Author: Torgomian Varazdat

Murder, they wrote; profit, they hope
by LAUREN BAYNE ANDERSONTimes Staff Writer
St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
November 10, 2004 Wednesday
Murder, they wrote; profit, they hope. But even if the book flops,
their marriage has prospered.
INDIAN SHORES – For 20 years as an emergency doctor, George Kamajian’s
daily routine often included abuse, murder and death.
“Once I was even threatened by this huge criminal I was treating,”
he said. “I threatened him back. To survive, sometimes you have to
act crazier than the patients.”
Wanting to forget his long, harrowing days at work, Kamajian, 53,
found an outlet for his stress in writing. But he didn’t put the
white coat out of his mind entirely.
Instead, his stories wove together his medical knowledge with his
interest in Egyptology. His wife, Debra, 45, often hovered behind him,
reading over his shoulder.
“I’d get little notes the next day left on napkins, saying, take this
out, put this in,” he said. Soon after, she began adding passages of
her own.
The couple, who moved to Indian Shores this year, never planned to
become authors, but years after they began writing as a hobby, they
published their second book, The Eyes of Horus, in June.
Horus is the story of Derek, a detective, and Kelly, a medical
examiner and emergency room doctor, who solve a murder mystery through
medical research.
The characters find clues that lead them from New England to Florida
and finally to Egypt, where they discover the double crown of Egypt,
an ancient artifact.
The pair incorporated themselves into the book. His medical experience,
their Armenian background and their dry sense of humor all factor in.
“As writers, you put yourself into it a little, so I could be Kelly
and George could be the detective,” Debra Kamajian said. “When you
get that intensely into any subject, you don’t exist in a vacuum;
you’re writing with own experiences.”
Although the authors are on their second book, George Kamajian
remains an emergency room doctor. But he practices far from his
Pinellas beachfront condo. To avoid paying Florida’s higher medical
malpractice premiums, he commutes twice a month to Massachusetts for
work. The couple lived in nearby Rhode Island for almost 10 years
before moving to Florida in August.
They started writing Horus in 1999 after their daughters,
6 and 7, were born. To break up the monotony, they began a book of
humorous short stories with unconventional, ironic twists, titled
And That Was That. The book was picked up quickly in 2003 by a
small Canadian publisher.
But after years of working on the 400-page novel Horus, they
had a pile of rejection letters from publishers after more than
100 queries.
Debra Kamajian said they thought about self-publishing but opted not
to because of the stigma attached to it.
“With all the money we spent on postage, sending manuscripts to
publishers, we could have published ourselves,” she said. “But when
you say “self-published,’ a lot of people poo-poo it.”
After a year of letdowns, the Kamajians received a call from Barbara
Turner, owner of Briarwood Publications, a small publisher in Virginia,
who was interested in the book. Briarwood publishes about six books
a year, many by professors working toward tenure.
“I was so excited; I thought, a publisher believes in us,” she said.
“We kept the telephone message for a year and a half.”
Turner said she immediately loved Horus, but alerted the
authors that once the book was published, they would have to work
even harder to publicize it.
“I told them, I’m small press and you’re unknown, so we really need
to work here,” Turner said.
Debra Kamajian – with the personality more of a cheerleader than
the co-author of a medical murder mystery – energetically took on
marketing.
The homemaker canvassed neighborhoods, placed fliers on car windows
and talked up the book.
Slowly, her drive is paying off. Horus is available at
Amazon.com and at some local libraries, and will soon be available at
Waldenbooks in Clearwater. She has set up a book signing at Westfield
Shoppingtown Countryside for early December.
But publicity isn’t cheap. Already, they have spent more than $1,000
on poster boards, fliers and banners.
“It does come out of our pocket, but it’s okay, because the whole
point is for people to read it,” she said.
They make about $1 on each book, which retails for $9.95. Thousands
of copies have been shipped to distributors across the country,
but Turner said that because Horus was recently printed,
she couldn’t estimate how many had sold.
“Books are unique in that what I might think is going to be a great
seller might not be,” Turner said. “It’s like throwing mud up against
a wall: Some will stick. Some won’t.”
Her goal is to be able to walk into a bookstore and find Horus
readily stocked on the shelves.
George Kamajian said whether or not the book becomes a hit, writing
it was worth the time.
“Am I optimistic about Oprah? No,” he said. “But this book has
brought me so much closer to my wife, and for me, that’s the strength
of it.”
The couple continue to write, weaving their life experiences –
sometimes odd – into their stories.
Walking along the beach recently, George Kamajian spotted an
out-of-place object that had washed in. He recognized it as a human
bone.
Examining it with puzzlement, he looked up and said, “This is the
start of the next book.”

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
November 10, 2004
___________________
ACYOA HOLDS REGIONAL CONFERENCE FOR MIDWEST YOUTH
Challenging young people to think about their faith in a creative and
constructive way, the Armenian Church Youth Organization of America
(ACYOA) this fall will be holding four day-long, regional conferences
filled with fellowship, prayer, and education.
The first of these — held on Saturday, October 23, at the St. John
Church of Southfield, MI — brought together more than 20 young
parishioners from churches in Cleveland, OH; Racine, WI; and Detroit,
MI.
“It’s such a wonderful, fulfilling feeling to talk and be open with one
another about God and our spirituality,” said Allison Haidostian, a
parishioner from St. John Church in Southfield, MI. “I feel recharged.”
FINDING THEIR SPIRIT
At the beginning of the day, the young participants interviewed each
other about their spiritual lives by answering questions focusing on the
theme of the conference: Christian spirituality.
“This conference gave me a greater understanding of myself” said
Jonathan Banks a parishioner and ACYOA member from the St. John Church
of Southfield, MI.
Fr. Garabed Kochakian, pastor at the St. John Church, of Southfield, MI,
spoke to the participants on “Spirituality, Sexuality and Spouses,” a
usual topic of his pre-marital counseling. He told participants that,
contrary to popular belief, the church celebrated sexuality and even
talked about it in the sanctuary — during the sacrament of holy
matrimony. He discussed the importance of spiritual intimacy in a
relationship and spoke on the “Three R’s” of marriage: Regard, Respect,
and Responsibility.
Fr. Yeprem Kelegian, pastor at the St. Mesrob Church of Racine, WI —
who drove 800 miles round-trip to speak at the day-long session —
focused on spirituality as intimacy with God. He defined spirituality
as “the everyday activity of life in communion with God” and discussed
the importance of personal prayer and liturgical prayer in that process.
Prayer, he said, was “sitting with God and listening.” He also shared
information on personality types and spiritual characteristics, offering
participants prayer suggestions for each type.
“This was spiritually refreshing and hopeful for the future,” said Fr.
Yeprem, who is also a member of the Diocesan Council. “The Diocesan
Council and the Primate view the ACYOA as a rich source of spiritual
ideas, idealism, and fervor for the Armenian Church. Anything we can do
to facilitate their growth, we are pleased to do.”
An afternoon session, called “A Spiritual Workout,” asked participants
to examine and reflect on two types of mystical spiritually,
specifically the writings of St. Gregory of Narek and the Wisdom
Liturature (Psalms and Ecclesiastes) of the Bible. Participants were
asked to be creative by putting scripture to music and writing as if
they were Christian mystics such as St. Gregory.
“The results were amazing,” said ACYOA Executive Secretary Nancy
Basmajian, who helped lead the day’s activities alongside ACYOA Central
Council chair Jennifer Morris, ACYOA Central Council treasurer Rita
Akaraz. “I was very inspired by the fact that they took the ‘workout’
seriously and really got into it and said some beautiful things.”
The conference ended with an open forum, lead by ACYOA Central Council
chair Morris, in which she shared Central Council goals and upcoming
activities. There was also a brief presentation on plans for next
year’s ACYOA Sports Weekend by Greg Andonian, chair of the 2005 ACYOA
Sports Weekend being hosted by the St. Gregory of Narek Church of
Cleveland, OH.
“This conference was a true testament to the deep respect Armenian youth
have for each other,” Andonian said. “We are all better off having
received the ideas of those who attended this conference. I will
encourage anyone who is thinking about attending a future regional
conference to be prepared to be challenged and entertained.”
Regional conferences will be held for the New York Metro/Mid-Atlantic
region on November 6 at the St. Mary Church in Livingston, NJ, and for
the Southern region on January 15 at the St. Sarkis Church of Dallas,
TX. For more information, visit the ACYOA website at or
e-mail Nancy Basmajian, ACYOA executive secretary, at
[email protected].
— 11/10/04
E-mail photos available on request. Photos also viewable in the News
and Events section of the Eastern Diocese’s website,
PHOTO CAPTION (1): Fr. Yeprem Kelegian, pastor at the St. Mesrob Church
of Racine, WI, speaks with participants at the ACYOA Mid-West regional
conference on Saturday, October 13, 2004.
PHOTO CAPTION (2): Young parishioners from various Mid-west parishes
listen to a speaker during a day-long conference at the St. John Church
of Southfield, MI.
PHOTO CAPTION (3): More than 20 young people came together on Saturday,
October 23, at the St. John Church of Southfield, MI, for the first of
four day-long regional conferences being organized by the ACYOA.
# # #

NEXT DESTINATION AMSTERDAM
Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
09 Nov 04
Landing at the island of Saint Lazarus, Venice, the crew of the Armenian ship
â~@~Kilikiaâ~@~] making its maiden voyage continued their pilgrimage on the
land.
Their visit to Artsakh was even more important in this context. Besides the top
officials of NKR the staff of Artsakh State University also had the
opportunity to meet with the crew of the ship. On November 4 the crew of the
â~@~Kilikiaâ~@~]
visited the University. The full hall proved that many of the staff of the
university kept track of the voyage of the â~@~Kilikiaâ~@~]. The fact that
famous
writer and publicist Zory Balayan was also member of the crew promised that the
talk was going to be interesting. After the meeting we had a talk with Zory
Balayan. â~@~S Why especially â~@~Kilikiaâ~@~]? â~@~S Because among the
Armenian states sea had
vital importance only for the Armenian kingdom of Cilicia. The kingdom had a
fleet, prospering port towns. The aim of this undertaking was to revive the
tradition of our ancestors. Being highlanders they were not afraid of the sea.
The ship â~@~Kilikiaâ~@~] is the exact reproduction of the ships of that time.
This
undertaking is not unique. Representatives of many other nationalities have
tried to recall the techniques of the past and repeat what their ancestors did
in
the past. It is also an original way of paying tribute to them. â~@~S What was
the mission of the â~@~Kilikiaâ~@~]? â~@~S We made our voyage under the flags
of the
Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Nagorni Karabakh. The very fact can
underlie the mission of â~@~Kilikiaâ~@~]. With only 85 square metres of surface
â~@~Kilikiaâ~@~]
is a bit of the homeland which visited its children spread all over the world.
This was especially a great joy for those whose age and health do not allow
them to visit Armenia at east once. All the Armenians irrespective of their
belief, party affiliation, see their homeland in â~@~Kilikiaâ~@~]. On the other
hand,
it turned out that by this voyage we assumed another mission as well. The
survey conducted among the youth revealed that unfortunately 90 per cent of our
young people is not only unaware but also indifferent towards their own history.
We hope that the voyage of the â~@~Kilikiaâ~@~] will have a positive effect in
the
sense that it will increase their interest in our historical past. Partly this
aim will also be pursued by the â~@~Kilikiaâ~@~] and my work entitled
â~@~Kilikiaâ~@~]
where I will include information on the history of Cilicia. â~@~S Such an
undertaking
must have a continuation. â~@~S I think it will. We have already talked to RA
president Robert Kocharian about it and we have returned to him the tricolor
under which the â~@~Kilikiaâ~@~] sailed. We have also talked to the RA prime
minister
and Catholicos of All Armenians. We have the plan of the voyage which will start
from the island of Saint Lazarus, and the destination will be Amsterdam.
NORAIR HOVSEPIAN.
09-11-2004
–Boundary_(ID_i64ppxPoOt0pFeji1wO6Rg)–

Armenian troops kill Azeri officer near disputed Karabakh region
AFP: 11/8/2004
Agence France Presse
Nov 8 2004
BAKU (AFP) – Armenian troops shot dead an Azeri army officer along the
tense border that separates the two warring former Soviet republics,
Azerbaijan’s defense ministry revealed.
Bahaddin Abdiyev, a 24-year-old lieutenant, was killed on Sunday
evening during an exchange of fire with Armenian troops in the Agdam
region of southern Azerbaijan, a spokesman told AFP.
Armenian and Azeri forces have been locked in a tense stand-off
since fighting a war in the early 1990s over the disputed territory
of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is now under Armenian control.
The two sides are observing a ceasefire but crossborder shootouts
are a frequent occurrence.
The latest violence brings the Azeri death toll to close to a dozen
soldiers since the start of the year.

Armenian agency warns foreign states not to indulge Azeri president
Mediamax news agency, Yerevan
6 Nov 04
An Armenian news agency has warned foreign powers not to indulge the
Azerbaijani president whom it accused of shutting “the half-open
window of possibilities in the process of a Karabakh settlement”. In
its weekly analysis, Mediamax said that the talks were in “a state of
full uncertainty” as Ilham Aliyev “interprets an indulgent attitude
to himself on the part of foreign powers purely as a good opportunity
to delay the beginning of a real dialogue”. The agency called on the
mediating states to “change their tactics and treat each party to the
conflict equally”. The following is an excerpt from report in English
by Armenian news agency Mediamax; subheadings have been inserted
editorially:
The recent developments around the Nagornyy Karabakh peace process
testify to the fact that despite great expectations the Armenian and
Azerbaijani presidents’ meeting in Astana on 15 September has not
become a “breakthrough” in the peace process.
According to statements from the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen, after
the talks in the capital of Kazakhstan the presidents took a
“time-out”, which as the mediators hoped, would finish in early
November. However, today we, vice versa, witness the sides’ return to
the situation, which has been observed since Heydar Aliyev’s death
till this spring – the absence of negotiating process accompanied by
the sides’ mutual accusations.
The optimistic picture formed after President Robert Kocharyan and
President Ilham Aliyev’s meeting in Astana, began going bad already in
early October, when the Azerbaijani president gave an interview to
Reuters, where he, in particular, called Armenia an “aggressor
country”. In fact, Ilham Aliyev did not say anything new – Azerbaijani
leaders have been using this cliche over the last 10 years. However,
the reaction of official Yerevan, which until now has expressed
restrained optimism in relation to the situation in the negotiating
process formed after several round of talks between the Armenian and
Azerbaijani foreign ministers and the meeting in Astana, turned out to
be rather harsh.
“Azerbaijan reaps the fruits of the military aggression unleashed by
it and is the hostage of the colonial policy pursued in relation to
Nagornyy Karabakh,” the Armenian Foreign Ministry’s spokesman, Gamlet
Gasparyan, said on 8 October.
Some days later, Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan also
commented on Ilham Aliyev’s statement, saying that “Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev has chosen a wrong direction and wrong theme.”
Oskanyan noted that such harsh-worded statements can put Ilham Aliyev
in a difficult situation and complicate his ability to make
compromises without which the settlement of the Karabakh problem is
impossible. The Armenian foreign minister said that commenting on the
negotiating process, Yerevan’s representatives unambiguously state the
impossibility of Nagornyy Karabakh’s existence within Azerbaijan. “In
all other issues we behave quite carefully and do not enter into
polemics,” Oskanyan stressed.
Passage omitted: more recap of mutual accusations
Baku shuts “window of possibilities”, paper says
>From this moment it became obvious that the hopes aroused by the
Astana meeting will remain unrealized, at least, in the short-term
perspective. The Armenian leaders have repeatedly stated that they
refused the plan of land swap, which had been for some time discussed
at talks with Heydar Aliyev. The fact that official Baku decided to
return to this theme just on the eve of the 5th anniversary of the
terrorist act in the Armenian parliament testifies to the fact that
Azerbaijan has made up its mind to shut the half-open “window of
possibilities” in the process of the Karabakh settlement. And the
statement made by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov on 26
October only proved this.
Elmar Mammadyarov said that “Baku is waiting for an answer from
Yerevan regarding the continuation of the process on a settlement of
the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict”. “We would like the talks, the
exchange of opinion and the conclusions that were reached in certain
spheres to be continued,” the Azerbaijani foreign minister said and
stressed that all the talks are aimed at Armenia’s liberating the
seven occupied regions around Nagornyy Karabakh.
“We have got no answer concerning this either from Yerevan or from the
OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen, who, as the Azerbaijani side thinks,
should work more actively,” Elmar Mammadyarov said.
In reply, the Armenian Foreign Ministry’s spokesman, Gamlet Gasparyan,
said that “we have repeatedly said, and we will say so again, that
despite Azerbaijan’s wishes or statements, Armenia’s focus during
negotiations is on the issue of the status of Nagornyy Karabakh”.
“All other issues are tangential to the status issue and Armenia views
them only in the context of the future status of NKR,” the Armenian
Foreign Ministry’s official representative said. Commenting on another
statement by the Azerbaijani foreign minister that the Armenian
president took a time-out in Astana “to analyse the results of the
meetings held”, Gamlet Gasparyan said that both presidents agreed to
take time to consider the issues which were raised. “On the matters
which are of interest to Armenia, we have not yet received a response
from Azerbaijan,” the Armenian Foreign Ministry’s spokesman said.
Passage omitted: recaps talks under former president Levon
Ter-Petrosyan
UN General Assembly
The Azerbaijani leadership’s further steps demonstrated that Baku, as
before, decided to get involved in a propaganda campaign and not a
real settlement. In late October, the UN General Assembly committee
decided to recommend the inclusion of three additional items in the
assembly’s current agenda, including the proposal to consider the
situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. The request was
contained in a letter from the permanent representative of
Azerbaijan. The French representative, speaking on behalf of the
co-chairmanship of the Minsk Group spoke against the discussion of the
issue suggested by Azerbaijan by the UN General Assembly. According to
him, the request for the introduction of a new item could have
negative consequences and harm efforts to bring about a just and
lasting settlement.
After the Azerbaijani initiative had been officially included in the
UN General Assembly’s agenda, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that
it “can hardly have a favourable influence on the negotiating
process”. “Russia abstained from voting like the other co-chairman of
the OSCE Minsk Group. We think that the initiative in parallel with
the OSCE consideration of this issue at the UN General Assembly can
hardly have a favourable influence on the negotiating process. The
results of the voting testify to the fact that most members of the
international community adhere to a similar position,” the Russian
Foreign Ministry noted.
The Russian cochairman of the OSCE Minsk Group Yuriy Merzliakov was
more open. In an interview with Baku’s ATV TV company he said: “The
discussion of the situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan
at the UN will seriously harm the peace process.”
“Full uncertainty” at Karabakh talks
Today we decided to repeat an excerpt from our analytical review of
January 31 2004, since as we have already mentioned at the beginning
of this article, the situation, unfortunately, returns to a state of
full uncertainty. Here is the excerpt, which, in our opinion, has not
only lost but, vice versa, has acquired additional actuality: “We
think that the representatives of the international community and
mediator-states, speaking about the need for ‘giving more time to
Ilham Aliyev’ make an essential mistake calling on to wait for the
moment when the new Azerbaijani leader ‘will get firmly established’
in his post. A question arises – will Ilham Aliyev be firmly
established in three months or half a year? Why not take into account
the fact that Aliyev’s position may vice versa become weaker because
of some reasons thus making the Karabakh settlement more unreal?”
If the mediator-states are really interested in settling the conflict,
they should change their tactics and treat each party to the conflict
equally. Otherwise, the solution will be dragged on as Ilham Aliyev,
to all appearances, interprets an indulgent attitude to himself on the
part of foreign powers purely as a good opportunity to delay the
beginning of a real dialogue.
Passage omitted: recaps the 2002 US ambassador to the OSCE appeal to
both presidents to continue talks
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan
Nov. 5, 2004
STATEMENT OF PRESS SERVICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN REPUBLIC
[November 05, 2004, 15:37:57]
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev at the President
Palace has met the NATO Secretary General Yaap de Hoop Scheffer, on
November 5.
In the course of meeting, President of Azerbaijan highly assesses the
visit of the Secretary General of NATO from the point of view of
development of the relations between this Organization and the Country.
Head of the Azerbaijani State with great pleasure emphasized constant
strengthening and expansion of cooperation with NATO which plays great
role in ensuring establishment of links with the Euro-Atlantic
structures, including peace and security in Europe. Noting that
Azerbaijan actively takes part in the `Partnership for Peace’ program
of this Organization, President Ilham Aliyev underlined current
realization of concrete affairs on the ground of the plan of individual
partnership with NATO. Stating that relevant structures of the Republic
carry out certain activities in this connection, President of
Azerbaijan expressed confidence for further development of the
Azerbaijan-NATO relations.
Mr. Yaap de Hoop Scheffer expressed pleasure with the meeting with
President Ilham Aliyev, noting the latest visit of Azerbaijan President
to Brussels was successful. Highly appreciating constant development of
the relations between NATO and Azerbaijan, the Secretary General
stressed that the Country is one of the active partners of this
Organization. Mr. Scheffer said he is convinced that the relations
between Alliance and the Country would further strengthen and expand.
At the meeting, also were exchanged views on issues of international
and regional safety, settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorny
Karabakh conflict and other issues of mutual interest.

ArmenPress
Nov. 5, 2004
ARMENIA WANTS TO STUDY CHINA’S BANKING EXPERIENCE
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS: The governor of Armenia’s Central
Bank, Tigran Sarkisian, told Armenpress he had discussed with his
Chinese counterpart a series of questions concerning cooperation
between the two banks during a recent visit to Beijing.
Sarkisian said financial and economic developments in China have a
serious impact on world financial system and economy. In this sense he
said it is very important to understand the logic of sweeping reforms
in that country and its repercussions on world economy.
He said he had agreed with the head of Chinese Central Bank to
exchange regularly information by both countries’ banks and increase
bilateral contacts that will help Armenia to examine China’s
experience.
He also said an agreement was reached on developing a cooperation
plan that may be signed in 2005. Sarkisian said he invited his
counterpart to visit Armenia next year.

FOLLOWING EASTERN TIMOR EXAMPLE
A1+
02-11-2004
‘Referendums are preferred versions among those for conflict
settlements’, NKR FM Ashot Ghulyan has announced this in Stepanakert.
According to Ghulyan, he has concluded this after following the
settlement mechanisms for Eastern Timor, Eritrea and Kosovo conflicts.
Mr. Ghulyan has today summed up his visit to USA this October. He has
partaken in a conference in Michigan City, during which regional
issues were discussed. By the impression of Ghulyan, USA audience is
much informed about the Karabakhi conflict.

MM Speaker Meets With Charge D’Affaires Of Libya
[October 29, 2004, 17:07:57]
AzerTag, Azerbaijan
29 Oct. 2004
Chairman of the Milli Majlis Murtuz Alasgarov met with Charge
D’Affaires of the Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in
Azerbaijan Muhammad al-Jleti Jabir.
The Speaker said that although friendly relations between the two
countries have existed since ancient times, they have not been
brought to a due level, and that no a single sitting of the joint
interparliamentary commission formed three years ago has been held yet.
He expressed satisfaction, however, that despite all the problems,
Libya had supported the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Our
people appreciate it and, our country has concern in development of
relations with Libya, he said.
Charge D’Affaires Muhammad al-Jleti Jabir shared Mr. Alasgarov’s
opinion stressing the importance of organization of reciprocal visits
of the two countries’ delegations for development of the relations. He
announced that Speaker of Libyan Parliament had invited his Azerbaijani
counterpart to visit the country and handed the letter of invitation
over to Murtuz Alasgarov.
Mr. Muhammad al-Jleti Jabir stressed as well that Libya has always
supported and will support in the future the territorial integrity
of Azerbaijan adding that despite the repeated requests from the
official Yerevan, his country has not yet allowed the opening of
Armenia’s embassy in Libya.
The parties then discussed a number of other issues of mutual interest.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ADL Calls On Chief Rabbis to Speak Out Against Interfaith Assaults In Old City
Anti-Defamation League
October 17, 2004
PRESS RELEASE
Israel / Middle East
Jerusalem, October 17, 2004 — The Israel Office of the Anti-Defamation
League (ADL) called on Israel’s two Chief Rabbis to speak out against
the phenomenon of attacks against Christians by Jewish students
studying in yeshivas in Jerusalem’s Old City.
In letters sent to Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger and Sepharadi
Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, ADL’s Israel Office said:
We are writing to share our deep concern and revulsion at the event
that took place last week in the Old City when a yeshiva student spat
at Nourhan Manougian, the Armenian Archbishop of Jerusalem.
After the student was arrested he told the authorities that
he perpetrated this act to protest idol worship. If this was an
isolated incident perhaps it could be simply blamed on bad behavior
by a misguided and disrespectful teenager. However, such incidents
are not at all rare. This disgraceful behavior perpetuated by a
minority of yeshiva students has been occurring for years.
We are now calling upon you to use your public position to speak out
quickly and firmly against this clear violation of Jewish ethical
teaching and to make clear to rabbis and teachers who are educating
yeshiva students in Jerusalem and elsewhere that such behavior is
a terrible moral offense and a stain on the name of Jewish people
everywhere.
Particularly in this time of rising anti-Semitism we do not tolerate
such conduct toward Jews anywhere in the world and such conduct toward
non-Jews must not be tolerated in the Jewish state. Maintaining quiet
and respectful relations between faiths in Jerusalem is both a national
and spiritual value.
We believe that you can do much to help combat this phenomenon both
publicly and privately and call upon you to use your esteemed position
to do so at this time.
Read more online on our web site at
The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world’s leading
organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services
that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress