledge the Armenian Genocide and to end its active opposition to Congressional affirmation of the Armenian Genocide.
The resolution, introduced by Councilors Marilyn Petitto Devany, Stephen Corbett, and Mark Sideris, was unanimously adopted, following the reading of a statement and a question and answer period with Blue Cross Blue Shield's Jay Curley, who was present at the Council's request.
Read the ANC Press Release: Watertown Town Council Calls on BCBS to Dissassociate with Controversial ADL Program.
=Twenty-five Armenian political and community organizations, churches, and media have signed on to an open letter to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts urging the health care company to end its sponsorship of the No Place for Hate program.
The letter stated, in part, “Given the ADL’s failure to adhere to the most basic standards required of a human rights organization, Blue Cross Blue Shield has an obligation both to its subscribers and the larger community to end its endorsement of this national ADL program. Because Blue Cross Blue Shield’s initial endorsement of NPFH provided the momentum for many communities to adopt the program, BCBS has a special responsibility to end its corporate endorsement and financial support of this ADL endeavor.”
=Read the Open Letter from the Armenian American Community to Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Monday 09/22
=The Boston Globe accused “some local Armenian-Americans and their supporters” of having an “unhealthy obsession” due to their efforts to convince local towns and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts to sever their ties with the Anti-Defamation League.
In arguing that BCBS “should maintain its healthy support for No Place for Hate,” Globe editors assert that the ADL last month termed “the massacres of Armenians by its rightful name – genocide.”
Quoted in the editorial, however, is Sharistan Melkonian, chairwoman of the ANC of Eastern Massachusetts, who points out that the ADL has failed to issue a “full and public acknowledgment” of the genocide.
Regarding the ADL’s opposition to a Congressional resolution affirming the Armenian Genocide, the Globe states that local officials should not “be dragged into this morass,” but should “stay focused on ways to address and prevent local hate crimes.”
Sunday 09/21
=ANNOUNCEMENT: The Watertown Town Council will discuss the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts' support of the Anti Defamation League's No Place for Hate program at their regularly scheduled town council meeting on Tuesday, September 23, 2008 at 7 PM at the Watertown Middle School (NOTE NEW LOCATION!) 68 Waverly Avenue, Watertown, MA. On Tuesday, September 23, the Town Council is scheduled to hear from BCBS representatives and to urge Blue Cross Blue Shield to ends its affiliation with the ADL. Watertown residents are urged to attend this very important meeting and to speak during public comment.
= The Boston Globe reports that expecting a larger-than-normal turnout this week, the Watertown Town Council will move its Tuesday meeting from Town Hall to the Watertown Middle School auditorium. Last month, the council sent a letter to Blue Cross executives requesting the face-to-face meeting and urging the healthcare insurance company to withdraw its support for the ADL's No Place For Hate program. During Tuesday's session, representatives from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts will talk about the company's financial support for the program.
Thursday 09/18
=A comprehensive article in the London Review of Books on the history of modern Turkey examines the country’s denial of the Armenian Genocide and mentions the role played by American Jewish organizations such as the ADL.
Perry Anderson, UCLA professor of history and sociology, discussing Turkey’s efforts last year to prevent a Congressional resolution affirming the Armenian Genocide, writes, “Turkish threats were now combined with bribes in a drive to stop the resolution . . . Meanwhile, major Jewish organizations – AIPAC, ADL and others – far from expressing any solidarity with the victims of another genocide, were closeted with Gul in Washington, discussing how to deny it.”
=Anderson details how modern Turkey honors the architects of the Armenian Genocide, naming streets and schools after them that “celebrate the murderers.” It would be, he says, “as if in Germany, squares, streets and kindergarten were called after Himmler, Heydrich, Eichmann, without anyone raising an eyebrow.”
The Turkish left has shown the most courage in confronting the Turkish nationalism that led to the Armenian Genocide, the expulsion of Greeks, deportation of Kurds and torture of dissident Turks, he writes, singling out the “outstanding work” of historian Taner Akcam for documenting “the realities of the Armenian genocide and their deep deposits in the Turkish state.”
=Anderson disparages the “pattern of evasions and contortions to be found in so much Western scholarship on Turkey,” attributing it to a fear that if scholars “breach national taboos,” they would jeopardise their access to the country. An exception to this trend is Donald Bloxham’s Great Game of Genocide, which Anderson praises as “a succinct masterpiece on the killing of the Armenians.” Anderson also condemns the political leadership of the United States and the European Union for ignoring the Armenian Genocide, as well as the severe discrimination against Kurds and Alevis.
=Anderson contrasts the Armenian Genocide with the Holocaust, listing similarities, but also explaining the differences: “Both participants and beneficiaries of the cleansing in Anatolia were more numerous, and its structural consequences for society greater. One genocide was the dementia of an order that has disappeared. The other was a founding moment of a state that has endured.”
“The implacable refusal of the Turkish state to acknowledge the extermination of the Armenians on its territory is not anachronistic or irrational, but a contemporary defense of its own legitimacy,” he writes. When genocide perpetrator Enver was reburied in a 1996 state ceremony, says Anderson, “as the cask was lowered into the ground, stood the West’s favorite Muslim moderate: Abdullah Gul, now AKP president of Turkey.”
=He concludes by envisioning a train journey from Berlin to Istanbul, from the monument to the extermination of the Jews by the Brandenburg Gate to the monument to the exterminators of the Armenians on Liberty Hill.
Anderson is a noted Marxist intellectual and serves on the editorial committee of the London-based New Left Review.
Sunday 08/31
=An article in the Boston Globe reports on the Watertown Town Council’s efforts to persuade Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts into ending its funding of the No Place for Hate program.
Although councilor Stephen Corbett had drafted a resolution to this effect, the council decided to postpone action until BCBS has an opportunity to explain the corporation’s position.
“’I would’ve liked to see us take action on it,’ said Corbett. ‘We just don’t feel Blue Cross funds should be going toward a program that won’t recognize the Armenian Genocide.’”
No Place for Denial spokesman Ara Nazarian accused the ADL of “trying to whitewash” its position on the Armenian Genocide, and denied that Armenian groups are trying to “demonize” the ADL.
Tuesday 08/26
=The newly-named ADL regional director, Derrek Shulman, will not change the ADL’s policy of denying the Armenian Genocide, especially since he is coming from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, said activist David Boyajian. Quoted in a Newton Tab article, Boyajian stated “While the main problem is the national ADL, it’s of concern that the new director of the New England regional ADL is a political director of AIPAC,” explaining that AIPAC has also not fully acknowledged the Armenian Genocide.
Addressing the ADL’s statement last week that they have referred to the Armenian Genocide, Boyajian charged, “Regardless of how the national ADL tries to spin it now, its formal statement of August 21, 2007, still stands as a deliberate and disgraceful attempt to contravene the official definition of genocide in Article II of the United National Genocide Treaty of 1948.”
Needham resident Charles Sahagian, however, voiced hope that Shulman would improve the situation between the Armenian community and the ADL. “I am hoping it will be a new page,” he said.
Sunday 08/24
=The New England ADL "has been needlessly mired in a controversy with the Armenian community over the unwillingness of the national ADL to characterize as genocide the Ottoman Turkish massacre of as many as 1.5 million Armenians from 1915 to 1923" says Boston Globe columnist Yvonne Abraham in a forceful piece published today.
"The controversy has alienated not just Armenians, but also members of the Jewish community," she writes, citing Rabbi Howard Jaffe of Lexington's Temple Isaiah who comments, "There are many of us who are not only reluctant but unwilling to include them in our efforts any more . . . By taking a morally bankrupt position, they have rendered the voice of the ADL hollow."
Yvonne Abraham labeled ADL National Director Abraham Foxman's August 2007 statement on the Armenian Genocide "a cynical half-measure, carefully worded to leave open the key possibility that Ottoman Turks did not intend to wipe out the Armenians. His mealy-mouthed concession didn't even come close to satisfying his critics, particularly because the national ADL has also lobbied against a congressional resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide."
Friday 08/22
=The Anti-Defamation League issued a statement today signed by National Director Abraham Foxman that characterizes as “demonization” the “false accusation that we engage in any form of genocide denial.” Referring to the organization’s stand on the Armenian Genocide, the statement comes almost exactly one year after its controversial August 21, 2007 press release that portrayed the “consequences” of Turkish massacres and atrocities as “tantamount to genocide.”
=The Armenian Mirror-Spectator reports that Jay McQuaide, vice-president of Corporate Communications for Blue Cross Blue Shield, said the corporation will meet with the Watertown Town Council to discuss its funding of the ADL's No Place for Hate program. McQuaide also charged, "We think there has been some misrepresentation out there." According to the Mirror-Spectator, BCBS "has not responded to queries concerning how much of its funds go to support the NPFH program."
=An editor's note on the Needham Times web page now says "This article also quotes a letter sent to 'communities requesting some information' clarifying the ADL's stance, which according to interim director Jonathan Kappel, was dated July 28. The ADL now says the letter was never finalized or sent and constitutes a private communication."
Thursday 08/21
=An
article posted on the Newton Tab web site quotes activist David Boyajian as saying, "Regardless of how the national ADL tries to spin it now, its formal statement of August 21, 2007, still stands as a deliberate and disgraceful attempt to contravene the official definition of genocide in Article II of the United Nations Genocide Treaty of 1948 . . . The national ADL continues, however, to shamelessly use {the statement} to hoodwink people who don't know international law."
Wednesday 08/20=The Boston Globe
reports the New England ADL has hired Derrek L. Shulman as regional director, beginning in October. Shulman, the political director of Boston’s American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) office for 5 1/2 years, stated that he sees “tremendous opportunity” for progress on the conflict surrounding the ADL’s refusal to fully acknowledge the Armenian Genocide; he declined, however, to offer specifics. Andrew H. Tarsy, the previous regional director, resigned in December and has since publicly lectured on the Armenian Genocide and called for its recognition by Congress. Commenting on Shulman’s appointment, Aram Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America, said, “Our concern has never been as much with the person who holds the position, as with the policy of the ADL.” Ara Nazarian, representing the No Place for Denial campaign, stated, “The ball is in their court at this point, and we’re waiting for them to do the right thing.”
=An
article in the Worcester Telegram on Derrek Shulman’s appointment as regional director quotes Esta Gordon Epstein, Chair Elect of the ADL’s New England Regional Board, as saying, “We are entering a growth period at ADL, and Derrek is the perfect choice to lead us through it.”
=The Jewish Telegraphic Agency
points out “The ADL still faces challenges in the Boston area, where more than a dozen communities have suspended their participation in a popular anti-bigotry program in protest of the league’s position on the [Armenian] genocide. Armenian activists still accuse the league of waffling on the genocide question and are upset that it did not support a congressional resolution recognizing the massacres as genocide.”
=The national ADL has “recently changed its position” on the Armenian Genocide, according to NE ADL interim regional director Jonathan Kappel. Kappel told the
Needham Times that a July 28 letter sent out to communities states the ADL “referred to this massacre and atrocities as genocide.” As of press time, the ADL had failed to respond to the paper’s request for a copy of the letter. Kappel voiced hope that the communities who pulled out of the ADL’s No Place for Hate program would “bring the program back.” Derrek Shulman, a Needham resident who will succeed Kappel in October, said his work at AIPAC combined “my professional passion for politics with my personal passion for Israel.”
=A
blog posted in the Watertown Tab asks, “If you change your position on the Armenian Genocide and don’t tell anyone, have you changed it?” Referring to reports that the ADL is "coming out with an unequivocal statement that the Armenian Genocide was a genocide," Chris Helms says he “won’t buy it until I have the full document in my hands (if then). Besides, if you’re really going to make a huge about-face on an issue that is crucial to thousands of people in Watertown and beyond, you don’t do it this quietly.”
Saturday 08/16=The Watertown Tab
reports that the Town Council has decided to send Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts a strongly-worded letter asking for the company to explain why they fund the ADL’s “No Place for Hate” tolerance program. The report points out that if the health company does not appear before the board, councilors have said they would go forward with a resolution demanding they stop sending cash to the ADL. According to Blue Cross Blue Shield Spokesman Jay McQuaide, the healthcare provider has been funding the ADL’s program since 2001 and is "very proud to be the first company to be named a ‘No Place for Hate’ company."
Friday 08/15In a strong
letter to the Jewish Advocate, Julia Ross charges that the ADL “continues to betray itself and its mission.” Saying that the ADL “continually failed to recognize the Armenian genocide as such,” she asks “Can the ADL morally continue to preach about eradicating anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial?” Ross concludes by calling on the ADL “to practice as they preach . . . and stand up for what is right.”
Sunday 07/27=In an article entitled
"Abe Foxman: Bigotry is Fine by Me", Daniel Koffler puts Foxman's stance on the Armenian genocide in context of his position on John Hagee's support of McCain. Koffler writes: "[...] the president of the Anti-Defamation League is [...] actually couldn't care less about religious or racial defamation. Which raises an important question: Did Foxman flack for the Turkish government's efforts to deny the Ottoman genocide of Armenians out of some warped political calculus, or because he thinks the Turkish position is right on the merits? Or is there no difference between the two positions for Foxman? "
Thursday 07/17
=In an opinion piece published in the Lexington Minuteman, Laura Boghosian
reports that a committee to promote cooperation between the Jewish and Armenian communities has held its first meeting June 26. The group, which is organized by Rabbi Howard Jaffe of Temple Isaiah, will explore common links as victims of genocide. The article states that "Temple Isaiah’s outreach to Armenians resulted from the campaign against the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) which denies the Armenian Genocide and actively lobbies for Turkey against its recognition by Congress."
=In the same article, Boghosian reports that Temple Isaiah invited Boston-area Armenians to its Holocaust memorial service on May 2 and commemorated those who perished in the Armenian Genocide as well as the Holocaust. Historian and genocide scholar Richard G. Hovannisian of the University of California, Los Angeles, was invited to lecture as the first Rabbi Leon A. Jick Memorial Speaker on the connections between these two genocides.
The article quotes Rabbi Jaffe's remarks: “While the Holocaust has received universal recognition and much attention throughout the Western world, the Armenian Genocide has yet to achieve such recognition or attention. Sadly, even our own United States government has yet to do so, and sadder still, is that that is in part due to the efforts of some Jewish communal organizations.”
Wednesday 07/09=“Maybe Marshfield’s efforts to stamp out hate in town could be better served by working with a program other than the Anti-Defamation League’s No Place for Hate. Perhaps the ADL’s stance on the Armenian Genocide has compromised it so much that it is not credible as an organization that fights racism,” says an
editorial in the Marshfield Mariner.
But “If No Place for Hate is the best way to accomplish [eliminating hate], that’s what the town should do. If it’s not — either because of the Armenian Genocide issue or some other reason — then the town should do something else. And while we’re at it, a little more education on the Armenian Genocide wouldn’t be a bad idea either.”
Tuesday 07/08=The Marshfield Mariner
reports that the ADL helped with an anti-hate vigil held on the town’s green following a racist attack. Sharistan Melkonian, Armenian National Committee of Massachusetts Chairwoman, called the town’s reactivation of the local No Place for Hate committee “irresponsible,” however, because the ADL “has gone to great length to actively oppose Congressional affirmation of the Armenian Genocide, and they have refused to unambiguously acknowledge it. When you couple the two together, it leaves concern as to whether or not they are an appropriate partner for this kind of work. They're engaging in what they have identified as the ultimate form of hate speech: genocide denial.” The paper writes that “The ANC has been working with towns to find alternatives to No Place For Hate since last July.”
4Activist David Boyajian suggested to the paper that towns either simply change the name of their anti-bias programs or find another organization. “There are other human rights programs,” he said. “You can't engage in genocide denial and discriminate against Armenians. It contradicts NPFH's entire mission."
4The town will study its options, according to Marshfield Town Administrator Rocco Longo. "Clearly there was a genocide against the Armenians, but it's such a heavy-duty issue,” he said. “We're still going to fight hate in Marshfield, and the ADL has been very supportive of our fight against hate. We've got a lot more to learn, but it doesn't mean locally that we're going to give up."
Monday 07/07=The controversy over the ADL’s August 2007 statement on the Armenian Genocide is “behind us,” says National Director Abraham Foxman, according to an
article in the Jerusalem Post.
Foxman is quoted as saying that the Turks “were angry” over the ADL pronouncement. "But I think today there is an understanding of where we were, and that we were opposed to Congressional legislation, and that we stood very firm that that was not the way to resolve the issue, and that there is nothing cataclysmic about using the 'genocide' word," he said.
Yet Foxman also declared that pressure by Armenian Americans to use "certain words they want us to use is not going to help one Armenian."
"In the conversations I had with all of them I said there is a need to be proactive, that they need to deal with live Armenians, and strengthen the relationship between Turkey and Armenia, and by strengthening the relations today - frontier issues, opening borders - it will place the historical issue in the background and be much easier to deal with," Foxman said.
Monday 07/07
=ADL National Chair Glen S. Lewy and National Director Abraham Foxman met with Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other top government officials during a recent series of meeting in Ankara, according to a
press release issued by the organization.
Foxman is quoted as saying,"My advice is that Turkey be creative and proactive in strengthening the relationship with Armenia as a way to deal with the issue. That will bring about a coming together of history. I suggested finding ways to work together that will help change the atmosphere, because we have a concern today for the well-being of Armenia. Armenia and Turkey need to solve this, not in a political forum such as Congress or parliaments."
Friday 07/04
=The Turkish Daily News
reports that the ADL continues “to oppose a resolution containing the genocide word,” according to National Director Abraham Foxman. In an interview with the paper, Foxman also said Armenia and Turkey need to solve the problem and reiterated that the issue should not be addressed in Congress or parliaments. Foxman also encouraged the leadership of Turkey to “mend its ties” with Armenia. TDN writes, “Foxman admitted the existence of sympathy for Armenians within the Jewish community” and that this community “is more interested today in helping the lives of Armenians living in Armenia, rather than becoming judges in an issue that they cannot resolve.”
Tuesday 07/01=Today's Zaman
reports that ADL National Director Abraham Foxman repeated his opposition to Congressional resolutions affirming the Armenian Genocide in a meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on June 30 in Ankara. In turn, Erdogan thanked Foxman "for his stance in regard to Armenian allegations of genocide."
Monday 06/23=In an incisive and comprehensive
interview on Raising Sand Radio, David Boyajian talks about the No Place for Denial campaign, Turkish-Israeli and Turkish-American relations, Armenian history, the Armenian Genocide, and the Genocide resolution in Congress. Raising Sand Radio is broadcast from Stanford University, California.
Saturday 06/21=In a forceful
editorial, the Armenian Mirror-Spectator has called on Massachusetts towns still associated with No Place for Hate to "join the ranks of the bold towns" who have pulled out of the program.
Addressing the fact that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts funds NPFH, the editorial states, "We Armenians should also think twice about using Blue Cross when it comes to health coverage." The Mirror-Spectator concludes with "The denial of genocide is the last stage of genocide. By continuing to support ADL programs, Blue Cross Blue Shield is helping deniers have the last word."
Sunday 06/01=The internationally respected anti-hate organization,
Southern Poverty Law Center, has
exposed the Turkish government's multi-million dollar campaign of genocide denial in a groundbreaking, just-published intelligence report, "State of Denial." The report describes the "alarming success" of "a
network of American scholars, influence peddlers and website operators, financed by the government of Turkey, who promote the denial of the Armenian genocide."
The SPLC reveals that the Institute of Turkish Studies at Georgetown University, created and funded by the Turkish government, also receives "sizable donations from American defense contractors that sell arms to Turkey, including General Dynamics and Westinghouse." The institute is a major component of the Turkish denialist network.
=In an accompanying editorial entitled "Lying About History," the SPLC writes, "The claims of the Turkish government and the scholars who seem bent on supporting it are enough to make one ill."
Several other articles and resources are linked to the report. The nonprofit Southern Poverty Law Center monitors hate groups, defends civil and human rights, and provides anti-bias training through their educational program "Teaching Tolerance."
Tuesday 05/20
=ANNOUNCEMENT: The University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) is hosting a Panel Discussion about the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and its Position on the Armenian Genocide on Thursday, May 22, 2008 @ 4:00pm at the MCC Theater, Goleta, CA. The invited panelists include representatives from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the Armenian National Committee (ANC), the Armenian Student Association (ASA) at UCSB and STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition at UCSB. Organized by UCSB ASA and STAND. For more information, contact ucsbasa@yahoo.com . Facebook event signup.
Tuesday 05/13
=The Watertown Tab reports that on April 30, "the [Massachusetts] Governor’s Council issued a resolution at the Massachusetts State House...honoring...David Boyajian for his role in the campaign against the Anti-Defamation League’s denial of the Armenian Genocide and for questioning the appropriateness of towns’ affiliation with the ADL’s No Place for Hate anti-bias program. " In his acceptance speech, Boyajian "thanked the Armenian National Committee of America for its efforts in the campaign and praised the human rights commissioners, elected officials and citizens in the towns that dropped No Place for Hate." He also singled out “Jewish Americans who have stood for principle” by criticizing the ADL “when they could have remained silent.”
Monday 05/05
=The Armenian Weekly reports that the annual Armenian Genocide commemoration at the Massachusetts State House celebrated the "No Place for Denial" effort:
4"Watertown town councilor...Jonathan Hecht was presented with the Joint House and Senate Resolution on the Armenian Genocide as a way of honoring him for his pivotal role in advocating for the MMA to rescind its sponsorship of the ADL-affiliated No Place for Hate program."
4"[State Rep.] Koutoujian presented special thanks to the representatives of all those Massachusetts towns that contributed and banded together during the anti-ADL controversy. House of Representatives citations were also presented to human rights groups in those towns for their “Commitment to Protect and Honor Human Rights in the Past, Present, and Future.”"
4"Koutoujian also thanked the “No Place for Denial” team of activists for leading an unprecedented grassroots effort to expose the ADL’s denial and to persuade over a dozen Massachusetts municipalities, and ultimately the statewide umbrella group the MMA, to sever their links with the ADL."
Saturday 05/03
=The Armenian Weekly reports that on April 22, "the Town Council of Watertown bestowed a proclamation honoring investigative journalist David Boyajian for bringing to light ...the denialist policies of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL)." In his acceptance speech Boyajian stated: “we have a wonderful system in this country that allows freedom of speech and freedom of the press. But we must be insistent and persistent in actually using and protecting those rights.”
Friday 05/02
=In an article entitled No more 'No place for hate', the Somerville News reports on Somerville's withdrawal from the ADL program. “We want to send a clear message that bigotry, whether its on a local level or a genocide level, is not appropriate,” city spokeswoman Lesley Delaney Hawkins is quoted as saying. The article explains that "[Somerville] Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, a member of the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) who is also president of the Massachusetts Mayors' Association, received an “immense” amount of correspondence from individuals, of both Armenian and non-Armenian descent, expressing their concern over the controversial position of the ADL."
Wednesday 04/30
=In a public letter thanking Mayor Curtatone of Somerville, Massachusetts State Reps Rachel Kaprielian and Peter J. Koutoujian write: "Your support for the Armenian community was sincerely felt when the MMA took a stand against the denial of the Armenian Genocide and severed its ties with the Anti-Defamation League’s No Place for Hate program. We are also pleased to learn that the city of Somerville has taken steps to sever ties with the No Place for Hate program. Furthermore, your steadfast leadership on this issue proves your commitment to honoring human rights in the past, present and future. "
Sunday 04/27
=ANNOUNCEMENT: On Friday night, May 2 at 8pm, at Temple Isaiah, 55 Lincoln Street, Lexington Massachusetts, Dr. Richard Hovannisian of UCLA, will be speaking on the nexus of the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust as part of Temple Isaiah's commemoration of Yom Hashoah Holocaust Memorial Day. No RSVP is necessary. Please be advised that the worship service will last for about 45 minutes prior to Dr. Hovannisian's talk, followed by approximately 15 minutes of closing worship after the presentation.
=In his invitation to the Hovannisian lecture, Rabbi Howard L. Jaffe of Temple Isaiah writes: "Temple Isaiah wishes to especially reach out to the Armenian community in an open invitation to join us for worship that evening, and to be present for Dr. Hovannisian's talk. We have asked him to come all the way from Los Angeles specifically for this event, so that we might strongly exhibit our commitment to working together on recognition of the Armenian genocide, and on building ever stronger relations between our two communities. "
=Read the op-ed that Rabbi Howard Jaffe has co-authored with Lexington activist Laura Boghosian in the Lexington Minuteman and the Jewish Advocate.
Saturday 04/26
=A letter to the editor in the Cambridge Chronicle by Berge Jololian calls on Blue Cross Blue Shield to drop its sponsorship of the ADL program. "It’s wrong to fund or sponsor an alleged human rights program such as NPFH, which was created and is sponsored by an organization like ADL that denies a genocide," writes Jololian. "It’s a misuse of the health-care dollars of Blue Cross subscribers," continues the letter and urges Cambridge’s state legislators to press "Beacon Hill’s Joint Public Health Committee to conduct hearings into Blue Cross’ spending habits."
Friday 04/25
=The Somerville Journal reports that: "Following a number of cities in the area disgusted the ADL won’t honor the Armenian Genocide, Somerville has shed its moniker of 'No Place for Hate.'" The Journal adds that the Mayor's announcement severing ties with the ADL "was timed...to coincide with the day the genocide is commemorated." Somerville is now part of the Partnership for Working Toward Inclusive Communities, reports the Journal.
=The Boston Globe reports that the city of Somerville "has joined a growing number of communities ending their relationship with an Anti-Defamation League program, No Place for Hate, over the organization's failure to "unequivocally recognize" the Armenian genocide."
Thursday 04/24
=BREAKING NEWS: The mayor of Somerville has just announced that the city of Somerville will officially rescind their endorsement of ADL's No Place for Hate. In an email to the No Place for Denial Team, Mayor Joe Curtatone wrote: "As Mayor of Somerville, as a parent and as a person, I believe that ensuring the basic human rights of all people is essential. We must promote tolerance and understanding in our communities every day. That is why today, when we commemorate the Armenian Genocide, I am announcing that the City of Somerville is taking the steps to officially rescind our support of the No Place for Hate program." Details to follow.
=ANNOUNCEMENT: Boston Area Commemoration of the 93rd Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide: Remembrance and Commemoration through Prayer, Culture and Music. Requiem Service at 6:30 pm in the St. James Armenian Church Sanctuary, Watertown. Program at 7:30 pm in St. James, Keljik Hall, 465 Mt. Auburn St., Watertown. Featured speakers: Steve Kurkjian, Dr. Dikran Kaligian. Musical performance by cellist Ani Kalayjian, Solo dance performance by Sayat Nova Dance Company of Boston. Organized by the Greater Boston Committee to Commemorate the Armenian Genocide.
Tuesday 04/22
=ANNOUNCEMENT: The Watertown Town Council plans to issue a proclamation Tonight, Tuesday, April 22 at 7:15 PM recognizing David Boyajian's contributions to the ADL/NPFH campaign. Location: Richard E. Mastrangelo Chamber, Watertown Town Hall, 149 Main Street, Watertown, MA.
Monday 04/21
=In an article on the MMA's decision to end its sponsorship of the ADL's No Place for Hate program, the Needham Times quotes Charles Sahagian, who joined fellow Armenian Americans in the town in asking the town to severe ties with No Place for Hate as saying: “I’m happy and sad at the same time...The MMA decision was favorable but that notwithstanding, the ADL is still recalcitrant, it still denies the genocide. That’s the problem." On behalf of the town’s Armenian-American community, Sahagian has thanked Needham’s representatives on the MMA board, Town Manager Kate Fitzpatrick and Selectman Jerry Wasserman, for their position on the issue. “It is absolutely essential to acknowledge the horrible genocide suffered by the Armenian people,” Wasserman is quoted as saying.
Tuesday 04/15
=The San Francisco-Bay Area ANC reports that on April 7, at the conclusion of a speech in which he repeatedly condemned and called for an end to the use of anti-Jewish euphemisms, Abraham Foxman was asked why he has chosen to use euphemisms in regard to the Armenian Genocide. Foxman responded that “...No one can dictate to you to use the word that you want us to use. We will use the words that we feel comfortable with” and that the issue should be resolved between Turks and Armenians. Read the report and full transcript of Foxman's response here.
=In a Jerusalem Post April 13 column on the planned construction of the Armenian Genocide Museum of America, Marilyn Henry touches on the continuing denial of the Armenian genocide. The article quotes Michael Berenbaum, who was the project director for the US Holocaust Memorial Museum's permanent exhibition, as saying: "Jews should have a couple of eerie feelings as they enter an Armenian museum...The first is: What would have happened to the remembrance of the Holocaust if Germany had denied the crime?" The column concludes saying: "The Armenians and the Jews have much in common: atrocities, expulsion...But we Jews have been spared one grievous harm: as Berenbaum has noted, the fact that Germany acknowledged the Holocaust enabled the Jews to commemorate it appropriately - not to argue about whether it happened."
Saturday 04/12
=On Sunday, April 13 @ 2pm, the Armenian Library and Museum of America (ALMA) will host “Genocide Committed, Genocide Denied, Genocide Repeated: A Public Forum in Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, the Jewish Holocaust and the Rwandan Genocide.” Event co-sponsored by the Armenian National Committee of America, the Massachusetts Coalition to Save Darfur, Facing History and Ourselves (Brookline), The Armenian Assembly of America, The Strassler Family Center for Genocide and Holocaust Studies at Clark University, Orphans of Rwanda and the Survivors Fund.
The event aims to raise awareness about past genocides and the necessity to prevent such future atrocities. The forum will begin at 2 p.m. in ALMA’s Contemporary Art Gallery with WBZ talk radio host Jordan Rich serving as the moderator.
Speakers include Professors Roger Smith (Zoryan Institute) and Henry Theriault (WSC). Survivors of the Armenian Genocide, the Jewish Holocaust and the Rwandan Genocide will be on hand to convey their personal experiences, as will photojournalist and author Lane Montgomery. The event is free and open to the public. It will include Rwandan, Jewish and Armenian musical interludes. A light reception will follow.
Friday 04/11
=The Jewish Advocate has reprinted an abridged version of the op-ed by Rabbi Jaffe and Laura Boghosian first published in the Lexington Minuteman on March 31, 2008. "The ADL’s position is simply not justifiable," state the authors. "Recently, three prominent Israeli genocide scholars condemned an Israeli ambassador’s comments supporting Turkish genocide denial by writing that Israel’s relationship with Turkey “does not require public displays of obsequiousness and participation in genocide denial.” The op-ed concludes: "Even if Turkey’s threats are not mere saber rattling, as many believe, the consequences to Israel are not great enough to legitimize the ADL’s actions. By engaging in such realpolitik, the ADL forfeits its moral authority to speak on matters of conscience."
Thursday 04/10
=The Jewish Advocate reports that Facing History and Ourselves (FHO), has hired Andrew H. Tarsy as its chief institutional advancement officer. The article notes that "the former ADL director found himself at the center of a media conflagration...because of the ADL National Director Abraham Foxman’s stance regarding the Amenian genocide. Foxman released a statement claiming the massacre was “tantamount to genocide,” but did not fully acknowledge the mass killing of some 1.5 million Armenians by the Turkish government in the early 1900s." The Advocate notes that FHO has published a book on the Armenian genocide entitled Crimes Against Humanity and Civilization: The Genocide of the Armenians. The Advocate quotes Nancy K. Kaufman, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, as saying: “I think this is a wonderful opportunity for him. I think he will be able to speak freely about the issues he is most passionate about including speaking out against genocide, whether that is the Armenian or Jewish genocide.”
Wednesday 04/09
=The Boston Globe reports on the MMA's decision to end its sponsorship No Place for Hate: "In a unanimous vote, the board of directors at the MMA, a nonprofit advocacy group for Massachusetts cities and towns, expressed 'strong disapproval' in the ADL for failing to unequivocally acknowledge the Armenian genocide at a national meeting last November, according to a statement released yesterday. 'We think this is an issue on which there can be no equivocation,' said Jonathan Hecht, a Watertown town councilor and member of the MMA's board of directors. 'My personal view,' he said, 'is that No Place For Hate is not credible as long as the ADL is unable to unequivocally recognize the genocide.'...The MMA's decision to do so yesterday will send a 'clear message' to communities that still welcome the program, said Sharistan Melkonian, chairwoman of the Armenian National Committee of Eastern Massachusetts."
=The Watertown Tab reports: "The co-sponsor of 'No Place for Hate' cut ties to the anti-bias program, delivering a stunning rebuke to the Anti-Defamation League over its position on the Armenian Genocide...Association board member Jonathan Hecht, a Watertown Town Councilor and key drafter of the statement withdrawing from 'No Place for Hate,' said the association did the right thing.'Despite the many good people at the ADL, what is more important is to be unambiguous about genocide, ' Hecht said. 'Unfortunately, the ADL is not unambiguous and that’s not acceptable.' "
Tuesday 04/08
=BREAKING NEWS: The Massachusetts Municipal Association today voted to end its sponsorship of the No Place for Hate program. In a statement released today the nonprofit, nonpartisan association of Massachusetts cities and towns wrote: "The MMA feels strongly that it is imperative to speak with absolute clarity on genocide and that, due to the NPFH program’s association with the National ADL, the Association will no longer be a sponsor of the program.” Read the full MMA statement. Read the ANC Press Release.
=Asbarez reports that in an open letter to the Israeli Knesset, the Jewish community of Armenia has urged Israel's legislative body to to adopt the Resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide. Hasan Murad Mercan, chairman of the Turkish parliamentary committee of foreign affairs has said: "All Israeli officials, with whom we met, including the president Shimon Peres, have assured us that the initiative to discuss the Armenian Genocide at the Knesset will yield no results."
=Read Apigian's column in the Armenian Weekly, where she reports on the Michigan Armenian community's March 26 demonstration protesting the appearance of Abraham Foxman at the Birmingham Community House. She writes: "Foxman’s words (“tanamount to genocide”) were insufficient and burned a hole in the Armenian psyche all over the diaspora, including in Detroit... Every one of us bears the scars of 1915. Every one of us carries the genes and blood of that exiled generation. Every one of us demonstrated as victors not victims. Every one of us respects the victims of the Holocaust and everyone of us will not let the genocide issue be trampled upon."
Monday 04/07
=ACTION ALERT: The entire Board of the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) will be meeting this Tuesday, April 8, to reevaluate its relationship with the ADL. The MMA needs to hear from a sizeable number of MA residents in the next 24 hours! Please take a moment to respond to this Action Alert. If you've already sent a web-fax to the MMA, please consider emailing the sample letter to the other members of the MMA Board listed here. Calling up one or two MMA Board members close to your district would also be very helpful.
Friday 04/04
=ANNOUNCEMENT: A panel discussion "Understanding the Armenian Genocide and its Impact in 2008" will be held on Monday, April 7 at 7:30 pm at the Needham High School Media Center (609 Webster Street, Needham, MA). It is organized by The Needham Human Rights Committee and members of the Needham Armenian community and will feature: Sharistan Melkonian, George Aghjayan, Henry Theriault and Ruth Thomasian.
Thursday 04/03
=A letter written by Waltham resident Peter Sahagian has appeared in the Daily News Tribune asking public officials, and in "those who sit on the Massachusetts Municipal Association board, to do what is principled and to insure genocide denial, from whatever source, has no place in our communities." Mr. Sahagian writes: "Executive Director Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League... although admitting genocide denial to be the ultimate form of hate speech, has escaped long overdue and deserved condemnation for his perverse disavowal of the Armenian Genocide."
Wednesday 04/02 
=On Wednesday, March 26, the Michigan Armenian community came together to protest the appearance of Abraham Foxman, National Director of the ADL, at the Birmingham Community House, reports the Armenian National Committee of Michigan (ANC of MI). "For two hours, activists held signs and distributed information about the ADL to those attending the event. It was later discovered that Mr. Foxman had unexpectedly canceled his appearance at the event," reports the ANC of MI. Prior to the demonstration, on Sunday, March 23, the organizers took out a full page advertisement in the Observer & Eccentric newspaper. The article entitled “Shame on You Abraham H. Foxman” informed readers about the ADL’s continuing complicity in genocide denial.
Tuesday 04/01
=ANNOUNCEMENT: The Arlington Human Rights Commission will present a public dialogue titled "Perspectives on the Armenian Genocide" on Thursday, April 3. The guest speaker will be Dikran M. Kaligian, the Kaloosdian/Mugar Visiting Professor of Armenian Genocide Studies at Clark University. The dialogue will be held in the Robbins Library Community Room (700 Mass Ave, Arlington). Doors open at 7 p.m. for refreshments and socializing. The speaking program is to begin at 7:30 p.m.
Monday 03/31
=In a powerful op-ed just published in the Lexington Minuteman, co-authors Rabbi Howard Jaffe and Laura Boghossian state: "We write this piece, a Jew... and an Armenian, to express our mutual disappointment in the failure of the Jewish community to take a more active, principled stand on recognition of the Armenian Genocide." They go on to write: "What is especially troubling is that...the one organization whose mission statement includes the words “to secure justice and fair treatment to all” — the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) — has steadfastly refused to issue a strong, unambiguous acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide...More disturbing, the ADL has joined others in lobbying against official U.S. affirmation." The authors conclude: "the ADL must choose: it is impossible to function simultaneously as a human rights organization and as an advocate for any sovereign nation."
=The article concludes with the following announcement:
As part of the Friday, May 2 Sabbath service of Temple Isaiah at which the congregation will commemorate Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, one of the country’s foremost scholars of the Armenian Genocide will speak to the interrelationship between these two experiences. Temple Isaiah warmly invites its friends in the community to attend this 8 p.m. service and address by Dr. Richard Hovannisian of UCLA.
Sunday 03/30
=The Peabody Weekly News reports that Peabody has become the latest city to break from the ADL by suspending its affiliation with the ADL sponsored No Place for Hate program. Martha Holden, a member of the former No Place for Hate committee, has said that "the city would restore its affiliation with the ADL if the group adopts sharper language and backs a Congressional resolution acknowledging the genocide." She is quoted as saying: "We are looking for an unequivocal statement...a word like tantamount leaves it ambiguous."
Referring to the ADL's ambiguous stance on the Armenian genocide, Apo Torosyan, an Armenian from Turkey who has lived in Peabody since the 1960s, says: “I personally believe it’s a great way to protest this discrimination. This organization has been playing politics; there’s no politics in humanity.”
= The Boston Globe reports that Andrew Tarsy, former director of the New England ADL, will begin his position as chief institutional advancement officer at Facing History and Ourselves in April. The Brookline, Massachusetts based nonprofit offers resources to educators on genocide, with the goal of fostering tolerance among students. As part of its educational program, Facing History has published a book on the Armenian Genocide, "Crimes Against Humanity and Civilization: The Genocide of the Armenians."
Saturday 03/29
=BREAKING NEWS: Peabody suspends its affiliation with the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) No Place for Hate program, becoming the 12th Massachussetts community to do so in response to ADL's position on the Armenian Genocide. Read the Peabody Weekly News story.
Friday 03/28
=The Armenian Weekly reports that on March 19, Andrew Tarsy, former director of the New England ADL, in his lecture entitled "The Power of Words: Why the Term Genocide Matters so Much 60 Years After it Became a Crime under International Law", has discussed how and under what circumstances jurist Raphael Lemkin coined the term genocide, saying: “The creation of the term genocide is inextricably linked to the deliberate annihilation of the Armenians by the Ottoman Turks in the early part of the 20th century and to the Holocaust itself.” Tarsy has also presented an overview of the Armenian genocide, and explained that the word genocide matters so much today for four reasons: validation, justice, reconciliation and prevention. He has said: "Many of those who avoid using the word genocide in the Armenian case are simply caught in a political no-win situation and are choosing politics over truth", and has expressed hope that the next president of the United States would acknowledge the Armenian genocide. He has concluded his speech saying: "When the term genocide applies, as it does for example in the case of the Armenians, it is imperative that we be unhesitating and unambiguous in applying it, regardless of the political consequences. Anything less facilitates the obfuscation of truth. Anything less dishonors the memory of the dead. And anything less ultimately imperils the safety of the living. This is why words matter, and this is why the term genocide means so much 60 years after it became an internationally recognized crime."
=The Lawyers Weekly reports that Andrew Tarsy will join the leadership team of Facing History and Ourselves.
=Haaretz reports that The Knesset has decided that a parliamentary committee will hold an unprecedented hearing on whether to recognize the World War I-era mass murder of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as a genocide. The decision to hold a hearing was proposed by Meretz Chairman Haim Oron, who raises the proposal every year ahead of April 24. YNet News reports that Oron has said: "It is only proper that the Knesset, which officially represents the Jewish people, recognize the Armenian genocide...It is especially important at present, as we are dealing with so many cases of Holocaust denial. There are certain ethical dilemmas that cannot be avoided. I am aware of Turkey's objection to the matter, but I believe this is a subject that the Knesset must discuss." Knesset Member Zeev Elkin (Kadima) has said, "I am proud of our efforts, which have brought on this historical achievement, and which other parliaments in the world have succeeded in doing a while ago. Israel should have been among the first countries in the world to recognize this genocide."
Monday 03/24
=ANNOUNCEMENT: Detroit area Armenian community to protest ADL National Director Abraham Foxman's appearance on Wednesday March 26th at the Birmingham Community House (380 S. Bates St., Birmingham, Michigan) at 7 pm. A peaceful demonstration, organized by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation and the Armenian Democratic League, will be held in front of the Community House starting at 5:30 pm that evening. All concerned citizens are urged to attend.
Thursday 03/20
= In a column published by the Watertown Tab, David Boyajian writes about Blue Cross Blue Shield's "unhealthful relationship with No Place for Hate". Boyajian states that Peter Meade, the recently retired Blue Cross Blue Shield vice president, also on the board of the New England ADL, and opposed to the Rose Kennedy Greenway’s proposed Armenian Heritage Park, “was instrumental in mobilizing Blue Cross” to become the state’s first official NPFH corporation. Boyajian concludes as follows: "Turkish doctors experimented on Armenians during the genocide just as German doctors did on Jews during the Holocaust, according to a study published in “Holocaust and Genocide Studies.” Would any network of doctors tolerate a health-care corporation affiliated with an organization that denied or diminished the Holocaust? Of course not. Blue Cross Blue Shield network doctors, therefore, should insist that Blue Cross Blue Shield cease participation in all ADL programs. Blue Cross Blue Shield needs to drop its official NPFH designation, stop misusing its members’ precious health-care dollars on NPFH and sever ties with the ADL."
Monday 03/10
=In his report on the March 6 UCLA panel discussion "Facing Denial, the Last Stage of Genocide", Joey Kurtzman of Jewcy defines the main criterion by which he would judge the success of the event as follows: "did it do anything at all that will make genocide denial a less acceptable political manuever to leaders of Jewish-American orgs such as the AJC (David Harris) and the ADL (Abraham Foxman). Will it cause anything to happen that in turn causes people lower down in these organizations to say to these men, 'I understand how simple-minded and Polyanna-ish this sounds, but I really think we need to consider the idea that supporting a genocide denial campaign is really just deeply problematic, political considerations aside.' "
Friday 03/07
=The Daily Bruin reports on the panel discussion entitled "Facing Denial, the Last Stage of Genocide" held on March 6 at UCLA.
Drawing parallels between the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust, Richard Hovannisian, chair of modern Armenian history at UCLA, has pointed out that both were based on wartime propaganda and the victims of it were portrayed as threatening to the country, both governments said they were simply relocating the victims and justified their actions by claiming their own people were killed as well. As for the differences between the two, David Myers, director of the Center for Jewish Studies, has pointed out that the Holocaust was recognized afterward and reparations were made to the Jews, whereas the Armenian genocide was not acknowledged.
Joey Kurtzman, executive editor of Jewcy, has said that, as a Jew, he is especially concerned that some Jewish leaders are denying the Armenian genocide for political reasons. "This is especially disconcerting for those in the Jewish community. What we claim to learn from our history is being desecrated in a pretty mortifying manner."
Sunday 03/02
=ANNOUNCEMENT: A panel discussion entitled "Facing Denial, the Last Stage of Genocide" will be held in Los 
Angeles on Thursday, March 6, 6:00pm-8:00pm at UCLA's Moore Hall, Room 100. The panel will feature Dr. Richard Hovannisian, AEF Chair in Modern Armenian History at UCLA, Dr. David Meyers, Director of Jewish Studies at UCLA, Joey Kurtzman, Executive Editor of Jewcy media and Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of America. The panel discussion is hosted by the Shant Student Association (SSA) and co-sponsored by the Armenian Graduate Student Association (AGSA) at UCLA. Facebook event page.
Dr. David Meyers is a longtime critic of the ADL's efforts to diminish and deny the Armenian Genocide. His recent writings include:
1) LA Times Op-Ed 'Never again' for Armenians too (May 1, 2007),
2) Jewish Journal Op-Ed ADL's decision doesn't go far enough (August 31, 2007),
3) Comments in ANC-WR Press Release (September 12, 2007).
Joey Kurtzman has spearheaded the effort by young Jewish activists and bloggers to expose ADL's and AJC's Armenian Genocide denial. The following are some of his most influential articles:
1) Fire Foxman (July 8, 2007),
2) Did Abraham Foxman Acknowledge the Armenian Genocide? (August 22, 2007),
3) A Plea to the ADL: Please Stop Talking About Israel (October 12, 2007),
4) Why are American Jews Appeasing Turkish Antisemites? (November 16, 2007),
5) American Jewish Committee: First Half of 20th Century Was So Long Ago, Who Knows Whether Genocides Took Place? (February 22, 2008).
Saturday 03/01
=The Cape Cod Times has published a letter expressing disappointment that the MMA "has been dragging its feet fulfilling a pledge made five months ago" to sever its ties with the ADL. Edward H. Sahagian writes: "To discover that the association [MMA], supported by our public funds, has not fulfilled its pledge is most disappointing to many of us living on the Cape. We ask our town officials, especially those who serve on the association's board, to look into this matter.
The ADL, a private organization purporting to be a champion of human rights, is entitled to do what it wishes. However, our public officials should do what is principled."
Thursday 02/28
=The Jewish Daily Forward has published an interview with French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy in which he discusses the question of Jews and the recognition of the Armenian genocide. The interview contains frequent references to Abe Foxman and the ADL.
Levy says: "I was shocked by the withdrawal of the [Armenian genocide] resolution and was shocked that some Jews, because of fears connected to the wellbeing of the State of Israel, were unwilling to endorse it. This unwillingness on a matter where we Jews should be on the front lines is for me a real heartbreaker. In my upcoming lecture, I will speak about the meaning of the message of Judaism, which implies that we are not only open to, but forced to be helpful to those like the children of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide...The Jewish code taught me that you have to take care of both the living and the dead. And when it comes to the dead without graves, the demands are even greater. We — not us Jews, but we human beings — are the protectors of the graveless, and the Armenians are such dead." He goes on to point out that not standing firm on the issue of genocide recognition will weaken the fight against Holocaust denial.
=Bernard-Henri Levy will cover this topic in his upcoming Francine and Abdallah Simon State of World Jewry Lecture at New York’s 92nd Street Y on March 5 at 8 p.m.
=Watch a recent speech by Levy delivered in France on denial of the Armenian Genocide.
Tuesday 02/26
=Over thirty Armenian American organizations from across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts have called on the MMA in an open letter to 'rescind its endorsement of the No Place for Hate (NPFH) program due to the ADL’s refusal to unambiguously acknowledge the Armenian Genocide and its continued active opposition to US recognition of the Genocide.' "
Last September the MMA passed a resolution calling on the ADL to “support the Congressional [Armenian Genocide] Resolution.” In a letter to local No Place for Hate communities the MMA stated that it had “issued a strong and unequivocal statement on the importance of recognizing the Armenian Genocide and supporting passage of the Congressional Resolution.” The letter also affirmed that the MMA “called on the national ADL organization to do the same” and concluded by stating that it would “review and monitor this matter, recognizing that while progress has been made,” the MMA would “re-evaluate our official sponsorship of NPFH after the national ADL determines whether to adopt this position.”
Friday 02/22
=Jewcy's Joey Kurtzman has posted an exchange between Barry Jacobs of the American Jewish Committee and Aram Hamparian of the Armenian National Committee of America. The post has already garnered over 125 comments by Jewish and Armenian readers.
Hamparian tells Jacobs: "Your efforts to score points in Ankara at the expense of the Armenian Genocide issue is a transparent transaction that, I think, squanders the moral capital of the Jewish community, undermines our collective efforts to fight Holocaust denial, and, if the ADL [Anti-Defamation League] experience of the last few months is any indication, is very far outside of the mainstream of your own community" .
Kurtzman writes: "Jacobs responds by suggesting that the AJC can't hope to say whether the genocide took place, because, jeez, World War I was so long ago! Then he swiftly non sequiturs to the very different argument that it's bad to acknowledge past genocides unless it makes good geopolitical sense. And then he adds that that's not just the position of the AJC, but also the position of "the Jewish community.""
Kurtzman concludes his commentary by pointing out that "whoever Barry Jacobs is talking about when he refers to 'the Jewish community,' their positions are morally bankrupt and a public disgrace to American Jews."
Monday 02/11
=Khatchig Mouradian has posted an article on Jewcy condemning "The Stubborn Myth of Jewish Involvement in the Armenian Genocide," the anti-Semitic conspiracy theory popular in some Armenian circles. "It is a shame when ordinary Armenians, Jews and Turks—out of ignorance, convenience or gain—buy into the lies of the Turkish state or anti-Semitic conspirators," writes Mouradian.
Friday 02/08
=The Santa Barbara Independent (California) has published another letter that asks the city to "follow the lead of the Human Rights Committees and the cities of Massachusetts by urging our organizations to cut their ties with NPFH until the ADL follows its own mission statements by recognizing the atrocities of the Armenian Genocide and supporting its recognition in the United States Congress. If we want to live in a world without genocide, we cannot leave any room for denial." Readers are urged to participate in the online discussion following the letter. Several genocide deniers have already made their voices heard in support of the ADL's position.
Thursday 02/07
= The Newburyport Current reports that the city has now officially withdrawn from “No Place for Hate” certification by the Anti-Defamation League. In a letter addressed to Meg Rose of the ADL, Mayor John Moak wrote: "In the wake of last fall’s national spotlight on the ADL and its failure to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide between 1915 and 1923 as anything other than ‘tantamount to genocide,’ and in support of the approximate 5,000 Armenian residents in Merrimack Valley, the prudent course of action is to withdraw our membership.”
Tuesday 02/05
=ACTION ALERT: Call on the MMA to end its sponsorship of the No Place for Hate program! At its National Meeting on November 2, 2007, the Anti Defamation League (ADL) failed to live up to the conditions set by the MMA by refusing to unambiguously acknowledge the Armenian Genocide and to end its active opposition to legislation affirming the Armenian Genocide. Send an email to MMA Executive Director Geoff Beckwith today by clicking here. Read the complete text of the Action Alert here.
Monday 02/04
=Several letters expressing disapointment in the MMA's inaction on the ADL front have appeared in the Watertown Tab:
=Levon Karageuzian writes: "I do not understand why the Massachusetts Municipal Association board of directors has yet to cease its sponsorship of the Anti-Defamation League “No Place for Hate” program throughout the state, as many local governments have already done (beginning with Watertown in August 2007)....I am disappointed with the MMA and with those Watertown officials who have done nothing to hold the MMA accountable for its lack of follow through."
=Lily Ordoubeigian writes: "I was pleased that on Dec. 11 the Town Council asked the Massachusetts Municipal Association to fulfill its pledge of last September to sever ties with the ADL’s No Place for Hate program....The town of Watertown and Councilor Hecht should both withdraw from the MMA unless it follows through on its pledge to sever ties with ADL."
Sunday 02/03
=The ANCEM press release issued yesterday has details on the fight against the ADL’s genocide denial in Western Massachusetts. It reports that in late September and early October, "the Human Rights Commission of the City of Northampton followed by Northampton’s City Council ended their city’s relationship with No Place for Hate. " The report quotes from a September 28 letter addressed to the ADL’s Abe Foxman, in which Northampton’s Human Rights Commission states that: "we cannot in conscience continue a relationship with an organization that claims to stand for full accountability for genocide, yet stops short of endorsing a Congressional resolution acknowledging the Armenian genocide. We cannot endorse selective recognition of hate by an organization that claims leadership in creating a world where there is no place for hate.”
=Read the full text of the October 4, 2007 Northampton City Council Resolution withdrawing from the ADL's No Place for Hate program. Here's a passage:
WHEREAS, the Northampton Human Rights Commission has investigated the situation whereby the Anti Defamation League® continues to deny the facts of the horrific Armenian Genocide. From 1915 to 1923 the premeditated, systematic and deliberate murders of more that one and one half million Armenians occurred; and
WHEREAS, the Armenian people continue to be deprived of the right to their history through the denial that this genocide ever took place; and
WHEREAS, The City of Northampton must not continue its affiliation with such an organization as ADL that promotes such a grievous denial.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED
That the City of Northampton hereby rescinds its partnership in the "No Place for Hate" Campaign co-sponsored by the Anti Defamation League®.
Saturday 02/02
="Newburyport has become Massachusetts’ 11th municipality to end relations with the No Place for Hate program," reports the Armenian National Committee (ANC). Pearl Teague, the chairperson of the ANC of Merrimack Valley, has said: “we are pleased that the north shore has joined so many other cities and towns in Massachusetts in standing firmly opposed to genocide denial in any of its form.” The report quotes from a February 1 letter to the New England ADL, in which Newburyport mayor John Moak writes that “in the wake of … the [ADL’s] failure to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide between 1915 and 1923 as anything other than “tantamount to genocide,” … the Commission has decided to end its relationship with the No Place for Hate program.
Friday 02/01
=BREAKING NEWS: NEWBURYPORT SEVERS TIES WITH ADL. The Mayor of Newburyport, John F. Moak, announced his decision today to formally withdraw from the ADL's No Place for Hate program. In a February 1 letter addressed to the ADL, mayor Moak writes that he is acting on the recommendation of the Newburyport Commission for Diversity and Tolerance which voted on November 9, 2007 to end its ties with the ADL and cites "[the ADL's] failure to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide between 1915 and 1923 as anything other than “tantamount to genocide.” Read the ANCEM press release for details. Read the Newburyport CDT's August 31 letter to Abe Foxman.
Thursday 01/31
=A letter to the editor in the Santa Barbara Independent (CA) calls on "Santa Barbara [to] follow suit in a proactive declaration for peace, justice, and truth by following the lead of the Human Rights Committees and the cities of Massachusetts by urging our local organizations to cut ties with the NPFH until the Anti Defamation League follows its own mission statements." Arby Eivazian asks: "how can an organization claim to secure justice and fair treatment to all when it is itself, by denying the Armenian Genocide, involved in a manner of hate speech? Furthermore, what surprised me even further is that there are about 60 organizations in Santa Barbara alone affiliated with the NPFH program. These organizations include many of our high schools, colleges, and our so called peace organizations."
Tuesday 01/29
=In a letter to the editor of the Newton Tab, David Boyajian calls on the City of Newton to "cut ties to the MMA unless the latter acts quickly to cut ties to No Place For Hate and ADL." "The Massachusetts Municipal Association... has been dragging its feet on fulfilling a solemn pledge it made on Sept. 11 of last year," writes Boyajian. At that time "the MMA promised to “re-evaluate” its umbrella sponsorship of the Anti-Defamation League’s No Place for Hate chapters if the ADL didn’t reverse its position on the Armenian genocide at its national meeting in November....Well, the ADL scandalously clung to its unethical stance at that meeting," continues Boyajian. He concludes: "Had it been sponsoring a group created by a Holocaust-denying organization, the MMA would have severed ties long ago. The MMA apparently deems certain genocides to be less important than others."
Wednesday 01/16
=ANNOUNCEMENT: The Armenian Library and Museum of America (ALMA) will host a Joint Holocaust - Armenian Genocide Exhibit this Sunday, January 20, from 2:00-4:00 p.m. The event will feature Armenian Genocide survivor Kevork Norian and Holocaust survivor Meyer Hack as well as ethnic music by Armenian and Jewish performers. The event Press Release and a recent Boston Globe article have more information. ALMA is located in the heart of Watertown Square (65 Main Street, Watertown, MA).
Monday 01/14
Several news outlets have reported on the recent meeting between Abraham Foxman and Abdullah Gul:
=The Istanbul based Marmara reports that "during a meeting with ADL national chairman Abraham Foxman, Gul was assured of the organization’s opposition to the Genocide Resolution, adding that the matter was no longer a relevant concern for Jewish organizations, which will continue to oppose the measure."
=The Turkish Daily News has Foxman speaking on behalf of all American Jews: "He [Foxman] said the Jewish community continues to oppose the U.S. bill labeling the killings of Armenians as ''genocide'' and its representatives will soon pay a visit to Turkey."
=Newstime reports that: "Foxman noted that their stance towards the bill has not changed and will not change, and they are against discussion of this issue in political terms," and that: "Foxman said Gul and he agreed that Armenian allegations should be investigated by a joint committee of historians."
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