L ast update – 22:58 21/08/2007
ADL says Turkish massacre of Armenians was a ‘genocide’
By Shmuel Rosner, Haaretz Correspondent
Following a barrage of criticism from Jewish supporters, opponents and
from Armenian-Americans, Anti-Defamation League Chairman Abe Foxman
revised his organizations’ stance Tuesday, stating that the 1915-1918
Turkish massacre of Armenians was in fact a ‘genocide’.
In a statement released Tuesday, the ADL said that they "have come to
share the view of Henry Morgenthau, Sr. that the consequences of those
actions were indeed tantamount to genocide."
Read the full story on Rosner’s Domain: ADL, the incidental victim
Over the past two weeks, the ADL has faced a tremendous amount of
pressure over the issue. Two weeks ago the town of Watertown, a suburb
of Boston with a large Armenian community, decided to cut its ties with
the ADL sponsored "No Place for Hate" program, after they discovered
that the ADL was not planning to support a bill that would force the
American government to accept that the massacre was in fact a genocidal
act.
The ADL itself was split over the issue; it fired New England regional
director Andrew Tarsy for telling The Boston Globe he agreed the
killings were genocide and that he "strongly disagrees with the ADL’s
national position." Foxman had explained that he did not support the
bill in fear that it would hurt both the U.S. and Israel’s relations
with Turkey while putting the Jewish community in Turkey in danger.
In a statement Tuesday, Foxman said he consulted with historians and his
friend and Holocaust survivor Elie Weisel after the controversy began,
and became convinced genocide had occurred.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
