Within hours after The Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) recognition of the
Armenian Genocide,
the Turkish government went on the offensive and demanded the Israeli
government to “deliver”American Jewish organizations and to ensure that
the U.S. Congress does not pass a resolution characterizing as genocide
the massacre of Armenians during World War I, the Armenian National
Committee of Canada reports.
According to the Jerusalem Post, Turkey’s ambassador to Israel Namik
Tan said: “Israel should not let the [U.S.] Jewish community change its
position. This is our expectation and this is highly important, highly
important. On some issues there is no such thing as ‘Israel cannot
deliver.’” Tan said that ADL’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide was
one of those issues.
Prof. Jack Nusan Porter, treasurer of the International Association of
Genocide Scholars (IAGS) and author of “The Genocidal Mind” and “Facing
History and Holocaust” called Turkey’s pressure on Israel “blackmail.”
Aris Babikian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of
Canada (ANCC) said: “We hope that the Israeli government, as a
sovereign state, and Jewish organizations will not yield to the Turkish
Government blackmail and the use of the Jewish community of Turkey as
political hostage. Such immoral behavior by a government which is
renowned for the oppression of its minorities (Armenians, Greeks, Jews,
Assyrians, Kurds) and their basic human and civil rights should not be
tolerated by the civilized world.”
“A fascist and anti-Semitic state which allowed “Mein Kampf” and “The
Protocols of Elders of Zion” to become best-sellers in Turkey and
brought the wealth tax on Jews and other minorities, should not enjoy
the support and alliance of Israel and the Jewish people,” added
Babikian.
The ANCC director expressed the Canadian-Armenian community’s and the
ANCC’s gratitude to Jewish organizations and individuals who have
“shown moral and ethical courage by standing up for truth and justice.”
Babikian said that he was certain “Armenians and Jews, who have
suffered so much, would not allow the Turkish government’s or any
individuals misguided and shortsighted decisions to derail us form our
joint calling to fight Armenian Genocide or Holocaust denial.”
The current upheaval came to light after the town council of Watertown
voted unanimously to cut its ties with the Anti-Defamation League and
its program “No Place for Hate” for the ADL’s lobbying efforts on
behalf of the Turkish government to block the passage of the United
States House of Representatives and Senate resolutions to recognize the
Armenian Genocide.
Foxman has justified his organization’s position in a statement saying:
"As long as ADL is an organization committed first to the safety and
security of the Jewish people, we cannot in good conscience ignore the
well-being of 20,000 Jews in Turkey."
The controversy turned into an international crisis and caused turmoil
in human rights organizations and in Jewish communities. Twelve
Boston-area Jewish organizations issued a joint statement appealing to
Jews to “never forget the Armenian Genocide and maintain our guard
against those who deny its occurrence.”
Seeing that his position is untenable on August 24 Foxman issued a
carefully crafted statement modifying the ADL position. “On reflection,
we have come to share the assessment of former Ambassador Henry
Morgenthau, Sr., that the consequences of the painful events of
1915-1918 were indeed tantamount to genocide,” the statement read.
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