ADL UPROAR IN WATERTOWN SPARKS DEBATE ON GENOCIDE
By Raphael Kohan
Jewish Advocate, MA
/news/?content_id=3476
Aug 9 2007
Jewish organizations divided over Armenian congressional resolution
A controversy exposed last week surrounding Watertown’s status as an
Anti-Defamation League No Place for Hate community raised serious
questions about the role of Jews and Jewish groups in recognizing
the Armenian genocide.
On Aug. 1, the Boston Globe reported tensions between the ADL and
Watertown’s Armenian community over ADL National Director Abraham H.
Foxman’s remarks on whether the U.S. Congress should pass a resolution
recognizing the approximately 1.5 million Armenians killed by Turks
from 1915 to 1923.
A vote has not yet been scheduled for the resolution, which has met
opposition from Turkish lobbyists and some Jewish organizations.
"I’m not going to be the arbiter of someone else’s history," Foxman
told the Globe. The Globe additionally reported that Foxman, whose
organization holds no official position on the genocide, said Congress
should not be involved in history making either.
"It’s incomprehensible to me," said Khatchig Mouradian, editor of the
Watertown-based Armenian Weekly Newspaper. "I believe that No Place
for Hate is an important program, but the community here is outraged."
Foxman did not return requests for comment.
Though seen by many scholars as a historical fact, debate over
recognizing the Armenian genocide reveals a distinct split among Jewish
organizations. The schism underscores a complex dynamic that touches
on Turkey’s relations with Israel and the welfare of the estimated
25,000 Jews still residing there.
While many Jewish groups invoke "Never Again" to further the legacy
of the Holocaust and to protest the current genocide in Darfur, the
Armenian genocide – which the Turkish government does not acknowledge –
uncovers a less-than-forthcoming moral stance.
And though the ADL says it holds no position on the matter,
Foxman’s comments show otherwise, according to James Russell,
professor of Armenian Studies at Harvard University. Russell, a Jew
and a self-described American Zionist, said Foxman’s statements are
disingenuous for an organization that combats anti-Semitism.
"In my view this amounts to Holocaust denial," he said. "It is a
deeply immoral and ignoble stance."
Yet there is little consensus among Jewish organizations surrounding
this congressional resolution on genocide recognition.
Nancy K. Kaufman, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations
Council of Greater Boston, maintains her position that the U.S. should
recognize the Armenian genocide.
"We’re well aware of the issue with Turkey but feel we can’t back
away from the fact that it happened," she said. "We feel very strongly
that we have to speak out against all genocide."
Larry Lowenthal, executive director of the American Jewish Committee
Boston Chapter, expressed more conflicted views.
"It’s a very painful subject because everybody knows that the massacre
of Armenians is one of the most horrific events in modern history,"
said Lowenthal. "But there are strategic issues delicate to the Jewish
community. We at AJC are not lobbying in any way whatsoever."
On Feb. 5, AJC leaders were among the representatives from a handful of
Jewish organizations – including the ADL – who met with Abdullah Gul,
the Turkish foreign minister, in Washington D.C. The meeting centered
around a written plea from Turkish Jews, asking American Jewish
organizations to not lobby on behalf of the congressional resolution.
"It’s a tough situation," said Israeli Consul General to New England
Nadav Tamir. "Israel’s strategic relations with Turkey – as a moderate
Islamic state – are critical, but on the other hand it is important
for us as survivors of the Holocaust to be absolutely consistent with
the moral issue. We really want to maintain good relations with Turkey
and the Armenian Diaspora."
For Newton resident Jack Nusan Porter, treasurer of the International
Association of Genocide Scholars, there is no question whether the
genocide should be recognized.
"[Foxman’s] making a fool out of himself intellectually, academically
and politically. He needs to be replaced," said Porter. "It points
out his ignorance as well as the Turkish pressure – which is still
very powerful in Israeli non-recognition."
But according to Russell, the Harvard professor, it is unfair to
expect Israel to take the lead in recognizing the Armenian genocide
because of its precarious position in the Middle East.
"If America leads on this, Israel can follow," said Russell. "I owe
no loyalty to the Armenian community, but this is also a moral issue
and I know the genocide did take place."
In Watertown, the future of No Place for Hate hangs in the balance.
Andrew H. Tarsy, regional director of the ADL, said he plans to hold
conversations with members of Watertown’s Armenian community in hopes
of finding common ground.
"We don’t challenge the Armenian history," said Tarsy. "Attacking
the ADL’s program is not a solution to any of this."
When asked to explain what many view as Foxman’s contradictory
comments, Tarsy said they may have been taken out of context.
But for Lowenthal, this entire ordeal has been extremely uneasy.
"No Jew alive can possibly forget this," he said of the Armenian
genocide. "I wish we just had a categorical, moral stance on this, but
for many compelling reasons we don’t. These are delicate, difficult,
moral issues and I feel anguished."