Bostonist, MA
Aug 18 2007
ADL’s Regional Director Says ADL Should Acknowledge Armenian
Genocide; ADL Fires Him
Only a few days ago, Andrew Tarsy, the regional director of the
Anti-Defamation League, backer of the "No Place for Hate" program,
tried to defend the ADL’s stance on the Armenian Genocide at the
Watertown City Council meeting. The ADL refused to recognize the
genocide, Watertown residents – including a large Armenian population
– was furious, and Watertown kicked the ADL out of its borders.
Then, presumably influenced by Watertown’s decision to remove hate
from its city limits by removing the "No Place for Hate" program,
Tarsy said it is high time for the ADL to recognize the genocide and
told ADL head Abraham Foxman that the ADL’s position is "morally
indefensible."
How did the ADL thank him for him for fighting against hate and
promoting a worthy cause? They canned him.
Firing Tarsy is not going to make the existence of the Armenian
Genocide go away. In fact, it has raised more awareness of why it is
so important to acknowledge the genocide, and people who probably
never knew about the Armenian Genocide certainly know about it now.
The ADL has lost much of its reputation on this matter. Do the words
"Anti-Defamation" apply to only a few groups? And why are the
Armenians left out? In a long letter the ADL plans to run in papers
next week, Turkey is one of the only Middle Eastern nations that
accepts Israel, so they don’t want to alienate Turkey, but every
nation needs to be called to account for its errors.
What exactly is the purpose of the Anti-Defamation League? If they
insist on not recognizing the genocide, then they should change their
name because "Anti-Defamation League" clearly doesn’t apply to
everyone.
Other towns are moving to get the ADL out, and leaders are moving to
distance themselves from the ADL. The ADL’s regional board has called
on the national group to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide. And,
eventually, the ADL will be left standing all alone with a
bowdlerized history that they don’t share with anyone.
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
