Jewish Telegraphic Agency, NY
Dec 5 2007
ADL New England director resigns
Published: 12/05/2007
The New England regional director of the Anti-Defamation resigned his
post.
Andrew Tarsy announced his resignation Tuesday in what the Boston
Globe described as "the culmination of a months-long dispute with the
national organization over its failure to fully acknowledge the
Armenian genocide of 1915."
Tarsy would not elaborate on his departure, the Globe reported,
except to say that it was "a professional judgment based on knowing
when it’s your time." His supporters said it was the result of his
rift with the national director of the ADL, Abraham Foxman, over the
Armenian issue.
In August, Tarsy was fired after he publicly criticized the ADL’s
refusal to use the term genocide to describe the massacres of
Armenians. In the face of protests from Jewish communal leaders in
Boston and an Armenian-led campaign to have municipalities cut ties
with the ADL, Tarsy was rehired and the organization released a
statement saying the killings were "tantamount to genocide."
The ADL stood by its refusal to endorse a congressional resolution
that would recognize the killings as a genocide. Last month, ADL
leaders from Boston failed in their attempt to have the national
organization take additional steps.
"At the end of the day, the vision of the New England leadership and
Abe Foxman’s leadership were simply not fully compatible," said Steve
Grossman, a former member of the ADL’s regional board, according to
the Globe. Tarsy "realized that he would have to make too many
compromises that he was not prepared to make. I think he leaves with
his integrity intact, with his head held high."
Officials in the national ADL offfice reportedly declined comment.