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Acknowledge the Armenian Genocide Now
By Jewcy Staff / August 15, 2007
According to Hrag Vartanian, a blogger who also works at the Armenian General Benevolent Union, the backlash against the Anti-Defamation League started on July 8*, when Jewcy published Fire Foxman, our call for Abe Foxman to be fired as head of the ADL in part for his denial of the Armenian Genocide. Then the Huffington Post got on board, the Armenian blogosphere took notice, and before long the Boston Globe had published a supportive op-ed about the controversy.
Last night, the Armenian community of Watertown, Massachusetts voted to break all connections with the Anti-Defamation League by severing ties with its No Place for Hate Program, which attempts to promote tolerance (though not, apparently, for descendants of the Armenian Genocide.) Armenian-American activists in Watertown are promising to lobby all 67 of the Massachusetts towns still participating in NPFH to drop their connection, too. Ultimately, they want the Massachusetts Municipal Association to stop working with the ADL entirely. These activists have Jewcy’s emphatic support, and we will do what we can to help their cause along.
The ADL has made a monster of itself by denying a genocide. It has made the entire Jewish community look morally incompetent for allowing ourselves to be represented by someone who engages in Holocaust denial. And it has earned the justified fury of the Armenian-American community, which bears witness to the mass-murder of its forebears, and refuses to see that memory trampled upon.
Several weeks ago, it might have been enough for Abe Foxman to give up encouraging others to share his agnosticism about the Armenian Genocide. But the controversy has gained momentum, and now it’s too late for him to just stop talking. We think it would be fitting to see Foxman take a sensitivity course on the challenges faced by the modern Armenian-American community, but all we really want from him are three simple responses:
- Acknowledge the Armenian Genocide
- Apologize to the Armenian-American community
- Apologize to the Jewish community, for humiliating us before our fellow-citizens
Over on the Shvitz, you’ll find John DiMascio’s first-hand account from last night’s meeting. John DiMascio is an incorrigibly eccentric columnist for the Watertown TAB & Press, and has played a leading role in getting the ADL evicted from Watertown.
This isn’t just an abnormally short Jewcy article, by the way; it’s a petition. If you’re with us, show us (and the ADL) your support by signing on in the comments section. Tell us why you’re motivated to sign, and, if the spirit moves you, either register (you can use a pseudonym) or add your name.
* The date of the publication of "Fire Foxman" was previously listed differently in different parts of the site. The correct date is July 8. * This petition also accessible via www.firefoxman.com * Check our always up-to-date list of Jewcy’s posts on the ADL/Armenian Genocide issue
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1) Going out of his way to attack believeing Chirstians in a self-enriching attempt to create the only type of antisemtism his donor base can see.
2) All but ignoring antisemitism on the left.
3) Being leftist before Jewish by going after Jewish groups.
4) Helping to import Muslims into America, by lying about immigration restrictionists. (Nothing says antisemetic like groups like Dan Stein or Ed Rubenstein)
5) Ignoring La Raza and other Latino racist groups.
6) BARAK HUSSEIN OBAMA and the TRINITY UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST. If these were white, the ADL would have a field day. By black marxists get a pass for anything short of calling for Jewish blood. (Speaking of which, when was the last time Foxman said a peep about Sharpton?)Â
Jewcy Staff, you are an awesome group of people! Thank you for supporting the Recognition of Armenian Genocide!
Foxman needs to leave ADL. The founders and majority supporters of ADL were there to get rid of any inequality and injustice (w/o judging their race or political background).Â
Foxman and his supporters have highjacked ADL! WE need to stop them!
No matter how hard he tries to prove otherwise, Abe Foxman has proven himself to be a shill for the Turkish government in their denial of the Armenian genocide. In all criminal investigations, the catch phrase is 'follow the money'. So, someone should dig up how much money uncle Abe and the ADL are getting from the Turks to sing their song. I'm sure it's a huge amount, because they're getting lots of music from Abe. Jews should be embarrassed beyond comprehension that the leader of a major community organization (not to mention, Israel itself) is defending those who deny the first genocide of the 20th C, the one that gave Hitler his blueprint for success. Why doesn't the Jewish community speak up loud and clear? Why don't they cut funding to the ADL? I can guarantee you that if ANY Armenian organization publicly denied the Holocaust the way uncle Abe is, they'd be decimated – in public – by any number of Jews and their spokesmen. No more double standards, folks….because you risk becoming identified w/ the deniers yourselves….who knows, maybe there actually was some Jewish complicity in carrying out the war against the Armenians?
Very sad to think that might be true.
fire the Fox. make an example of him. so the turks understand that not jews don't have ulterior motives and playing games by denying the truth.
You men and ladies here have some big “Matzo Balls”!lol
Peace Love Unity writes:Â "Thank you for supporting the Armenian Genocide!"
Is your English really that bad, or do you just not think before you type?
Either way, it gave me a good laugh. So did your astonishingly naïve "So what" blog post which realized the Iraq war was an affront to democracy…five years after everyone else did.
More like "Peace Love and Stupidity."Â
I’ve posted on this on a Jewish blog in the Bay Area… http://www.oy-bay.org.
I would love some of you to comment. Many fellow bloggers on Oy-Bay seem confused as to the moral imperative of recognizing the genocide, making it appear as if Jews have a hard time coming to grips with this issue.
Some comments in support would be nice.
Thanks
Minsky
I support your cause. Even though I was not aware of the issue to begin with, I stumbled onto it. I almost went the path of apathetic-america but then I read the article completely. Foxman needs to go.
Recognition of the Armenian Genocide is necessary but not sufficient for stopping future genocides.
Fire Foxman now !
I have long been revolted by the morally bankrupt and counterproductive (and embarrassing) antics of Jewish neocons such as Mr. Foxman. Genocide is genocide. Acknowledge it. There is nothing gained in the long term by denying a fact, painful or not, and much to be lost.
Abraham Foxman has been a genocide denier for a long-time. While a student at Rutgers University in the early 90′s, the Armenian student organization I led and several other student organizations (including Greeks, Arabs and Jews) were planning to participate in a commemoration of the Armenian Genocide. While planning this event, I learned that Abe Foxman contacted the Jewish organization (RAZI – Rutgers Association for Zionism & Israel) and urged them not to participate.
It is high time that people of good will stand up and demand his ouster. Even his contrite “recognition” of the events “tanatmount to genocide” was totally inadequate and insincere.
The ADL and Jewish community deserves a far better character to lead this once-proud and productive organization.
I just want to say that turkey have to recognize,what his ancestors have done to armenians and greeks. we cant discuss that they dont did it just to armenians. The same we can say about the jewish shoa,hitler doesnt kill just jews but also .gipsies,russians,serbians,polish and more,. justice¡¡
Foxman’s unprincipled evasion of the truth regarding the Armenian genocide flies in the face off human decency. The fact that antagonizing Turkey might be ‘bad for the Jews’ does not excuse his actions. Many Germans might have denied the Holocaust in order to avoid paying reparations, but did not do so. The thought that we might prove ourselves less principled than the post-WW II Germans makes me sick.
I am an Armenian and my wife is a Jew. And here is a message for Mr Foxman:
Mr Foxman, try to imagine what our two sons will think of you.
Thank you all for your support at Jewcy
HM
Fuck’im
Why does all the world have to apologise especially to jews ?! Why not also to the polish, russians, romanians and all the other nationalities that suffered from the “Holocaust” ?
It is as important to combat the denial of the Armenian genocide as it is to never forget the Shoah. It should be remembered that in justifying mass murder to create a lebensraum in Eastern Europe, Hitler stated: ‘Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?’ Let is be us who remember, who read about and discuss this atrocity, and who speak out when it is denied. And let there be no doubt that the well-documented events in Turkey between 1915 and 1917 amount to genocide under its definition in international law. The consensus amongst scholars on this point is overwhelming.
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Please add my name to your important petition.
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In
I support you
Count my vote in this petition to fired Foxman. However you should not stop there. Fire Glen Lewy while you are at it. Both are leeches to the Jewish American community and the ADL in whole.
1) They only recognized the Armenian Genocide under extreem pressure from honest American Jews – especially those from the North East (to stop the fragmentation of the Jewish community).
2) They have gone into a survival mode to save their jobs by the reinstatement of Andrew Tarsy – if they did not do that the New England branch of the ADL would have been in full mutiney
3) Most importantly – THEY APOLOGIZED TO THE TURKS (!!!!) for calling the history and events a Genocide. Can you imaging that another American Organization apologizing to the Neo-Nazi’s or any other Holocaust denier for recognizing the Holocaust?
WHERE IS THE APOLOGY TO THE ARMENIAN-ARMEICAN COMMUNITY FOR ITS ACTIVE ROLE IN THE DENIAL CAMPAIGN?
WHERE IS THERE SUPPORT FOR THE RESOLUTION ON THE PROPER RECOGNITION BY OUR GOVERNMENT OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE?
Time to get rid of the slim bags Foxman and Lewy before the bring down the moral fibre of what the ADL stands for.
what gives him the right!!!!!!!!?
adl
Fire Foxman now. It is shame how Jews have tolerated this racist for so long.
anybody can call it whatever they want – but i think that
killing anybody for their ethnic/religious/class affiliations falls into the same category.
what about all the “class enemies” that were massacred by the Bolsheviks?
is knowingly working and starving millions of people to death any less of an atrocity than gassing them outright?
8/28/07. The Armenian genocide should be admitted by Turkey. Turkey should have to make reparations to Armenca and return some Eastern Turkish land to Armenia so Armenia has a port on the Black Sea.
Shame on Foxman to deny a Genocide
And Foxman needs to go.
–Jacob Silverman
Fire Foxman!!
An important way Jews in America can reaffirm their humanity and strengthen their faith is by respecting the truth of the immeasurable sufferings of the Armenians at the hands of the turks even to this day. By denying and trivializing this suffering will eventually lead to place where shear force and brutality is the final arbiter of our lives. where existence is drained of all it true content.
He should be ashamed of himself. He should be out of a job. Let him go sit in a corner with William Donohue of the Catholic League and they can see who the bigger hypocrite is.
Many of our fellow humans have committed crimes or deceitful, treacherous actions and have paid the price and confessed to their wrongs. Germany is one of these. Many that is except the Japanese and the ADL. In today’s Japan the denial of their Holocuast of the 1930s and 1940s remains their achilles heel. Their on-going denial of their actions and their (still forefront) racist hatred have not served them well in the eyes of those who remember or those who have knowledge of their past atrocities. Only when Japan comes clean and faces the fact that they are not above humanity, and have been on the wrong path in past times, will they be redeemed by those of us who like to see humanity on a non-racist basis. The ADL joins Japan in their own racist self-absorption and they will suffer the indignities of mankind in the same way. Deniers of truth will in the end fall victim to their own misguided falsity. Both Japan and the ADL have to come to terms with the modern age and restart a program of compassion for all. Especially those who have been victims of ideology that covets hatred for no other reason than race or ethnicity. This is arcaic and reminiscent of the current, fifteenth century Mideast madmen and their followers. We won’t put a stop to future Holocausts until we acknowledge (all) those in the past. Someone please find a schizophrenia specialist for the western madman Foxman. Hopefully he is not yet beyond help.
How can you deny others the same empathy you seek for yourself? How is it you can deny the many other Holocaust’s existences while crying for remembrance for the Nazi Holocaust? What makes the Nazi Holocaust any more important or savage than other Holocausts? That it is closer to home for you makes its primary focus understandable for your organization, but to deny other peoples the same acknowledgement is no better than the Nazi Holocaust Deniers that roam the earth. Your stance on the Armenian’s plight puts you in the same category as the Iranian dictator, Ahmadinejad. You put a fear in those of us who want to see future Holocausts relegated to the ‘trash heap of history.’ The shame of Holocaust Denial is now on your shoulders, and your work in the future will always be suspect and treated as false propaganda. Your efforts to deny others the same consideration you seek will be your downfall. And rightfully so.
It is embarrassing and unrighteous of the JDL to deny murder, especially for the jewish people. Political expediency is not the answer for JDL …it will and has already backfired.
Kind Regards РHeinz Str̦dler
it’s hypocritical that the adl decides to acknowledge the armenian genocide but not the resolution in the congress. imagine if other countries decide to refute a similar resolution concerning the holocaust.
It is immoral – especially for the ADL – to support the denial of the Armenian Genocide. If the ADL persists, it should not feel put off by anyone who denies and revises the terribly unfortunate events that took place during the Third Reich. The raison d’etre of the ADL crumbles and it becomes another player in the geopolitical football game that does not care about right or wrong, human life or human death. What’s the selling price for the death of six million humans?
I think that this resolution is not just a resolution for Armenians, but one for all survivors of Genocide and Holocaust. The young turks established the blue print for Nazi Germany. The Germans during WWI watched and documented silently their Turkish ally as the Turks exterminated Armenians in primitive tactics that where utilized upon the Jews of Europe (smoking persons to death [death chambers], water torture, medical experimentation, etc.).
I also do NOT think that threats of Jewish lives in Turkey is acceptable. Am I the only one that finds this disturbing!! ??? The government has allowed and fueled assassinations of minorities with no recourse… read up on Hrant Dink and the numerous other journalists and intellectuals that have been assassinated. Turkey is a leader amongst the world (not just the more modern nations) in assassinations of journalists and intellectuals over the last years.
ADL must recognize Armenian Genocide
The following is more Turkish (over)-reaction:
http://www.thenewanatolian.com/tna-28453.html
Tan: Israel must get US Jews back down
The New Anatolian / Ankara
27 August 2007
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Turkey expects Israel to get Jewish lobby in the U.S. to back down, said Turkish Ambassador to Turkey Namik Tan, regarding the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) reversal of position last week on the Armenian allegations.
ADL President Abraham Foxman said in a statement posted on the group’s web-site that his organization had come to share the view that the incidents of 1915 “were indeed tantamount to genocide.”
In an exclusive interview with Israel’s prominent English daily Jerusalem Post, Tan said he understood that Israel’s position had not changed and that Israel should not let the U.S. Jewish community change its position regarding the incidents of 1915.
“This is our expectation and this is highly important,” said Turkish Ambassador. “If you want to touch and hurt the hearts of people in Turkey, this is the issue,” Tan said. “This is the #1 issue. You can not easily explain to them any change in this.”
Tan stated that Turkey expects Israel to deliver American Jewish organizations and ensure that the U.S. Congress does not pass a resolution qualifying as “genocide” the incidents of 1915 during World War I.
Tan said he understood that the American Jewish organizations were just that American Jewish organizations. But “we all know how they work in coordinating their efforts (with Israel),” he added.
“In the eyes of the Turkish people, Turkey’s strategic relationship with Israel was not with Israel alone, but with the whole Jewish world,” Tan said. “Turkish people can not make that differentiation.”
“Turkish people are waiting for this effort on the part of Israel to straighten out, to put this issue in perspective,” he continued and said that he does not accept the arguments that Israel has no control over the American Jewish organizations.
“On some issues there is no such thing as ‘Israel can not deliver’. This was one of those issues,” he said.
Upon a question about what would happen if the U.S. Congress passes a resolution on the matter, Tan remembered that Turkey –since the establishment of a close strategic relationship with Israel in the 1990s– had never “played with the basics of this relationship, or with the basic fundamentals of it.”
“It would be tantamount to playing with one of the fundamentals of this strategic relationship,” he said.
Tan also noted that congressional resolutions on this issue would have no real “teeth,” however, he said the psychological importance would be enormous
Abe Foxman’s position is morally indefensible, and plainly embarrassing to the Jewish community.
almost a hundred years already…
is genocide is genocide. ADL and Foxman are disgusting. Add me to the petition.
It is indeed a pity to stay “political” and not to take a firm stance when things like that happen. As I said it earlier in some other medias, denying that Armenians suffered a full-scale Genocide duly orchestrated and perpetrated by the Ottoman Turks at the beginning of the 20th century equals being mild and irresolute for the partitioning of GREEK unified Cyprus. If you want to forget about Darfour, Ruanda, Congo, then continue in your wrongdoings …
A big push from Jewcy to build momentum.
Justice MUST reveal in order for this world to be a better place to live…
Here’s a glimpse into what the Jewish-American community can expect from Turkey in the coming weeks. They want to “win back your hearts!”
Friday, Aug 24 2007
Turkey will try to win back the hearts of the American Jewish community
DUYGU GÜVENÇ
ANKARA – Turkish Daily News
The recognition of the World War I-era killings of Armenians as
genocide by the national Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has shocked
Turkey, which is now trying to overcome this by taking compensatory
measures. The ADL is an advocacy group aiming to stop the defamation
of the Jewish people.
Experts and advisors to the government cabinet held a meeting with
diplomats at the Foreign Ministry yesterday to determine a strategy
that will win back the hearts of Jewish Americans, the Turkish Daily
News learned.
A similarly strategic meeting is expected to be held in the coming
days by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan. He might try to engage
in phone diplomacy to convince the Jewish lobby, according to the
diplomatic sources.
`The strategy is to convince the ADL first, and if we cannot do that
then Turkey will try to counter the Jewish lobby in the U.S. This
cannot be a blank acceptance for Turkey,’ said a Turkish diplomat.
`We were not expecting such a decision. Last week, they fired the
director who used [the term `genocide']. What I understood is that
after the director was fired, a discussion started in the ADL. We were
in contact with the ADL two days ago,` said an expert on
American-Turkish relations.
The decision might negatively influence Jewish votes in the
U.S. Congress since there are more than 100 Jewish Americans in the
House of Representatives, the expert said.
`We will try to establish a connection with the ADL again and will try
to convince them first,’ said a person who attended the meeting.
`If they insist on defining the period as genocide, then Turkey will
take necessary steps against that. Of course we will not identify the
Turkish Jewish community with the American Jewish one. We will also
get in contact with Israel to understand the reasons behind the
decision,’ added the source.
Since the Jewish lobby is seen as an important political tool for
Turkey’s policies in Washington, Ankara avoids making non-diplomatic
statements in reference to the Jews.
Ankara fears that the U.S. will recognize the events of 1915-1919 as
genocide, and is also concerned about its impact on bilateral
relations.
…has my full support.
Ignorance on such a scale is an absolute atrocity.
I’m an Armenian-American who supports this petition, all the more important that (yet again!) the world is avoiding any frank discussion or action about genocide, this time in Darfur.
Melissa Maroff, Los Angeles
“We are afraid we might be next”, should never be accepted as a reason to ignore a slaughter of this magnitude. There is a tower of skulls in Serbia and a country’s worth of poisoned wells in Sudan that stand as testimony to a problem the world must understand, we are not the only victims of this transcontinental aggressor.
Countries and their governments need to be held accountable for their actions, present and past…this includes our great country as well
The Anti-Defamation League under Abe Foxman has done its very best to intimidate critics of Israel with smear tactics, and has cynically tried to stoke exaggerated fears of anti-Semitism among American Jews in order to fill its own fund-raising coffers. Abe Foxman personally inspired and led the hysterical and destructive campaign against Mel Gibson’s film “The Passion of the Christ,” a campaign which may have accomplished a great deal for Foxman’s vanity and attempts to prove his own necessity but which caused far more anti-Jewish sentiment than the film itself. This latest insult to the victims of the Armenian Holocaust is beyond the last straw. Abe Foxman is a disgrace to the American Jewish community and should step down as ADL director immediately, and the ADL itself must either undergo fundamental changes or lose whatever support it has left among people of conscience.
It is not the fault of American Jews that these self-appointed Jewish leaders claim to speak in our name. Unfortunately, money, connections, and single-mindedness have allowed Foxman and others like him to establish prominence as spokesmen for American Jews, and they have the ears of the politicians and the press. It all amounts to an irresponsible misrepresentation of Jewish Americans and a callous exploitation of the martyred Jews Foxman so often invokes in the name of his own causes.
The ADL should demand recognition of the Armenian genocide. Historical documentation makes the issue quite clear, and it is inexcusable to ignore the implications of the evidence. In addition, refusal to demand recognition will only ruin the ADL’s credibility and influence in the future.
Count me in
The real mistake was putting him there in the first place.
This is an excerpt from an article on the Armenian Genocide by Thea Halo, who comes from a mixed Greek/Assyrian/Armenian family from Eastern Turkey. In it, she points out that the claim to exclusive suffering of one community over another is not only a problem among the likes of Foxman, but it’s also prevalent in the Armenian-American community as well. This got me to thinking, what exactly is it about being victimized that causes such entrenchment in the first place?
Here’s the article:
This was genocide, but Armenians were not its only victims
Tuesday October 31, 2006
The Guardian
Thea Halo
Forgetting those who were slaughtered is nearly as bad as denying it happened
Timothy Garton Ash mockingly suggests bills to criminalise the denial of genocides committed by other countries, including France (This is the moment for Europe to dismantle taboos, not erect them, October 19). And he’s right. Let’s mention the absurdity of enforcing the bill except against the powerless. Would France jail the prime minister of Turkey?
But the double standard Garton Ash mentions should include the mind-boggling omissions by the Armenian drafters of the bill, who make no mention of the co-victims of the Armenian genocide: the Pontic Greeks, who lost 353,000 out of their population of 700,000 in Turkey; and the Assyrians, who lost three-quarters of their population – some put the figure at 750,000.
There is also the matter of the other Asia Minor Greeks. At the Lausanne conference in 1923, Lord Curzon stated that 1 million Greeks had been slaughtered and 1 million more were exiled. These genocides took place at the same time and place as that of the Armenians: in Turkey between 1914 and 1923. The genocide was of the Christians of Ottoman and Kemalist Turkey. By age 10, my Pontic Greek mother had lost everyone and everything she had ever loved, including her name, on her own death-march to exile from Turkey in 1920. My father was Assyrian.
The precursor to the Nazi Holocaust was not just the Armenian genocide of 1915-16, but the pogroms, or early stages of what would become a genocide, against the indigenous Greeks of Asia Minor in 1914. According to US Consul General George Horton, Greek businesses were boycotted and Turks were encouraged to kill Greeks and drive them out, reminiscent of Kristallnacht in Nazi Germany 24 years later. Thousands were slaughtered or sent to islands in the Aegean Sea. According to the US ambassador to the Ottoman empire, Henry Morgenthau Sr, the Young Turks were so successful in their campaign that they decided to target the other Christian “races” as well. Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) picked up where the Young Turks left off.
The Armenian people are part of my extended family. My aunt was Armenian, as was the family who rescued my mother in Turkey. In Armenia, all victims of the genocide are honoured: Pontic Greeks, Assyrians and Armenians. But the framers of the French bill, along with numerous Armenian-descended historians in the US and elsewhere, prefer exclusivity.
Thus, if the bill passes the upper house of the French parliament, perhaps we should first jail its Armenian drafters, as well as those who actively deny the other genocides.
These co-victims had inhabited the territory of what became Turkey for three millennia. One must ask which is worse: genocidal denial, or being invisible as if one never existed? At least with denial, there is the possibility of debate. The expropriation by a single group of such a monumental evil serves to strip the other, “nameless” victims of that same evil of their rightful place in history – thereby assuring that their genocide is complete.
From the ADL's 1913 charter (which is featured prominently on the ADL's website):
<blockquote>The immediate object of the League is to stop, by appeals to reason and conscience and, if necessary, by appeals to law, the defamation of the Jewish people. Its ultimate purpose is to secure justice and fair treatment to all citizens alike and to put an end forever to unjust and unfair discrimination against and ridicule of any sect or body of citizens.</blockquote>
There is no mention of Israel, or more specifically, the ADL's responsibility to help Israel pursue its geopolitical aims. Maintaining positive relations between Israel and Turkey is important for Israel and the Jewish people, but it is not the ADL's job.
The ADL only has a national platform because of its perceived moral authority. With each passing politically motivated decision, the ADL's credibility erodes.
I’ve always been proud of the ADL for standing up for everyone, and so I am especially sad now to hear them deny the Armenian Genocide. We deserve better from our leaders and our protectors, and our Armenian friends deserve better from us. How can we speak out against Holocaust deniers if we are denying the 1915 genocide?
ADL, you should be ashamed of yourselves for this absurd and wrongheaded position. Acknowledge the genocide. Fix this shame that you have brought on the Jewish community.
We need to stop with the hypocrisy already. Let’s acknowledge the Armenian Genocide and move forward in partnership to prevent atrocities like this to ever occur again to anyone!!!
This is the latest in a series of events that have pitted the ADL and others against my community, and I do not think that attempts at reconciliation can begin with Mr. Foxman remaining in a position of responsibility.
Shame.
Foxman, over the years, has made ADL a weak and ineffective organization that takes Jewish money to support all sorts of “human rights” issues regardless if they have anything to do with the Jewish community or not. When an organiztion becomes so ineffective, due to basic corruption of its goals , it should be eliminated and others should take its place.
please add my name to the list.
I won’t forget.
I have called a couple of ADL regional offices to tell them exactly what I think about ADL right now, and it is not very pleasant. If ADL does all of the above, I will be able to forgive it for this mess, but not before.
My Great Grandmother was the only person in her family to survive the Genocide. She saw her family of nearly fifty killed before her. She survived by hiding in a pile of bodies, and was haunted by her experience for her entire life. The Armenian Genocide was a great injustice, and failing to recognize one of the most awful mass killings in the past century is rubbing salt in a still open wound.
I implore all of you to recognize the Genocide and to spread the word about this forgotten atrocity.
My Great Grandmother was the only person in her family to survive the Genocide. She saw her family of nearly fifty killed before her. She survived by hiding in a pile of bodies, and was haunted by her experience for her entire life. The Armenian Genocide was a great injustice, and failing to recognize one of the most awful mass killings in the past century is rubbing salt in a still open wound.
I implore all of you to recognize the Genocide and to spread the word about this forgotten atrocity.
I just have to reiterate what Raffi wrote above; it is so good to see Jews and Armenians coming together, as brothers and sisters against Genocide denial. There are no other groups out there who can understand each other’s pain as we can. We are the sons, daughters, grandchildren of people who were massacred for who they were. We understand what recognition does to a physche. The ability to start the healing process is immensly important and it is impossible to start the healing process when Genocide is denied. THANK YOU all for standing up for what is moral and right! p.s. I am Armenian and have a ton of Jewish friends, this friendship on a broad level is wonderful to see
How do you they would take it if another group decided to deny the holocaust for similar reasons? It’s very sad and too ironic for a jewish organization to be denying the genocide of another group for some kind of political or cultural expediency.
dont kill one another. dont ignore it. anyone who does has no place in govornment. at least a few people we all know have no place in govornment. maybe alot more. who knows for sure, i support acknowledging the genocide now. ok peace
Count me in, Foxman must go, Andrew Tarsy must be reinstated and I offer a 4th request to the petition:
4. Once 1, 2, and 3 are completed, the ADL should work towards urging Israel to recognize the Armenian Genocide. If any country on earth should have been the first to do so, it should have been Israel. Some background information from Yair Auron can be found at
http://www.hairenik.com/armenianweekly/april_may_2002/politics001.html
Reading it still sends a chill down my spine. Bravo Watertown, MA!
Dear Friends, PETITION: AN APPEAL TO NO PLACE FOR HATE We, the undersigned, respectfully request that the No Place for Hate leadership, in keeping with its principles, issue a public statement opposing Turkey's state-sponsored campaign to deny the Armenian Genocide and call on its sponsor, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), through its National Director Mr. Foxman, to openly and unequivocally acknowledge the Armenian Genocide and support congressional affirmation of this crime against humanity. http://www.noplacefordenial.com/ With many thanks.Â
It's the Jewish thing to do.
As the grandson of Armenian Genocide survivors, I’d like to thank those of you who are attempting to get the ADL to change its stance. The hypocrisy of the ADL’s support for official Turkish denial simply bewilders me; I cannot understand how an organization which claims that a major element of its mission is to fight genocide can utterly compromise that principle.
The moral dissonance is so stunning that I simply can’t process it. Is genocide only a bad thing when it happens to members of your own particular group? If so, how can Mr. Foxman claim to have any moral values at all?
What a repugnant man this Foxman is!…not to mention his blantant hipocrisy. Does he really think he’s fooling the Jewish community?
I have contributed to the ADL in the past. I believe in its mission of bridge-building in the tradition of the great Lenny Zakim. That’s why I am so incredibly outraged at the decision by Abe Foxman at the National ADL to fire Andrew Tarsy, the NE Regional ADL Director, for speaking out about the obvious: the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of the Turks in 1915 was a genocide.
Their explanation in a letter to the NE community, only adds to the madness. Here’s what gets my goat:
“We believe that legislative efforts outside of Turkey are counterproductive to the goal of having Turkey itself come to grips with its past. We take no position on what action Congress should take on House Resolution 106. The Jewish community in Turkey has clearly expressed to us and other major American Jewish organizations its concerns about the impact of Congressional action on them, and we cannot ignore those concerns. We are also keenly aware that Turkey is a key strategic ally and friend of the United States and a staunch friend of Israel, and that in the struggle between Islamic extremists and moderate Islam, Turkey is the most critical country in the world.”
So, Israel’s, and by extension, the Jewish community’s, friendly relations with Turkey are dependent upon the propagation of a lie that should induce a shudder to our own community? First of all, even if this were the case, this is not a friendship to treasure. Second…SOME FRIEND!
Foxman has crossed the rubicon, and has placed the national ADL in grave danger of becoming an organization driven by politics rather than its core mission. Turkey has been incredibly aggressive in lobbying Congress to not pass this resolution, and has been leveraging its place in NATO and as a US ally in order to avoid the truth. But the truth always rears its ugly head, and those in denial will be smashed by it. I call on the ADL to reverse its position and rehire Andrew Tarsy, a man who clearly is not afraid of the truth.
BTW My admiration to Mr. Tarsy for standing his ground, and sacrificing his career over his honor. It’s a choice few of us could make.
This is a shame for a Jew to do this
if you really want to, run out and get Revolution and Genocide: On the Origins of the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust, Dr. Robert Melson…it is an absolute must read if you want to truly understand the underlying and fundamental essence of both tragedies, as the latter could not have come about without the former.
Adding my support.
Foxman needs to accept his failures, apologize, step down, and walk away to where all the other washed insular people of his generation should go.
add my name to the petition
when it comes to genocide, ethnicity and religion should not matter, this isn’t about Armenians alone, all people should outraged at Foxman and every other person or organization that has the odacity to deny or marginilaze the Armenian genocide. Fire Foxman and count me in in the petition.
1. Acknowledge the Armenian Genocide
2. Apologize to the Armenian-American community
3. Apologize to the Jewish community, for humiliating us before our fellow-citizens
I have good friends who are Armenian and even if I didn’t, would support this petition.
Susan Berlin
Greenville, SC
It is outrageous and completely unacceptable for the national ADL to deny the Armenian genocide. This only gives support to those who would deny other instances of genocide, including that of the Jews.
there is nothing lower on this planet than Jew’s refusal to aknowledge the historical reality. Armenian genocide must be recognized unconditionally.
It’s so emotionally moving to see Jews and Armenians, two persecuted peoples, standing up together shoulder to shoulder for the betterment of humanity.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/08/18/adl_local_leader_fired_on_armenian_issue/
Looks like Foxman fired Tarsy for finally doing the right thing, calling for genocide recognition. Unbelievable.
Firstly I would like to thank our Jewish Brothers and sisters around the world for sticking up for Us ,I would also Like to thank Andy Tarsy for his stance against Genocide Denial, on behalf of the Armenian Community in Sydney Australia We thank you and hope that our communities will help each other fight the Denial off all Genocides.
Regards
Raffi
PS: Please sign me up for the petition 1, 2 and 3
Count me in on this petition. I have never been a fan of Foxman and think a public Jewish organisation would be significantly better without his 'help'.Â
Denial of any Genocide is condoning the act of all Genocides, there is no moral middle ground on this issue. Abraham Foxman must choose which side of the Moral fence he wants the ADL to be on. At the moment, his actions have made the ADL complicit in the crime, because denial is the last stage of a genocide. I congratulate Jewcy.com for bringing this important issue to the forefront.
Dear Friends,
It is equally important that the ADL STOP its lobbying efforts in the US Congress against the recognition of the Armenian genocide, AND as a human rights organization lobby FOR passage of House (H. 106) and Senate (S. 106) resolutions in Congress.
It is not enough to acknowledge the Armenian genocide and continue to lobby against it.
With many thanks.
As an Armenian I’d like to thank the many Jews out there for showing their support. I’d also like to thank Andy Tarsy for finally sticking his neck out on the right side of things (though not before getting lambasted before a group of angry Armenians at the Watertown town council meeting!) but unfortunately had it lopped off by Foxman’s axe. We can only hope Foxman is next.
Once again, thank you all. Henry Morgenthau would be proud.
I stand in solidarity with others in having Foxman fired for his Denial of the Armenian Genocide.
One more add.
It happened. For God’s sake admit it.
There’s enough genocide for everyone these days, isn’t there? Everyone is certainly just realizing Darfur’s, so America sent in some troops and got it under control quite quickly. So what about all the others? Armies can’t go cavorting around stopping every genocide in the world! I would love to be on this petition, but, as a cynic, I don’t think it will do much good.
Can you provide a link regarding his termination. That article merely states he reversed course on his earlier position on the Armenian Genocide. It does not say he was fired.
Andy Tarsy, the Regional Director of ADL's Boston Office could no longer support Abe Foxman's immoral position and changed the regional office's position on the matter. See the link below for the Boston Globe's article: http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/08/17/local_chapter_breaks_with_adl_position/?page=2 Mr. Tarsy was then FIRED. Tarsy is well respected in the Community and has been very successful at reaching out to many local communities. In other words, Tarsy was doing a good job and was fired only because Foxman is a shortsighted pigheaded tyrant.
[Ed. note: if above link not clickable, try this! BUT PLEASE PLACE COMMENTS OTHER THAN PETITION ENDORSEMENTS W/ EXPLANATIONS here.]
As an Armenian I always considered the ADL as a serious organisation. Unfortunately Mr. Foxman’s personal opinions do not make him the proper person to be in charge of this mission.
Foxman has become a mirror image of all that he reviles. Simply grotesque.
The Israeli gov’t. as well as diaspora Jews should as mediators between The Armenians & Turks.
The ADL should have better things to do than lobby on behalf of the Turks! They are better than that. Foxman, do the right thing and step down.
It is an obligation for Jews to remember the Armenian Holocaust, considering Hitler himself mentions it in Mein Kampf: saying “who, after all, speaks of the Armenians any more?” in his call to ethnic cleansing.
This comment thread is a petition, a place for people to sign, and if they wish explain why they are signing. We're of course delighted if the petition prompts debate about explanations or the merits of the petition itself, but it can't be here, because we need this space to serve as a list of signatories! Please debate anywhere else on the site, such as here or here.
Thanks!
Ok, I know I am calling the whole crowd's wrath on myself, but this is what I think:
1. I would gladly sign this petition on clauses 2 and 3. I believe, as clause 2 implies, that ADL has no business in denying Armenians their natural right to interpret their history the way the nation sees it. I also believe that an apology to the Armenians for such a insolent "valuation" is a proper and timely thing, as clause 3 expresses.
2. On the first clause I disagree, because I subscribe to the same logic that third parties should neither validate nor deny any such claims without serious international legal investigation undertaken. It may feel good to do that but it is immature and criminally naive for a third party to accuse a nation of genocide with international legal authorities silent and the defense of the accused party not being thoroughly investigated. I am not a lawyer, I am a scientist and not a big fan of excessive legalities at all, but in this case, the Western standard of innocent until proven guilty must be applied in some way.
As a Jew, I also believe that many of the signatories here are happy to sign such a petition because it make them feel good and turn away from our own responsibility of illegal occupation of Palestine, the apartheid system that we installed there and how we in may ways deny our own deeds against Palestinian civilians that they also call genocide and from which we benefit – israelis directly and Diaspora Jews – indirectly. Also it is easy for us, as Americans, born or naturalized, by signing such petitions top look compassionate and progressive, rather than take a look at the Native American genocide and the terrible condition it leaved them into from which we all benefit on a DAILY basis.
Abe Foxman should absolutely be fired. Denying the Armenian genocide is just as ignorant and offensive as denying the genocides in Rwanda and Cambodia and even the Holocaust.
I don’t care about apologies but fully support your first demand: Acknowledge the Armenian Genocide.
Shaun Mandelkorn, DC
How can anyone deny such a horrible atrocity?! It sickens me.
Just a little reminder, Mr. Foxman: genocide is bad, no matter who the victims are.
Add my name to the petition.
And after we've acknowledged the Armenian genocide, let's acknowledge the American Indian genocide, and the Native Hawaiian genocide, and the Hispanic-American genocide — to mention only a few.
Yalhak
PS: And of course, add my name to the petition please.Â
Please add my name to the petition.
He is sabotaging a much-needed program and relationshions between Jews and other groups—”it is “bad for the Jews”!
Thank you Jewcy and everyone for challenging Mr Foxman’s statement. The photographic evidence, written evidence from diplomats in Turkey at the time and the eye-witness accounts from people like my grandfather all prove that the Armenian genocide did occur.
For people to say that this genocide did not happen is just pure naivety. The fact that my grandfather was living proof and has told me and my family many stories of his experiences during this time proves the existence of this event.
Definately in!
Fire Foxman!
It is a disgrace that someone with as much education as Foxman should even entertain the belief that this genocide didn’t happen. The insurmountable evidence to support the first hand accounts of this Armenian tragedy are transparent, and anyone who denies this is clearly as warped as the Bush administration. I support Jewcy’s call for an immediate retraction of Mr Foxman’s words, and a full and frank appology.
My grandfather was on a death march but was lucky enough to escape, unlike the countless others who were tortured and abused before being killed. This is a human tragedy, the first attempt to ethnically cleanse a race during the 20th century and should be recognised as such.
An English Armenian.
Sack Him
For years now I've been challenging denialism wherever and whenever it surfaces. But never in my wildest nightmares have I imagined I would challenge the ADL — of all organizations — on this issue!
Abe Foxman is a disgrace. His continued silence is appalling. By all means, count me in!
Count me in. Jews (well, primarily Israel) can’t deny a genocide for political gain. It’s sick and makes us look morally blind.
I support Jewcy’s initiative. Foxman should be allowed to retain his position if he acknowledges the Armenian genocide and apologizes for his previous stance. If he refuses to do so, he should resign or face dismissal.
Frankly, I’ve long viewed Foxman as an alarmist who picks on easy and trivial targets (Mel Gibson, Heeb magazine, Borat), while ignoring or glossing over those individuals and institutions that are riskier to combat but are a far greater threat to Jews, other minorities, and democracy in general.
Thank you Jewcy for calling a spade a spade. Foxman needs to accept his failures, apologize, step down, and walk away to where all the other washed insular people of his generation should go. Thank you for shining the light on such a dark stain on our community.
If you want to read a first-hand account of the Armenian-Genocide, then I would suggest you read Ambassador Morgenthau’s Story. It was written a few years after he returned from his service as U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, stationed in Istanbul. He took meticulous notes in his diary during his years of service and translated those into his book, which can be accessed free here:
http://net.lib.byu.edu/estu/wwi/comment/morgenthau/MorgenTC.htm#TC
Here are just two chilling exerpts among many. The first one is particularly shocking:
Excerpt One:
One day Talaat made what was perhaps the most astonishing request I had ever heard. The New York Life Insurance Company and the Equitable Life of New York had for years done considerable business among the Armenians. The extent to which this people insured their lives was merely another indication of their thrifty habits.
“I wish,” Talaat now said, “that you would get the American life insurance companies to send us a complete list of their Armenian policy holders. They are practically all dead now and have left no heirs to collect the money. It of course all escheats to the State. The Government is the beneficiary now. Will you do so?”
This was almost too much, and I lost my temper.
“You will get no such list from me,” I said, and I got up and left him.
Phantom Commentary
Incidentally, NY Life and AXA Insurance (a French insurance company) both settled lawsuits last year brought on behalf of descendants of the Armenian Genocide. NY Life paid out $20,000,000 and AXA paid out $17,000,000 in benefits they had illegally withheld for 90 years.
Excerpt Two:
It is absurd for the Turkish Government to assert that it ever seriously intended to “deport the Armenians to new homes”; the treatment which was given the convoys clearly shows that extermination was the real purpose of Enver and Talaat. How many exiled to the south under these revolting conditions ever reached their destinations? The experiences of a single caravan show how completely this plan of deportation developed into one of annihilation. The details in question were furnished me directly by the American Consul at Aleppo, and are now on file in the State Department at Washington . . . On the seventieth day a few creatures reached Aleppo. Out of the combined convoy of 18,000 souls just 150 women and children reached their destination. A few of the rest, the most attractive, were still living as captives of the Kurds and Turks; all the rest were dead.
My only reason for relating such dreadful things as this is that, without the details, the English-speaking public cannot understand precisely what this nation is which we call Turkey. I have by no means told the most terrible details, for a complete narration of the sadistic orgies of which these Armenian men and women were the victims can never be printed in an American publication . Whatever crimes the most perverted instincts of the human mind can devise, and whatever refinements of persecution and injustice the most debased imagination can conceive, became the daily misfortunes of this devoted people. I am confident that the whole history of the human race contains no such horrible episode as this. The great massacres and persecutions of the past seem almost insignificant when compared with the sufferings of the Armenian race in 1915. The slaughter of the Albigenses in the early part of the thirteenth century has always been regarded as one of the most pitiful events in history. In these outbursts of fanaticism about 60,000 people were killed. In the massacre of St. Bartholomew about 30,000 human beings lost their lives. The Sicilian Vespers, which has always figured as one of the most fiendish outbursts of this kind, caused the destruction of 8,000. Volumes have been written about the Spanish Inquisition under Torquemada, yet in the eighteen years of his administration only a little more than 8,000 heretics were done to death. Perhaps the one event in history that most resembles the Armenian deportations was the expulsion of the Jews from Spain by Ferdinand and Isabella. According to Prescott 160,000 were uprooted from their homes and scattered broadcast over Africa and Europe. Yet all these previous persecutions seem almost trivial when we compare them with the sufferings of the Armenians, in which at least 600,000 people were destroyed and perhaps as many as 1,000,000. And these earlier massacres, when we compare them with the spirit that directed the Armenian atrocities, have one feature that we can almost describe as an excuse: they were the product of religious fanaticism and most of the men and women who instigated them sincerely believed that they were devoutly serving their Maker. Undoubtedly religious fanaticism was an ‘Impelling motive with the Turkish and Kurdish rabble who slew Armenians as a service to Allah, but the men who really conceived the crime had no such motive. Practically all of them were atheists, with no more respect for Mohammedanism than for Christianity, and with them the one motive was cold-blooded, calculating state policy.
Phantom Commentary:
There are so many famous men and women of Jewish faith in modern history, too many to name or count. Perhaps Morgenthau is an obscure figure because there are so many other noteworthy Jews to think about. But for Armenians Morgenthau is a household name. We all know of him. We even know of his grandchildren. He is a hero for us. And he’s not the only Jew who has stood up for Armenians. There are many others like Yair Auron, Israel Charney, Eli Weisel, Yehuda Bauer, Deborah Lipstadt, Robert Melson, Andrew Goldberg, etc. etc. etc. . . .
I offer this, because it appears there are many Jews here and in other forums and blogs who say they feel ashamed or embarrased by what Foxman has said and what the ADL has done.
But there are many others who should make you feel proud.
I find it incredibly difficult to believe that an organization like the ADL would allow somebody in such a prominent position (Foxman, as President) to publicly declaim such a horrible and grossly WRONG point of view on a topic that we ourselves, as Jews, have dealt with so closely. We know that the wounds inflicted by Genocide, as we have witnessed again and again (The Shoah, Baba Yar, countless pograms – going well back to our earliest histories) take GENERATIONS to heal, and are never fogotten. How can such a point of view, the denial of the Armenian Genocide, be espoused by someone who, regardless of his personal beliefs on the matter, represents such a people (we Jews), who MUST be sensitive to issues of this kind, having experienced them moreso than almost, if not any other people in the history of Mankind?
I for one will not be supporting the ADL until they reverse this situation, by taking WHATEVER ACTION NECESSARY. If that includes firing Foxman, so be it. It’s been too long that this horrible historical FACT has not been acknowledged, which is the FIRST step in the healing process, and by not supporting the Armenian communities worldwide in their call for recognition, we are, in effect, supporting those who commited these atrocities and those who continue to try to silence all reasonable voices in their attempted cover-up.
I refuse to be an accomplice. Foxman can do what he likes, but he – and by extention, the ADL – no longer represent my voice.
~Willem Gates, Seattle WA
No to Holocaust denial
As I understand the historical record, the Ottoman government admitted this, the US’s Jewish ambassador to Constantinople (& grandfather of the current NY County DA) continually reported on the events to Washington +
the American people & Jews beyond the US borders broadly supported the Armenians. So how can this denial
possibly be?
I’m embarrassed by the ADL’s stand and fearful of the consequences for the Jewish people’s moral standing. I’ve blogged about this at Blue Mass Group.
TedF
i ‘m in – I have a really good friend who is armenian – how am I supposed to justify this kind of behavior?
Thanks for this petition. I’ve blogged about this as well at http://3asl.blogspot.com/2007/08/watertown-vs-adl.html
Best,
Miriam Asnes
I am enormously impressed with the Jewcy staff and its willingness to take on the ADL on this issue. The ADL still does a lot of good for a lot of people, but to deny the truth of history for the sake of political alliance seems to me to be a betrayal of the good ADL purports to stand for.
 I'm in. Acknowledge the truth and apologize for denying it — or get out of the business.
 At the same time, we need to keep a close watch on the small Turkish Jewish community; they may indeed suffer if ADL reverses its stance. ADL has put them in this position by identifying a "Jewish community" stance with Turkey's interest in denial. But we still have as much of an obligation to Turkish Jews as to any others.
I enthusiastically agree, and wrote about it on Jewcy a few weeks back when I had the pleasure of guest-blogging on the Daily Shvitz. Armenians should be able to count on the Jewish community in their struggle for recognition of this crime, and a group like the ADL, which aspires to leadership in that community, is making a huge moral mistake if it isn't willing to stand in solidarity.
thanks for sending this around
angie
alieber@jccmanhattan.org
All the Anti-Semitic propaganda failed to show as as racist… And, now, that !
No we are not racist, we care other people genocides as much as we care being “humans”… Our fathers were genocided, with Gypsies and Slavs, not alone, and Armenians grand fathers were, too. Is this a place for bargain, or a place for respect and mourning ?
I feel ADL shot my foot.
As a Christian, I was appalled by Foxman’s statements. The concept of an ethical framework that applies to everyone is essential if we are to seek peace in the world. If Jews simply use the Holocaust to manipulate others through guilt, rather than to teach a universal lesson on what can happen when we cease to treasure every human life, the negative affects would reverberate far beyond Armenia. Instead of this, I hope your message prevails in the Jewish community, and demonstrates that Jews are worthy of the mantle of being God chosen people, who set an example for all others.
Thank you for your leadership on this issue.  I agree with you Abe Foxman should publicly acknowledge the Armenian genocide and apologize to both the Armenian and the Jewish communities. Since he probably won't do that, then I hope there is enough pressure to force him to step down.  It was bad enough that he became a genocide denier for the sake of Israel's precious alliance with the perpetrator, but now I find out from Jonathon that he attacked my congressman, Keith Ellison. Enough already!
There is a very interesting book on the subject of Jewish attitudes toward the Armenian genocde:  "The Banality of Denial: Israel and the Armenian Genocide" by Yair Auron.  I recommend it to anyone seeking to better understand this issue.
BTW, I am neither Armenian not Jewish, but I care a lot about this.
 Way to go, Watertown!
let's not be too hasty to sanction efforts of minority groups that have experienced genocide to mimic the Jews' leveraging of the Holocaust for political & economic gains.
It's a shitty game that has turned the Holocaust into a cheap commodity and has turned too many Jewish groups into self-righteous hucksters trying to shame the world for their own benefit.
By now we need to learn that over-attention to tragedy and over-identification with ones own victimization is a bad thing. For goodness sake, we don't need any more versions of Abe Foxman telling us what to think and feel.
The ADL has long stood for the proposition that anti-Semitism is best combatted by a comprehensive attack on all forms of discrimination.  By taking a selective approach to genocide denial, the ADL severely damages its ability to perform its vital mission. The ADL must now repair the damage to its moral standing by acknowledging its grave error.  In the future, the ADL must not shy from speaking inconvient truths to friends of the Jewish people and Israel.
This is a noble cause. Well done Jewcy.
The ADL in general could take a hike so far as I’m concerned, but maybe it would be a better representative of the Jewish community without Abe at the top. Truthfully, they don’t deny the Armenian genocide, they just opt to not advocate for it’s place in history that way. Which is like saying the Holocaust was real, but that shouldn’t justify paying survivors their old possessions back.
Out with Abe.
Thank you Joey Kurtzman and the Jewcy staff for trying to set this right.
As an Armenian, you have my sincere appreciation.
But not only should he reverse course on the Armenian issue. He should show consistency on the whole “using the word ‘Nazi’” issue. If he’s going to blast Keith Ellison for likening the administration’s attempts circumvent legislative oversight to the anti-democratic manoeuvres of the Nazis, then he should be equally strong when Bill O’Reilly likens Daily Kos to the Nazis. If using the word “Nazi” always belittles the Holocaust, fine. But O’Reilly’s example is far worse (Ellison, after all, did have a point about the machinations of the executive to have unchecked power). Could it have anything to do with the fact that Ellison is a Black man who happens to be Muslim, ,while O’Reilly is a powerful media figure?
I think that Abe Foxman has undoubtedly gone too far. I also think, perhaps too optimistically, that his heart is likely in the right place. He likely thinks that he is doing all that is necessary to protect those he deems his charges. But we as a people must stand for something more. He has crossed a Rubicon, and he cannot reclaim the lost dignity and values of the ADL. It is time for someone else to take over.
I've been wishing Foxman would step down ever since he expressed reservations about Borat. But now it's serious. He is not the right man for his job anymore.
I’m in!
Foxman is defaming American Jews by representing us as self-centered hypocrites in regards to the Armenian genocide. I don’t care if he apologizes, he should step down! There should be no place for the likes of him in the Anti-Defamation League.
And in regards to Israel and the only Muslim country that acknowledges its right to exist… It happened almost 100 years ago! The Turkish perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide are all dead! It's about time Turkey came to terms with its past. If Israel's relationship with Turkey is so precarious that calling Turkey to task on a 100 year old atrocity is a deal breaker, then lamentably…. they were never allies.
Foxman needs to get his head out of his behind.
I'm often in agreement with ADL, but on this matter (their refusal to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide of 1915) they're dead wrong.
The ADL has definitely veered from its proper course. Haven't agreed with Foxman for a while.
I'm in like sin. Foxman's gotta go unless he makes this right.
For a long time I've thought the ADL has picked its battles more for its public image than to make the difference it was founded to make.
Yeah, me, too. For reasons previously stated. Foxman, as the letter says, you make our entire community look morally incompetent, morally idiotic, ridiculous. Thanks for that. But oh my goodness, why don't these kids want to stay in the community? Someone do a study!
–Z
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