Author: Ekmekjian Janet

Turkey and Armenia: What Jews should do

LENNY BEN-DAVID , THE JERUSALEM POST
Sep. 4, 2007

As one of the first authors and editors of Myths and Facts, a Record
of the Arab-Israeli Conflict I know what it means to instinctively
jump to defend Israel’s reputation. In the face of barrages of canards
and accusations, we countered that Israel did not expel millions of
Palestinians, did not commit wanton massacres, and did not use an
omnipotent Washington lobby to subvert American interests in the
Middle East.

I was one of the founders of HonestReporting.com, where we encouraged
tens of thousands of activists to leap to Israel’s defense when
publications and networks failed to label terrorists correctly, blamed
Israel unfairly or distorted Israel’s defensive campaign to stop
suicide bombing attacks.

Israel’s defenders intuitively denounced and challenged the
Ahmadinejads and David Irvings of the world, who denied the fact of a
genocidal campaign against the Jews that we call the Holocaust. We
recognize that these anti-Semitic deniers seek to delegitimize the
Jewish state of Israel and lay the groundwork for another attempt to
wipe out the Jewish people.

All nations have sacred memories and traditions surrounding their
creation and their sacrifices. These are national legends that take on
mythic proportions about the nations’ founding fathers and the
circumstances of the nations’ formation. Sometimes, and often after
difficult introspection, citizens recognize that their histories and
heroes are not all black-and-white, and that a true national narrative
involves a rich palette of greys as well. But that realization
requires a national maturation, one that also demands the cognitive
involvement of all parties to the narrative.

SUCH AN introspection took place among Americans in their historical
narrative some 35 years ago. The publication of Dee Brown’s Bury My
Heart at Wounded Knee in 1970 upset a nation used to Hollywood’s
version of valiant and white Indian-fighters taming the Wild West. The
slaughter of Native Americans – "Indians" – and the military campaigns
against the Navajos, Apaches, Sioux and Cheyenne tribes between 1860
and 1880 were eventually woven into the American historical tapestry.
Finally in 2004 the National Museum of the American Indian opened on
the National Mall of Washington D.C.

A similar museum to the African-American experience is still missing
on the Mall. While the American public obviously knew of the history
of slavery in the United States and Abraham Lincoln "setting slaves
free," it probably wasn’t until the release of Alex Haley’s Roots and
its romanticized television version in the 1970s that many Americans
came to grips with the nation’s racist, supremacist past.

Indeed, American historians still debate the nature of the
relationship between the iconic Founding Father Thomas Jefferson and
his quadroon slave and purported mistress, Sally Hemings. It is
difficult for some Jefferson idolaters to fathom such a pairing. Two
hundred years after Jefferson and Hemings spent time together,
Hemings’s descendants underwent DNA testing to determine whether
Jefferson sired Hemings’s children.

National legends and myths are not easily shaken.

IN ISRAEL, some of our national beliefs were stirred by the so-called
new historians, who challenged many of our basic historical
narratives. Perhaps the Israeli public is mature enough to examine the
country’s origin, but the rejection of the new historians’
broad-stroke claims also reflects the failure of our Palestinian
interlocutors to accept the notion that our intertwined histories are
not black-and-white. Most Palestinians see no grey.

"There comes a stage in any revolutionary process when the movement
relaxes its hold on the official narrative," historian Benny Morris
told The Washington Post earlier this year. "The difference is that
when that moment came in Israel, our long struggle with the Arabs
remained an existential threat, as it still does today."

For the Palestinians, their nakba is their Truth; their "right of
return" is their messianic vision; and their concept of any Jewish
history in the land is that it is a total fabrication. To confront
such absolutist, irredentist claims, Israel’s defenders cannot afford
to equivocate.

AS AN adviser for five years to the Turkish embassy in Washington,
until earlier this summer, I understood why the Turkish government and
people jump to deny claims that their ancestors committed a "genocide"
against Armenians some 90 years ago.

It occurred during a maelstrom of battles and massacres. It was
allegedly carried out by founding fathers who were bringing their
country into an enlightened 20th century. And it was waged against an
enemy guilty of the still unspoken crime of massacring hundreds of
thousands of Muslims and thousands of Jews.

Armenians and Turks see no shades of grey, and for now, at least,
demands are made only of Turkey to change its monochromatic narrative.

Israel’s government and Jews in the United States must be careful when
treading through the minefield of Armenian claims against Turkey.
Jewish leaders in Armenia reported that they have heard local claims
that Jews organized the 1915 massacres of Armenians
().

There are accounts of Armenian massacres, between 1914 and 1920, of
2.5 million of Armenia’s Muslim population
().

Recently, Mountain Jews in Azerbaijan requested assistance in building
a monument to 3,000 Azeri Jews killed by Armenians in 1918 in a pogrom
about which little is known
( hives/000730.html).

AND WITHIN our own lifetime – just some 15 years ago – Armenian troops
massacred hundreds of Azeri Muslims. This from Newsweek, March 16,
1992:

"Azerbaijan was a charnel house again last week: a place of mourning
refugees and dozens of mangled corpses dragged to a makeshift morgue
behind the mosque. They were ordinary Azerbaijani men, women and
children of Khojaly, a small village in war-torn Nagorno-Karabakh
overrun by Armenian forces on Feb. 25-26. Many were killed at close
range while trying to flee; some had their faces mutilated, others
were scalped."

Both Turks and Armenians have their grisly tales of persecution and
their vehement denials of genocidal designs. It is the task of the
Jewish community to express sympathy for all the victims and outrage
at all the perpetrators on both sides of the conflict. The US Congress
and the Jewish community should encourage historians on both sides to
objectively examine what took place.

Nations mature when they can look at themselves in the mirror and see
the grey, the wrinkles and the blemishes.

The writer served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Israel’s Embassy in Washington.

Source: 527835&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

The Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey)
August 31, 2007 Friday
FINAL EDITION

What’ll it be, Mac?
Gregory Derelian brings experience to bartender role

PETER FILICHIA, STAR-LEDGER STAFF

NEW JERSEY STAGE The Time of Your Life Where: Shakespeare Theatre of
New Jersey, F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre, Drew University, 36
Madison Ave, Madison When: Previews begin Tuesday, opens Sept. 8-30.
Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m., Wednesdays-Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2
and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 and 7 p.m.

How much: $28-$52. Call (973) 408-5600 or visit

New Yorker Gregory Derelian, 35, is in his ninth season with the
Shakespeare Festival of New Jersey. While he’s most often been in
productions of the Bard – Petruchio in "The Taming of the Shrew,"
Mark Antony in "Julius Caesar," Macduff in "Macbeth," Cassio in
"Othello" and Caliban in "The Tempest" – he now finds himself in a
far more modern play: William Saroyan’s 1940 Pulitzer Prize-winning
classic, "The Time of Your Life."

Starting Tuesday in Madison, he’ll portray the owner and namesake of
Nick’s Pacific Street Saloon. We caught up with him not while he was
hanging over a bar, but over a table, on a lunch break.

Q. Is Nick happy with what he’s doing?

A. I think so. He’s got himself a place where no one’s competing with
anyone else, and everyone believes in "Live and let live." He likes
that he can provide a haven where people can just come in and be
themselves. It’s a kind of public service. That it’s not so demanding
a job and that he’s used to it appeals to him, too.

Q. How did you discover the Shakespeare Theatre?

A. I actually went to Drew, right on the campus where this theater
is. One night I came over to see "Twelfth Night" with Paul Mullins –
who’s directing "The Time of Your Life" – as Feste. To this day, it’s
still the best production of the play I’ve ever seen, and Paul
remains the best Feste.

Q. So did you say to yourself, "Someday I plan to be on that stage"?

A. Well, I’d hoped to. I was a double major, taking English as well
as theater.

Q. But the English was just something to fall back on?

A. Supposedly. I don’t know if you can fall back on English.

Q. Did you ever use it in any way – teach, write?

A. No, after I graduated in 1995, I moved to New York to look for
acting work. I applied for a job as a short-order cook because that’s
something I can do.

Q. Did you get the job?

A. Actually, while I was being interviewed by the manager, the owner
came in and – right in front of me – fired the bartender. He turned
to me and said, "Can you bartend?" I said, "No." When he said, "Can
you learn?" I said "Yes."

Q. Wait a minute – you’re playing a role you’ve in essence played in
real life? Was that a defining factor in making made Paul Mullins
pick you?

A. I can’t imagine that it wasn’t. I’m able to add things, like the
way a bartender looks over some-one who comes through the door. The
interesting thing about that bar in Brooklyn is that it was much like
Nick’s – the people who came in stayed all night, got drunk, and told
me their life stories – only to come in the next night and do it all
over again, forgetting they’d said anything to me in the first place.

Q. You’re still there?

A. No, now I’m at a place on Hudson Street where I deal with young
urban professionals. That’s much more fun, though I’m starting to
feel that they’re very much younger than I am. The good thing is I
only do it one night a week, because I don’t need to do it as much.
I’ve been on Broad-way ("Metamorphoses") and off-Broadway, too ("The
Hairy Ape"), so in a way, it’s a fun night that gets me out of the
house.

Q. Isn’t "Derelian" a name of Armenian descent?

A. It is.

Q. Given that this play is by a writer of Armenian descent, did you
have an affinity with William Saroyan while growing up?

A. No, there wasn’t much of an Armenian sensibility in my house-hold,
maybe because only my fa-ther’s of Armenian descent, or maybe because
it’s been a long time since my grandfather came over from Armenia and
changed his name to Davis so he’d seem more American. Only after he
was well-established here did he take back his original name.

Q. What happens after this play closes?

A> I’m cast in "Antony and Cleo-patra" in New York, which was great
until the actress who was to play Cleopatra (Christine Baranski)
dropped out. Now I’m not sure they’ll even do the show. You know the
actor’s life.

Q. What other roles would you love to play?

A. Chris Keller in "All My Sons." I played him in high school in
Santa Cruz, but I’d like another shot. Though "Coriolanus" isn’t a
great play, it’s a great role, so I’d like it, even though it might
not be as much fun for the audience as it would be for me. I’ll try
any-thing from "An Enemy of the People" to Hamlet.

Q. Anything that’ll get you away from bartending?

A. That, too.

Peter Filichia may be reached at [email protected] or (973)
392-5995.

THE COOPERATION PROGRAM WITH THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY DISCUSSED

National Assembly of RA
Aug 31 2007
Armenia

On August 29 the President of the National Assembly of the
Republic of Armenia Mr. Tigran Torosyan received Mr. Rudolf Perina,
U.S. Charge d’affaires a.i. in Armenia. The discussion of the program
of cooperation with the National Assembly, due to the presented
proposals beforehand, developed by the USA Embassy, and according to
the arrangement was the pivot of the meeting.

Mr. Perina noted that the National Assembly is one of the important
parts of democracy in Armenia and the USA Embassy wishes to be useful
as far as it is possible in the deepening of democracy activities.

Touching upon the proposed program, Mr. Tigran Torosyan, the President
of the National Assembly thanked for the immediate response and the
concrete proposals and has presented his considerations. In particular,
in the aspect of the educational visits of the Staff of the National
Assembly Mr. Tigran Torosyan, the President of the National Assembly,
highlighted the long-term business trips of the small groups of
people in comparison with the short-term business trips of the big
groups of employees, which will enable the deep and comprehensive
examination of the activity of the parliaments of other countries,
which will be purposeful and useful. The President of the National
Assembly emphasized the importance of creation of the opportunities
for education for the employees of the staff of the National Assembly
at universities of the USA.

The expansion of the opportunities of the library of the National
Assembly was also highlighted, in particular a program was proposed
to realize translation in the Armenian language and the edition of
some books, aiming to update the library of the National Assembly
by the foreign magazines and periodicals. Mr. Torosyan also touched
upon the necessity of the laws to be translated, and setting them
on the official site of the National Assembly and the necessity
of the qualified translation of the bills, expert conclusions and
other official documents, having emphasized the importance of the
assistance of the USA Embassy. The problem of preparation of the
expert conclusions of the draft laws of the laws has been especially
highlighted.

Mr. Torosyan has noted, that there are two ways for the solution of
that problem: business trip for 1-2 years to increasethe professional
qualification of the employees of the corresponding management or
the establishment of a center, where the best specialists of various
spheres will be includedon contractual base and on more attractive
conditions (there is a similar experience in the parliaments of other
countries, in particular in Poland). Mr. Torosyan has assessed the
role of the cooperation for the improvement of the works of the
National Assembly, noting that everything should be done for the
National Assembly to really become one of the influential centers
of democracy and political idea, as one of the important problems
ofArmenia is the realization of multi-party system and the deepening
of the knowledge of the political and party figures.

Mr. Rudolf Perina, U.S. Charge d’affaires a.i. in Armenia expressed
gratitude to the President of the National Assembly for the interesting
and efficient proposals,which should be additionally investigated
for their realization and specification of financial opportunities
according to requirements of the legislation of the USA. An arrangement
for one more meeting was achieved for the final specification of the
program of cooperation.

Highlighting the upcoming presidential elections through the
international standards, during the meeting, there was also a touch
upon the improvement works of the Electoral Code. Mr. Tigran Torosyan,
the President of the National Assembly noted that the conclusions of
the OSCE ODIHR and the CE Venice Commission have been already received
and studied, which will be debated at mid September.

ACCORDING TO RA NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, PACE RAPPORTEUR EDWARD O’HARA’S TRIP TO REGION FAILS BECAUSE OF AZERBAIJAN

Noyan Tapan
Aug 31, 2007

YEREVAN, AUGUST 31, NOYAN TAPAN. In connection with failure of the
PACE rapporteur Edward O’Hara’s visit to the region with the aim of
studying the state of cultural legacy of the South Caucasus, the PR
Department of the RA National Assembly on August 31 issued a statement
which refutes false explanations spread by the Azerbaijani mass media
and presents the truth.

According to the statement, it was the Armenian delegation in PACE
that came up with the initiative – in connection with destruction
of khachkars in Nakhijevan. Later the PACE commission accepted the
proposal of the Azerbaijani side to organize that regional visit.

It is noted that Edward O’Hara’s trip to the region with the aim of
studying the problem of preservation of cultural legacy was envisaged
years ago but it was delayed for various reasons. The trip, which
was to start on August 29 – from Azerbaijan, was being prepared
for two months: the trip program was developed, while Armenia and
Nagorno Karabakh expressed their assistance for implementation of the
rapporteur’s visit. Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia sent in advance
the lists of those monuments which must be examined in the three
South Caucasian countries, the NKR and the Nakhijevan Autonomous
Republic. The rapporteurs have already decided which monuments on
the list they would study.

"According to a preliminary agreement, the programs of the visit to
Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh were to be sent in the second half of
August 28.

However, the commission secretary’s letter saying that the visit was
cancelled was received prior to that. The reason was the following:
on August 28 the head of the Azerbaijani delegation in PACE issued a
statement, according to which the PACE rapporteur must visit Nagorno
Karabakh via Azerbaijan, whereas prior to that all details had been
clarified through the NKR representative to Armenia, and the RA
National Assembly was to provide transport and other assistance for
traveling to Nagorno Karabakh. By putting forward requirements to the
rapporteur at the last moment, Azerbaijan in fact failed that trip,
and all aires and graces that it was a next in turn postponement –
which is stated in the Azerbaijani press – do not correspond to
reality," the statement reads.

The Secretary General of PACE Mateo Sorinas sent a letter, in which he
informed the RA National Assembly speaker Tigran Torosian that Edward
O’Hara’s visit was cancelled. It was noted in the letter that one of
the causes of the visit’s failure was the problem of entry into Nagorno
Karabakh, that is, what was announced by Azerbaijan on August 28.

According to the statement, "it is obvious that Azerbaijanis are
preventing the rapporteur’s trip to the region in every possible way
because it would be revealed during that trip that many Armenian
monuments have been and are being destroyed in Nakhijevan and
Azerbaijan and that the Azerbaijani statements and leaflets about
destruction of "Azerbaijani" monuments are just aspersion."

The RA National Assembly have expressed a willingness to assist with
the trip at any time.

IRD ARMENIA AND U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE COMPLETE SCHOOL RENOVATION PROJECTS

Lragir, Armenia
Aug 30 2007

On August 30, IRD Armenia held a ceremony marking the opening of
a renovated cafeteria and kitchen at Yerevan Special School #16
for vision impaired children, the press service of the U.S. Embassy
reported. The funding of 10,000 USD for the renovation was provided by
the U.S. Department of State and the project was administered by IRD
Armenia. Co-funding to the project was provided by LDS Charities in
the amount of 4,400 USD. Ambassador Rudolf Perina, Charge d’Affaires
a.i. of the U.S. Embassy to Armenia, the directors of LDS charities,
representatives of the Ministry of Labor and Social Issues,
international NGOs, and local authorities participated in the ceremony.

IRD is a charitable, non-profit, non-governmental organization that
implements projects in Asia, Latin America, the Balkans, Eastern
Europe, and the Middle East. IRD’s mission is to reduce the suffering
and improve the livelihood of the world’s most vulnerable groups
through relief and development projects. IRD started its operations
in Armenia in 2001. Currently, IRD is implementing the Essential
Medical Commodities Distribution project, which assists vulnerable
populations through medical and social institutions, as well as NGOs.

For several years IRD has cooperated with the Special Boarding School
#16 in the Salt Mines district of Yerevan by providing them with
hygienic and school kits, food items and clothing. Recently, the U.S.

Department of State provided funding so IRD could renovate the premises
of the school to improve the students’ quality of life.

THREE POLES TO BE FORMED INSIDE THE OPPOSITION
Kima Yeghyazaryan

Hayots Ashkharh Daily, Armenia
Aug 28 2007

Interview with politician Gerasim Barseghyan

"Mr. Barseghyan, the Armenian pan-National Movement currently appears
to be the most active party on the political arena, as it never
misses the occasion to announce that it is going to participate in
the presidential elections with a candidate of its own. Do you think
the representatives of the former Government will manage to return to
politics and extract an agreement from Levon Ter-Petrosyan in terms
of proposing his candidacy?"

"If you remember, there were such manifestations before the previous
Presidential elections as well, and society seemed to be waiting day
by day for L. Ter-Petrosyan to make a statement on his returning to
politics. Of course, such conversations were unfounded at the beginning
of 2003, since, by his political posture, the first President made
a more passive response to them. His return was much less probable
then. And the things developed just that way, i.e. he didn’t make a
decision to return.

Currently, such conversations do really have some grounds, becasue we
see that the first President of the Republic has recently been having
quite active communications. In the meantime, such communications take
place not only with his co-thinkers but also with the acting diplomatic
circles (mainly American). But to say that this is a relevant reason
and hence consider the rumors about his return substantiated, will
not be quite proper.

I believe L. Ter-Petrosyan will do a real calculation of the main
risks existing currently. There is a kind of a re-calculation problem
here. He has to find out whether the rumors about public support
correspond to reality, as presented to him by the activists belonging
to and supporting the views of the Armenian pan-National Movement.

I think that by comparing his potentials after the regional visits
he will make a political decision. Frankly speaking, I consider the
probability of his return in the status of a Presidential candidate
very little (in this case, he has a 20 per cent probability).

Of course, considering the peculiarities of these particular
Presidential elections, it is not ruled out that the factions
supporting L.T. P. will, nonetheless, manage to talk him into returning
to politics.

After all, there is the following argument as well. They may tell him
that this is his last chance, and if he doesn’t return to politics,
he will not only give up his political career ultimately, but also
put them – the people who have remained faithful to his principles
for around 10 years on end – at stake.

I think this is a more relevant argument. That is, they may say that
they haven’t ‘advertised’ any activists during the past years and
pinned their hopes in Mr. Ter-Petrosyan only. And they may argue that
by refusing to advance his candidacy now, L.T. P. is actually making
them become faced with a serious situation. This is an argument.

But I think L. Ter-Petrosyan realizes very well that he has very little
chances. Although he stands out from the other, future pro-Opposition
candidates in the positive light, it is not enough for him to stand
in real competition with the main pro-Government candidate."

"Anyway, what kind of shifts and unifications will be possible inside
the pro-Opposition camp, should Mr. Ter-Petrosyan make up his mind
to advance his candidacy?"

"It is clear that Mr, Ter-Petrosyan will not manage to consolidate the
whole pro-Opposition camps and act as a united candidate. As to the
fact that he will be the pivotal or the main candidate representing the
Opposition, there is a greater likelihood in this respect. Because,
I repeat, he differs from the others in the positive light in terms
of his political experience, his real supporters’ activeness and
his means.

However, it should not be ruled out that the team is in control of
certain material and financial resources. And those resources are
currently decisive in the political process.

I think the pro-Opposition camp will consist of three poles. I repeat,
Mr. Ter-Petrosyan will occupy a pivotal position, and the factions,
which are some way or another dissatisfied with the current policy,
will unite around him. And the political factions guided by the
‘at-least-something’ option, will also unite around him.

The second pole is most probably represented by Vazgen Manoukyan.

No matter how much some people are trying to classify him as the
second activist following Mr. Ter-Petrosyan and saying that he will
join the latter under certain circumstances, I don’t think anything
of the kind will happen. Let’s not forget about the events that took
place in 1996, a date that had a crucial role in V. Manoukyan’s career.

And the third pole will most probably be represented by Arthur
Baghdasaryan. I think that a certain number of factions will
unite around A. Baghdasaryan. Simultaneously, there will be some
self-promoting candidates, so to say, and they will join the campaign
by acting as ‘lonely wolves’ (Aram Karapetyan, Tigran Karapetyan
and others).

I think more than 10 candidates (including the ARFD candidate) will be
nominated. And if their number exceeds 10, there will, in my opinion,
be a 50 – 50 likelihood for the pro-Government candidate to be elected
in a single stage.

ARMENIAN COPPER PROGRAM (ACP) ENTERS CORPORATE BONDS’ MARKET

arminfo
2007-08-28 17:30:00

One of the biggest ore mining and smelting companies of Armenia,
Armenian Copper Program (ACP), is going to enter the market
with corporate coupon bonds in the nearest future. Today ACP and
ArmSwissBank signed an agreement on placement of the first bonds
issue. ArmSwissBank is the main underwriter of the issue. Yesterday,
ArmSwissBank signed an agreement with other members of the syndicate
of the underwriters of ACP’s bonds, Armenian Development Bank and
"Future Capital Market" investment-brokerage company.

As the Executive Director of ACP, Gagik Arzumanyan, told ArmInfo,
the volume of the first bonds issue is 500 mln AMD, which will aim to
replenish the company’s current assets. "There are free resources in
the home market, which we intend to effectively use by means of bonded
loans. But our key goal is to gain investors’ trust by issuing bonds
and, may be, to implement the planned program, i.e. to start IPO in
international markets in the future". G Arzumanyan said.

At the same time, the Executive Director of ArmSwissBank, Gevorg
Machanyan, noted that ACP’s bonds will undoubtedly be in demand in the
market. He said that the period of bond turnover is 18 months with 10%
yearly interest.

Coupon payments will be made every six months. The bank is obliged
to make the initial redemption of half of the loan, 100 mln AMD will
be placed in free market, and 150 mln AMD among the members of the
syndicate. According to him, diversification of financial resources
for such a company as ACP is a recipe for success. Creation of steady
financial opportunities will allow the company to develop successfully
and carry out its strategic tasks.

To note, ACP is the owner of the Alaverdi metallurgical plant,
developer of the Teghut copper- molybdenum deposit, and it also
indirectly owns the Drmbon deposit of copper and gold in Nagorno-
Karabakh. An agreement has been reached between the company and
Vneshtorgbank (Russia) on granting $200 mln credit for developing of
the Teghut deposit. G.Arzumanyan told ArmInfo that the first stage of
the investment program on Teghut implies construction of a mining and
concentration plant with capacity of 7 mln tons of ore per year. At
the second and third stages the capacity of the plant will be doubled
and tripled.

ArmSwissBank was established in 2005, and it is steadily developing in
investment, corporate and private banking. The first client issuer,
whose bonds were successfully placed by ArmSwissBank in June, was
the multi-industry Valletta company. "We are not going to issue our
own securities yet, but trying to help the market participants place
their securities. From the viewpoint of implementation of this process,
it is very important to have enough issuers, investors, and financial
mediators in the market," G.Machanyan emphasized.

AN AFTERNOON WITH KAPOOR FAMILY

IndiaPost.com, CA
Aug 29 2007

LOS ANGELES: "I was traveling in a taxi in Westwood, yesterday," said
Rishi Kapoor, "when the cabbie suddenly asked- India?" I said, "Yes."

He smiled and said immediately, "Ah! Raj Kapoor?" I said, "I am Raj
Kapoor’s son." Rishi continues, "The cab driver was stunned.

He was from Armenia, idolized Raj Kapoor and here he was in a cab in
Los Angeles with the son of his screen idol." Only in Los Angeles
I thought as I clapped delightedly at the story, sitting in the
Billy Wilder Theatre, Hammer Museum along with a hundred other film
aficionados listening to movie star Rishi Kapoor recounting the life
and times of his father Raj Kapoor.

The audience had just seen a 13 minute documentary part of a two hour
film Kehta Hai Joker directed by Bobby Bedi. I was fifteen years old,
decades ago when I fell deeply and hopelessly in love.

I had seen my first Hindi film Awara and I was smitten by the romantic,
Raj Kapoor. The deep feelings lingered on with me through the teen
years as I saw Barsaat, Jagte Raho, Shri 420, Aah, Jis Desh Mein
Ganga Behti Hai, Mera Naam Joker, Boot Polish, and Sangam.

Of course I fell in love again, this time with my husband but
the connection with Raj Kapoor still exists. Over the years I have
watched his movies many times, as a reviewer, a columnist, an analyst,
a different individual experience.

A wisp of a song, a mention of any Kapoor name, a passing comment
on any of his leading ladies, Nargis, Nimmi, Zeenat, Vyjayantimala
drenched me with emotion. Of a man who honored love, challenged
injustice, created a blend of narrative, song and smoldering intensity
manifesting it into a demarcated film experience.

Now as part of the film festival, India Splendor hosted in Los Angeles
by McGlobal Trust (Dr Modi) we went back in time to enter the world
that Raj Kapoor created. Dr M introduced Raj Kapoor as-‘the first
global artist’.

Dean Rosen defined Raj Kapoor as an actor/film maker who represented
the best of Indian cinema. It was a wonderful and touching homecoming
as Raj Kapoor had prior to his death had visited the US for a
retrospective of his films in University of California, Los Angeles.

The fascinating documentary showed a montage of excerpts from many
of his films as he portrayed the actor, director, producer and studio
chief of almost four decades. Prior to his death due to complications
of asthma at the age of 63, Raj Kapoor said, "When I die take me to
the studio so I might get up, spring forward and say, Action."

Brother Shammi Kapoor when interviewed remembered, "Raj smoked, drank
and slept with films." Later, son Rishi Kapoor reaffirmed the statement
when he told us, "My family, his wife, mother, children…nothing
was important to him. Only the making of a film. We did not exist
when he was involved with a film. It was a passion, an obsession.

His family was a world apart." Film directors paid tribute as they
remembered him as the Indian Charlie Chaplin giving a shape and
character to the Chaplinesque brilliance he so admired. The second of
the Great Showman’s sons, Rishi Kapoor accompanied by wife Neetu and
son Ranbir, came on stage with Mira Advani Honeycutt, film curator
and author for an informal discussion with the audience.

Rishi who first starred in Mera Naam Joker has been India’s heartthrob
for 25 years. He made his debut as a teenager and became a top
star with leading lady Dimple Kapadia in Bobby which became a rage
overnight. "Raj Kapoor started young. He made Barsaat when he was 21
years old. I was always in awe of him.

When I worked on a film with him, I never called him Dad, only Raj
Saab," recalled Rishi Kapoor. Asked if the Kapoor family believed
in the tradition of not letting their wives to work in films, Neetu
responded immediately, "I chose not to work after marriage as I was
busy with the children. Maybe now if there is an opportunity I might
be cast as a mother."

"My father loved Archie comics," Rishi told us and "he wanted to make
a film about teenage romance, the kind of crushes one comes across
in Archies." Articulate, intelligent and ready with a repartee,
Rishi wittily and honestly captured the spirit of his father as he
related anecdote after anecdote with astonishing zest.

Unique emotions coursed through the audience as one person recalled a
violin lesson with the young Raj, another shared with fond remembrance
a particular film that evoked a deep recollection, some spoke of scenes
that resonated with the spirit of the times, and all acknowledged
with sadness, the absence of the Master of cinema Raj Kapoor.

Raj was aggressively adventurous, yet totally accessible to the common
man. There was no label or category to the man. The diversity of the
roles was enriching. Ranbir Kapoor, son of Rishi Kapoor, is being
launched this year in a film Saavariya by Sanjay Leela Bhansali –
Director of Devdas, and Black.

A winsome, handsome and savvy young man, he spoke of his years in
New York studying visual arts and in the Lee Strasberg school of
acting and his dreams of following in the steps of his father Rishi
and grandfather Raj Kapoor. "And what was the relationship between
your father and you, Rishi?" was the final question from the audience.

To which Rishi Kapoor replied, "I was the biological son of my
father. Raj Kapoor belongs to the world and to you…"

HOW CAN A JEWISH STATE REJECT REFUGEES AND REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE A GENOCIDE?

Ha’aretz, Israel
og.jhtml?itemNo=899071&contrassID=25&subCo ntrassID=0&sbSubContrassID=1&listSrc=Y&amp ;art=1
Aug 30 2007

The 1952 debate over the reparations agreement with Germany was
one of the bitterest in the history of Israel. "Sons of Jerusalem,
citizens of Israel," cried opposition leader Menachem Begin in the
speech he made while heading a mass demonstration that threatened
to prevent the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, from voting on the
arrangement. "This evening, the most shameful deed in the history of
our people is about to happen."

Prime Minister David Ben Gurion was pushing the Knesset to approve
the deal. Simply put, it was financial compensation for the loss
of Jewish property during the horrific days of the Holocaust. "The
government of Israel," declared Begin, "is selling the honor of Israel
for greed." Less then a decade after the Holocaust, it was a powerful
accusation, and it still is. But Ben Gurion stood his ground. He had
a job to do?securing the future of the young state.

So, he made a deal with the devil. Like it or not, reparations from
Germany helped Israel become the modern, thriving country it is today.

Israel still faces such moral dilemmas. In the past couple of weeks,
they have surfaced again around ongoing controversies in both Israel
and America. It is the inherent tension between making the rational
decision a "normal" country would and the need to occupy the moral
high ground that Jewish history has burdened Israel with.

Last week, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill.,
wrote a letter to Israel’s ambassador in Washington, Sallai Meridor.

"Israel has returned 48 Sudanese people to Egypt and intends to
refuse entrance to refugees from the war-torn Darfur region of
Sudan," reported the congressman. "I am writing today to express my
disappointment? [I]f any country should understand the special needs
of those affected by the genocide in Darfur, it should be Israel."

He was not alone expressing discomfort with Israel’s decision. Dozens
of Israeli legislators from across the political spectrum made the
same argument. Human rights organizations blasted the deportations.

American Jewish organizations expressed disappointment.

But Prime Minister Ehud Olmert reached an agreement with Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak under which any Sudanese citizens illegally
crossing into Israel through the Sinai Peninsula will be sent back to
Egypt. Ten days ago, Israel deported 50 such infiltrators?and Olmert
ordered that Darfurians arriving at the gates should be rejected.

Only 500 were lucky enough to be absorbed by the country
indefinitely. That number, say Israeli officials, is very high
considering how small the country is?it is the equivalent of 20,000
refugees getting into America (The United States accepted fewer than
2,000 refugees from all of Sudan last year).

It was a calculated decision, but not a pretty one. Accepting the
first wave of Darfurians proved problematic, tempting more Africans to
attempt entry. If he wants to educate himself about such problems,
Emanuel can call his former boss Bill Clinton. After CIA agents
visited him before he was even inaugurated, Clinton had to roll back
his criticism of the first Bush administration’s strict policy against
accepting refugees from Haiti. The agents presented him with satellite
photos that showed tens of thousands of Haitians hacking down houses
and trees in anticipation of the new, less restrictive administration.

The memory of the Holocaust and the Jewish refugees who wanted to
flee Europe was a handy weapon for those who criticized Israel for
its cold-hearted decision. It became useful again last week, in an
American-based controversy involving the Anti-Defamation League,
an American Jewish organization that faces mounting criticism from
both Jews and non-Jews over its refusal to acknowledge the Armenian
genocide at the hands of the Turks in World War I.

This story is also an old one, but it never dies. Turkey, an important
international and regional player, refuses to make peace with its
murderous past and threatens to sever its ties with any country that
contradicts its version of events. Israel?among many others?chose a
Turkish connection over truth and justice to history.

The ADL did what it thought was the responsible thing: defending
Israel and Jews in Turkey from the possible consequences of
acknowledging the genocide. But criticism threatened to tear the
organization apart. Eventually, after constant pressure from outside
the organization and also from its own activists, this led to a
change of course by ADL leader Abraham Foxman. Since advocating
against anti-Semitism and hate is the organization’s core issue,
its position seemed highly hypocritical.

"The Jewish people will always bear the burden of the memory of the
Holocaust and the comfort of redemption," said then-Prime Minister
Shimon Peres in 1996, while honoring German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

But last week, Peres took a morally indefensible stand on the Armenian
genocide. Israel has not changed its position on the killing of
Armenians, President Peres assured the Turkish prime minister. Ben
Gurion’s most brilliant student, the last one standing, reiterated
the always controversial Israeli position: As it has always done,
it chooses Realpolitik over moral purity. Call it an action-oriented
morality.

A slightly longer version of this article was published in Slate
earlier this week

THEY CHARGE KILLERS OF ARMENIAN BOY FOR INCITING ETHNIC HATRED IN RUSSIA

AZG Armenian Daily
28/08/2007

Two of four young Russians, accused of killing the 15 year-old Armenian
boy, Narek Kocharian, near Moscow in 2006, are alos charged for
inciting inter-ethnic hatred.The four Slavs attacked Narek Kocharian
in 2006 November and first tried to throttle him, then stabbed him
several times to death. The bleeding boy was discovered by strangers
and rushed to hospital where he died. His attackers were arrested
in December.Russian newspapers reported that one of the arrested,
Yevgeny Mironov, ran a sporting club where he taught martial arts and
urged his students to drive all natives of Central Asia and Caucasus
out of Moscow.