Category: 2020

BY YARON WEISS

Israeli arms dealers doing business with dictatorial states has devastating consequences both internally and externally for Israel.

Last week Azerbaijan used Israeli-made missiles, drones and high-technology weapons to hit military targets and civilians in Armenia, resulting in loss of Armenian lives and damage to civilian structures such as schools and factories.

In Israel, it has been suggested that it is developing close relations with Azerbaijan, including the weapons trade, as part of a strategic military campaign against Iran. But I believe that this is a smoke screen for laundering arms trade with the dictatorial regime of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan has a long border with Iran, the population of Azeris living in Iranian territory is double that of the entire population of Azerbaijan. Therefore, I don’t believe that the regime in Baku will endanger its people in Iran and its own political survival by forming a military alliance with Israel—Iran’s great enemy. The purpose of the arms deals between Azerbaijan and Israel is for improving Azerbaijan’s military competence against Armenia and enriching the cash flow of the Israel’s military industrial complex.

Azerbaijan continues to condemn Israel in every international forum, along with other Muslim countries around the world (including Iran).

So far, Azerbaijan has not opened an embassy in Tel Aviv, even though there has been an Israeli embassy in Baku since the early 1990s.

The Azerbaijani army used Israeli-made weapons to attack Armenia, an Israeli-friendly country that only recently announced its intention to open an embassy in Tel Aviv. The President of Armenia even visited Israel last January and met with top officials.

It is absolutely clear that one of the goals of Israeli weapons exports is to inject cash into the weapons industry in order to enable the continued development of military hardware for Israel’s Defense Forces. Israeli arms industries need weapons exports like oxygen to the body. They cannot afford to be dependent on the local market alone.

However, it seems that the security relations with Azerbaijan deviate from normal supplier-customer relations. It seems that Israeli weapons traders are trying hard to persuade their customers in Baku to purchase advanced types of weapons, that Armenia cannot get. (Azerbaijan’s defense budget is four times higher than Armenia’s defense budget).

The use of high technology weapons made in Israel by the Azerbaijani army is increasing the level of violence in the conflict by encouraging the Azerbaijanis to launch attacks against the Armenian army, knowing that it will be very difficult  for them to defend. These include fire control systems, missiles, “suicide” drones and more.

The leaders of the Israel’s arms industries and its government are not showing solidarity and friendship toward Armenia—an ally of Israel.

Therefore the Israeli society won’t  be surprised that there is no friendship and solidarity among themselves, as reflected in the most precarious social situation in recent times.

Yaron Weiss is an activist and writer based in Israel. He is a staunch advocate Armenian Genocide recognition by Israel. He has traveled extensively in Armenia and is a frequent contributor to Asbarez.

BY SOSE´ HOVANNISIAN

On March 12, Holy Martyrs Ferrahian High School Principal Sossi Shanlian announced a two-week hiatus due to the increasing risks of the coronavirus.

Some of the students quietly cheered, thinking this was nothing more than an early spring break; little did they know that the gloomy, rainy day would be our last on campus.

During those two weeks, while the student body reveled in the surprise mini-vacation, the administration and faculty remained at school, busily implementing a remote learning program in the event of an extended stay-at-home order.  And as fate would have it, that is exactly what happened.

Based in large part on the expertise of technology director Ara Chouljian, Ferrahian promptly and smoothly transitioned its classes into a virtual format through a software program known as Zoom. The teachers, too, were quick to hone their remote instruction skills and enabled a largely seamless transition.  As formal online sessions began after two weeks, our sophomore class jumped into graphing logarithms and finishing Orwell’s 1984 from the comfort of our own homes, and for some, from our beds.

But of course, nothing beats being at school. Walking into our small and happy gym and classrooms every morning was comforting. Ferrahian is, after all, our home.  And so while we were blessed to have been given the best remote instruction available, we collectively yearned to return to our school, where the hallways have always been filled with laughter and the sound of slamming lockers, where the gym echoes with the sounds of spirited Armens basketball practices, and where the students come together as one large extended family.

The pandemic has deprived all of us of our Armenian school experience.  What I will miss most is that “perfect ending to a school year.” Our last day of school would always consist of smiles, tears, pot lucks, and unprecedented water fights, which Vice-Principal Baron Nalbandian was never too fond of.  Unfortunately, none of that happened this year. Junior Tara Ourfalian added, “Our class was extremely disheartened to hear that our very highly anticipated trip to Armenia would have to be canceled as well. Throughout high school, we have all looked forward to when we would visit our mother country and finally embrace our nation’s rich culture and history in person rather than through a textbook.”

Nevertheless, students also recognized and appreciated the efforts made by the school during these challenging times.

“Completing school in the middle of a worldwide pandemic and nationwide quarantine wasn’t something we were used to, but with the patience and endurance from our teachers, we got it done,” said 10th grader Alicia Manouk.

Junior Eric Yenikomshian also saw the silver lining of this otherwise dreary time

“I have learned to be a more patient person, and am more appreciative of the basic yet essential aspects of life, such as having the comfort of a home, availability of food and water, and a loving family. Online schooling at Ferrahian was also a huge success as I was able to continue my education thanks to the help of our hardworking teachers and staff who assigned just the right amount of work and prepared us for our AP exams,” said Yenikomshian.

His classmate, Alec Minassian, said, “The teachers have offered a quick and productive transition into an entirely new landscape, and although we miss the social interaction, the way we’ve found comfort in this new endeavor has genuinely changed the student body for the better.”

Naturally, the interruption of the school calendar was most detrimental to our graduating middle school and senior classes. After all, this was to be the culmination of years of hard work and sacrifice.

“As an eighth-grade student, I along with my classmates were impatiently waiting for our East Coast Trip and Promotion to High School,” eighth-grade graduate Aiki Kassabian explained.

“Events such as senior prom, grad night, verchin zank (the last bell), and my graduation, which I had been looking forward to since the sixth grade, were taken from me,” said graduating senior Hoorig Sarkissian, who will be attending UCLA in the fall.

Still, even these graduating students emphasized their appreciation for their Ferrahian experience.  Regarding her eighth-grade class graduation, Kassabian added,  “We were pleased with our drive-through graduation at school. Short and sweet, our class made memories with that drive-by that we can happily look back at in a few years.”

The teachers, too, had positive experiences during this time.

“While remote learning made it difficult to monitor student engagement, especially with students’ videos turned off during Zoom sessions, and limited face to face interactions, discussions, and collaboration, the online platforms allowed for shorter synchronous class time, and the ability for students to work at their own pace. My students impressed me with their honest, positive, enthusiastic, open-minded approach to the challenges of online learning, but we all look forward to the day where we can return to our safe, lively, student-centered classroom,” high school English Teacher Arpine Barseghyan, explained.

Science Department Head, Rozi Ourfalian added, “As educators, we wanted to make sure our students were feeling supported and getting the best educational experience they deserved.  While teaching through Zoom was convenient, I did miss the special environment we had created in our classroom along with the close connections and intriguing discussions we would have.”

And there you have it. A pandemic can have an immense, adverse impact on a small school like ours. But at Ferrahian, we don’t view the glass as half empty or half full.  We face the challenges head-on, make the best of the circumstances, and enjoy the full glass of our appreciation and success.

Sose´ Hovannisian will be a junior at Holy Martyrs Ferrahian High School in the fall. She is the 2020 Asbarez summer intern.

Russian war correspondent Semyon Pegov of the War Gonzo Project was the first journalist who managed to get as close as possible to the Armenia-Azerbaijani border last week, when Azerbaijani forces brazenly attacked military and civilian targets in Armenia’s northeastern Tavush Province.

In footage released over the weekend, Pegov details how Azerbaijani forces launched the attacks against Armenia from Agdam, near the Artsakh border, where the Azerbaijani army stores its mortars and artillery, reported Public Radio of Armenia.

Pegov explained that Azerbaijanis were shooting at Armenian border positions from yards and gardens of civilian, knowing that Armenian forces would be reticent to return fire to prevent civilian casualties.

“This is not a priority for the Armenian side. They [Azerbaijani armed forces] thus hide behind the civilian population,” Pegov said.

The team has also managed to find the point from where the Armenian Anvakh border post, the target of Azerbaijani attack on July 12, can be seen.

As Azerbaijan continued its attack on Armenian border targets last week, Armenia’s Defense Ministry Spokesperson Shushan Stepanyan posted satellite photos showing the Azerbaijani village of Dondar Ghushchu of Tovruz region (located about six miles from the frontline) enclosed by artillery batteries.

“The Azerbaijan side has surrounded its own population with artillery batteries, turning them into a target, and then it complains that shots were fired by the Armenian Armed Forces at that direction,” explained Stepanyan.