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Are Armenians Angry at Jews?
By Khatchig Mouradian / November 30, 2007
"Thou shalt not stand against the blood of thy neighbor." — Leviticus 19:16
As editor of the Armenian Weekly, I often receive calls from journalists seeking the perspective of the Armenian community. These days, they frequently ask me whether the Anti-Defamation League is damaging relations between the Armenian and Jewish communities. My answer is always a resounding "no."
Yes, the Armenian community is upset that a prominent Jewish civil rights organization supports Turkey's campaign to the deny the Armenian Genocide, the great tragedy that haunts our community. But we are also aware of the Jewish-American writers, bloggers, and activists who speak out against ADL's hypocrisy.
Armenians also know that throughout the 20th century there was never a shortage of righteous Jews, individuals who spoke out against the Armenian genocide. Here, I present three such righteous Jews, whose efforts will always be treasured by the Armenian community.
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the jews were ruling the whole process of killing armenians in 1915 (all of the leaders of young turks organization were jews)
and of course they`ll be with turkey denying the Armenian GenocideÂ
The true measure of the three men mentioned by Khatchig is that all three (including Mr. Lemkin) became involved in condemning the genocide of the Armenians BEFORE the Holocaust. These great men did not speak out against the Armenian Genocide because they felt a kinship to the Armenians due to a shared history. Rather, they spoke out against the barbarism inflicted against the Armenians because they were truly heroic and merciful individuals. It was horribly ironic, then, when history repeated itself and the Jews were forced to suffer through unthinkable horrors less than a quarter of a century after the Armenians.Â
I've always felt closest to Jews. I don't really believe its because we share a similiar history as victims of a genocide. Rather, I believe its because we've grown up with similiar values. Perhaps it is because we are all a diasporan people and it is as important to the Jews to maintain their heritage and traditions as it is to the Armenians. I'm not sure. I do know that we have always been taught to admire the Jews and all they have accomplished both with respect to the Holocaust but also in all areas. That is why it is so painful when individuals like Abe Foxman acts the way he does.
And here are a few contemporaries that perhaps don't rise to the level of "heros", but they certainly are righteous:
Israel Charny
Yehuda Bauer
Yair Auron
Deborah Lipstadt
Robert Melson
Yosi Sarid
Yossi Beilin
Rabbi Harold Schulweis
Rabbi Edward Feinstein
Rabbi Yona Metzger
Obviously, I can go on and on.
 One more jewish hero is
Andre Mandelstam, Ambassador of Russia in Constantinopel
Armenians have the utmost respect and total admiration for Jews. My sense is, that at the deepest level of clement sentiment it is virtually impossible to feel any other way.
Primarily, by the painful virtue of the Holocaust/Genocide common-denominator- experience, an Armenian and a Jew are perhaps the only metaphoric twins, conjoined right smack at the heart; a heart with a unique beat of survival against all odds. Jews and Armenians were by far the most persecuted, plundered, mass-murdered inhabitants on this planet; and yes, by far the most resilient than most! The diaspora (both, Armenian and Jewish) is a true testament of that triumphant tour de force.
In a nutshell, the title of my post really says it all: Armenians angry at the "few" not the "Jew" is an inference to a "few Foxmen" here and a "few Weaselmen" there, That's all. All decent human beings know full well, that the final phase of a genocide is denial; and an incontrovertible inspiration to genocide perpetrators yet to be born.
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