Category: 2023

By Michael Rubin

AEIdeas

“Expressions such as ‘ghetto’, ‘genocide’, ‘holocaust’ and others are . . . inappropriate to be part of the jargon used in any kind of political disagreement,” the Rabbinical Center of Europe declared on September 6. The statement by 50 rabbis condemning Armenia for raising alarm about the ongoing atrocity in Artsakh left many scratching their heads for three reasons.

First, many Jews had never heard of the “Rabbinical Center of Europe.” The group is real but represents mostly a Hasidic subsection of Europe’s Jewish community. Second, the group’s posturing is devoid of research. The rabbis did not visit Armenia let alone Artsakh, the self-governing republic that Nagorno-Karabakh’s residents established as the Soviet Union collapsed. Finally, the rabbis seem aloof to how Azerbaijan use their statement to deflect from ongoing slaughter.

Indeed, the rabbis’ statement appears a vestige of the past: For decades, various Jewish organizations opposed recognition of the Armenian Genocide because they believed acknowledgement of genocide pre-Holocaust would diminish the uniqueness of the Nazi slaughter of six million Jews. Prominent Jewish or Israel-interest groups like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), American Jewish Committee, and Anti-Defamation League quietly interceded with congressmen to derail Armenian Genocide resolutions long before any vote in Congress, until, in 2007, seven Jewish Democrats broke with precedent to vote in favor of the resolution.

That same year, the Anti-Defamation League fired New England Regional director Andrew Tarsy after the New England branch recognized the Armenian Genocide, but National chairman Abe Foxman rehired him the next day after a national uproar. Many within the Jewish community came to recognize that the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust could be both unique and share common traits. Past persecution need not pit Jews and Armenians against each other, or force either into denial. Organizations like the Rabbinical Center of Europe are right to educate about and preserve remembrance of the Holocaust, but they are ignorant in their knowledge about the Armenian Genocide.

They also appear cowardly. While the Jewish community in Armenia grows, both Azerbaijan and Turkey hemorrhage Jews. Dictatorships in both countries like to trot out Jewish representatives in a museumification of the Jewish community, but numbers do not lie. Azerbaijan’s Jewish community, around 40,000 strong at independence, has declined more than 75 percent since.

The frequent Azerbaijani narrative of Armenian collaboration with Nazi Germany is also cynical. True, some Armenians cast their lot with Nazis not out of antagonism toward Jews but more to undermine the Soviet Union. Today, Diary of Anne Frank populates children’s libraries and Armenians shelter Jews fleeing oppression in Russia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Iran. Heightening such cynicism is Azerbaijan’s unwillingness to address its own World War II-era history of Nazi collaboration and the slaughter of Polish Jews by the Azerbaijani Legion. Cynicism is especially rife when Azerbaijan host foreign rabbis. President Ilham Aliyev ignores his own father’s history suppressing Jews both as KGB chief for Azerbaijan and as a politburo member under Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev.

Rabbis should prize knowledge rather than base their statement in ignorance. They may assume comparison to ghettoes is facile, but how do they know it is not? Azerbaijan has locked its Armenians in Artsakh by blockading the region, often arresting those who seek to depart. People starve. If Artsakh is like a World War II-era ghetto, then what would that make the rabbis’ denialism? At best, they become like Franklin Roosevelt who turned his back on the reality of the Holocaust; at worst, they become useful idiots for the perpetrators.

As for genocide, what other term might the rabbis suggest for the eradication not only of a people but also any physical evidence of their existence? There was a reason why Adolf Hitler cited the Armenian Genocide as inspiration. Can current events be decontextualized from the eradication of more than one million Armenians, an event Aliyev and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan mock and deny?

The Rabbinical Center of Europe has embarrassed itself. Rather than make empty statements, perhaps the rabbis should try to visit Artsakh. Let us hope the Armenian Genocide Museum and the Artsakh government invite them. If Azerbaijan prevents them from visiting Stepanakert, perhaps the rabbis might ask why.

TEHRAN – Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman told reporters on Monday that the Republic of Azerbaijan has assured Iran that it has no intention to take military action against neighboring Armenia.

“We are in contact with the officials of Armenia and Azerbaijan. Officials of Armenia had expressed worry over a possible new clash on the part of Azerbaijan but officials of Azerbaijan have sent messages to us that they have no intention to take any military action,” Kanaani stated.

“Because of the importance of the developments in the Caucasus and the impact of any instability, unrest, and new tension in the region on the entire region,” Iran is sensitive about the security of its northern borders and is closely watching the situation, he pointed out.

Transfer of unblocked funds soon 

Reuters had reported that Iranian funds blocked in South Korea under the guise of U.S. sanctions would be transferred to Qatari banks as soon as this week. 

Kanaani also expressed hope that the transfer of unfrozen assets will be completed in the coming days. 

According to the accord, Kanaani said Iran is permitted to utilize its unblocked funds “to buy unsanctioned goods”. 

He emphasized once more that the prisoner swap arrangement with the U.S. had nothing to do with the release of the funds.

“Considering the humanitarian nature of the issue, we are ready to implement the prisoner swap deal,” he declared, pointing out that it could have happened a long time ago if the American side had cooperated and had not made it dependent on other issues, like the nuclear deal, which the U.S. unilaterally ended in May 2018 despite Iran’s full and strict compliance.

Kanaani went on to add, “Based on the reached agreement, we are optimistic that the exchange of prisoners will happen soon.”

“No extension of the deadline for Iraq to disarm Kurdish separatists”

Kanaani also said that “Iran’s stance is completely clear. According to the agreement reached with the Iraqi government, the final deadline for the disarmament of the terrorist and separatist forces in Iraq’s Kurdistan region ends on September 19 and that deadline will not be extended in any way.”

He added that the Iraqi government has taken steps in this direction and has stated that it would keep its promises.

Iran, Russia to establish comprehensive plan for relations

Kanaani told reporters that “talks are underway between the two countries to draft a comprehensive document” that will serve as “a complete and comprehensive roadmap” that will allow government institutions to pursue bilateral ties based on the set goal.

He stated that the two parties have exchanged a draft agreement, which is currently being reviewed by their working groups.

On the attack on Iran’s embassy in Paris, Kanaani said “we strongly condemn” the assault.

France’s diplomats in Tehran and Paris have received a formal notice of complaint from Iran, he pointed out 

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/488956/Azerbaijan-has-assured-Iran-it-has-no-intention-to-attack-Armenia

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday dismissed that Russia’s ties with Armenia were strained, days after Moscow summoned its ambassador following Armenia’s decision to host US forces for peacekeeping drills.

Frustration has been mounting in Armenia recently over what officials say is Russia’s failure to act as a security guarantor amid mounting tensions with its historic rival Azerbaijan.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan recently said Armenia’s historic security reliance on Russia was a “strategic mistake” and his country is current holding peacekeeping drills with US forces.

“We have no problems with Armenia or Prime Minister Pashinyan,” Putin said at an economic forum in Vladivostok.

He added that Armenia and Azerbaijan could reach a lasting peace agreement now that Armenian authorities had recognized Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over the separatist enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two wars over the mountainous territory and in 2020 Putin brokered a ceasefire that saw Armenia relinquish swathes of territory it had controlled for decades.

Moscow deployed some 2,000 peacekeepers to police the Lachin corridor, the sole road linking Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.

Pashinyan however recently said Moscow was either “unable or unwilling” to control the route.

The peacekeepers’ “mandate is still in force, but humanitarian issues, and the prevention of some ethnic cleansing there, of course, have not gone anywhere, and I fully agree with this,” Putin said.

Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of spurring a humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh by closing the Lachin corridor.

On Tuesday, Russia delivered humanitarian aid to the region via Azerbaijani-controlled territory, which experienced shortages of food and medicine.

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2023/09/12/Putin-says-no-problems-in-Russia-s-ties-with-Armenia

The US has failed to address the dire humanitarian situation in contested Nagorno-Karabakh, Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Menendez said on Tuesday as he called for sanctions on Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev.

Mr Menedez also called for an immediate halt to US aid to Baku in a powerful 15-minute speech on the Senate floor.

“I don't know how the United States can justify spending any kind of support, security or otherwise to the regime in Baku … to send them assistance makes a mockery of [US aid],” he said.

Also known as Artsakh, Nagorno-Karabakh is an internationally recognised part of Azerbaijan, despite having a majority ethnic Armenian population.

Azerbaijan has blockaded the region since December and installed a military checkpoint at the critical Lachin Corridor.

The UN Security Council discussed the blockade in August, after a former International Criminal Court prosecutor said the blockade may amount to a “genocide” against Armenians. Lawyers representing Azerbaijan called the claims unsubstantiated and inaccurate.

The International Association of Genocide Scholars also recently warned of the risk of genocide against the Armenian population in the region.

Mr Menedez called on the US ambassador to the UN to introduce a Security Council resolution that would force an end to the blockade.

The powerful committee chairman held up a photo that allegedly showed the body of an emaciated Armenian in the disputed territory, demonstrating the blockade's impact on civilian health.

He cited videos “of Azerbaijani forces killing unarmed Armenian soldiers in cold blood, reports of Azerbaijani soldiers sexually assaulting and mutilating and Armenian female soldiers,” which he claimed “bears the hallmarks of genocide.”

“We have seen and heard this kind of propaganda throughout history. It is the work of a regime intent on destroying and erasing this ancient Armenian community's history in Nagorno-Karabakh,” Mr Menedez said.

“Without immediate action this group of Armenians will be destroyed within a few weeks.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently spoke to Mr Aliyev by phone, where he “reiterated our call to reopen the Lachin Corridor to humanitarian, commercial and passenger traffic, while recognising the importance of additional routes from Azerbaijan”, the State Department said.

Reuters reported that a Russian lorry carrying food aid for Armenians in the Karabakh city of Khankendi set off via the Aghdam road on Tuesday, amid uncertainty over the sustainability of a potential deal on aid deliveries.

https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2023/09/us-armenia-hold-military-drills-russias-influence-weakens-caucasus

The Kremlin has been left furious after Armenia, formerly a Russian ally, announced a massive joint military exercise with the US in a humiliating blow for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The “Eagle Partner” war games are set to run through September 20 and will involve 175 Armenian and 85 American troops.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has erupted in fury and summoned its Armenian ambassador to lodge a formal protest over the exercises.

It also blasted a series of other Armenian moves as unfriendly, despite Russia being the Caucasus nation's main ally.

In fact, Russia has been Armenia’s main economic partner and ally since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Landlocked Armenia even hosts a Russian military base and is a member of the Moscow-led security alliance of ex-Soviet nations, the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

But now, the country appears to be aligning more closely with the West and has stood with Ukraine amid the illegal Russian invasion.

Armenia has even signed off on what Russia has called the “transfer of humanitarian aid to Kyiv’s Nazi regime.”

Last week, it announced that it would provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine as Moscow ramps up its brutal campaign by striking infrastructure and civilian targets.

In a major blow for the Kremlin, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said: “We are not Russia’s ally in the war with Ukraine. And our feeling from that war, from that conflict, is anxiety because it directly affects all our relationships.”

His wife even recently made an official visit to the country in a rare show of force against Moscow.

Pashinyan has been scrambling to strike closer ties with the US other Western partners as tensions with neighboring Azerbaijan boil over.

The Armenian leader has hit out at Moscow for failing to help lift the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway Armenian-populated province of Azerbaijan.

Now, he says Armenia needs to turn to the West to help for its security.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a region within Azerbaijan that came under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by the Armenian military after a six-year separatist war that ended in 1994.

Armenian forces also took control of substantial territory around the region.

Aid organizations say they cannot deliver supplies of food and fuel and have raised the alarm over a humanitarian crisis that is unfolding.

Azerbaijan denies the claims, insisting local Armenians must lay down their weapons and submit to being governed as part of the country.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1811781/vladimir-putin-armenia-war-games-us-eagle-partner

Eight years after the Armenian Genocide of 1915 left more than one million Armenians dead or displaced, Armenia looked toward the power of film to reestablish the country’s culture and heal its wounds. 

The establishment of the Armenian State Committee of Cinema in 1923 heralded a robust era of filmmaking in the nation. While Armenian filmmakers faced restrictions from the Soviet Union, they did not stop sharing stories, which continue to shape Armenian filmmakers today.

Now, a century later, hundreds gathered in Glendale from Sept. 6 to 10 to celebrate the legacy of Armenian cinema as part of the inaugural Armenian Film Festival, launched by the Armenian Film Society, a non-profit organization raising awareness about Armenian filmmakers. 

“[This] film festival is a celebration, but it’s also an opportunity to better highlight Armenia as a country [and] as a culture,” said Armen Karaoghlanian, School of Cinematic Arts alum and co-founder of the Armenian Film Society.

Armen and his wife Mary started AFS in 2015. By hosting Q&A events and posting on social media about Armenian filmmakers in the industry, AFS established its presence across the Armenian diaspora. 

As support for AFS grew, the couple wanted to find more impactful ways to bring the community together and spotlight Armenian artists, leading to the conception of the Armenian Film Festival.

“We decided to do this, mainly because we felt like we were lacking a film festival in L.A. that is for Armenians, by Armenians [and] about Armenians,” Karaoghlanian said. “We’ve been very intentional in the programming in that we want there to be a variety of stories, all windows into who we are as people.”

The festival opened at the historic Alex Theatre with the premiere of Emmy-award winning actor and director Michael Goorjian’s film “Amerikatsi,” providing audiences with a “window” into the Armenian experience. 

“Amerikatsi,” which translates to “The American,” portrays a period of repatriation in Soviet Armenia. Charlie, the titular Amerikatsi played by Goorjian, returns to Armenia but finds himself stuck in prison because of miscommunication. Here, he gazes into the home of an Armenian couple from his prison window and discovers the beauty of his culture. 

“Every Armenian truth from our past to our present [are connected] into one emotional beautiful experience,” said Serj Tankian, System of a Down musician and executive producer on the film, during a post-screening discussion. 

These thematic strains of resilience and community reappeared throughout the festival. Filmmakers Milena Mooradian and Avo John Kambourian cited the strong bond of the Armenian community as inspirations for their short films shown on the festival’s third day. 

“The strength and resilience and community is so innate [among Armenians]. That emphasis really inspired me to bring more people together to talk about things people don’t usually want to talk about.” said Mooradian, a third-generation Armenian American discussing the inspirations behind her short film “Cycles,” a Student Academy Award semifinalist. 

“Cycles” is a surrealist exploration of the menstruation cycle’s innate connection to the natural world. Mooradian wanted to foster more open conversations about womanhood with this film. 

“There’s definitely a macho attitude, not just among Armenian [men] but men in general. I want them to see the film and recognize the power and beauty of what women hold,” Mooradian said.

From a young age, Kambourian, a recent MFA graduate from SCA, was motivated to pursue a career in filmmaking by the Armenian community. 

“I was always inspired by the stories that I would hear from my parents or my friends,” Kambourian said. “Seeing an Armenian name in the credits is [also] very inspiring because it says ‘Oh, I can do that too.’” 

Now, Kambourian finds his name on the silver screen, as he presents his short documentary film, “Echoes of Kef Time” which documents renowned Armenian American musician Richard Hagopian’s journey in passing down the folk music, known as “Kef,” to his grandchildren following his footsteps.

Recipient of Best Documentary Film at the USC Industry Relations Awards, “Echoes of Kef Time” represents a specific Armenian experience that also resonates across cultural boundaries. 

“The message is that we survive by culture,” Kambourian said. “Whether what’s happening in Artsakh right now [or] what happened during the Soviet Union collapse … we’ve always come out of it with a lot of culture and self-reflection.”

The Armenian Film Festival served as an opportunity for self-reflection in the Armenian community. From a book signing with legendary filmmaker Howard Kazanjian to countless  screenings to a closing night conversation with SCA alum and producer Sev Ohanian, the festival highlighted the diversity and creativity of the Armenian diaspora. 

“Hopefully [audiences] can walk away with a better understanding of who Armenians are because they might hear about the struggles we are going through, [but] I can’t think of a better way to really understand the [Armenian] people than through film,” Karaoghlanian said. 

https://dailytrojan.com/2023/09/12/festival-celebrates-armenian-filmmaking/