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No Place for Hate breaks its silence Friday
By Ian B. Murphy/Staff Writer
GateHouse News Service
New! Thu Sep 20, 2007, 05:43 AM EDT
Lexington -
To date, Lexington's No Place for Hate committee has not formally
addressed the Anti-Defamation League's (ADL) partial acknowledgement
of the Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Turks in the World War I era,
or the ADL's stance on a resolution in Congress to designate the
genocide as such.
That will change Friday morning, when Lexington's No Place for Hate
committee meets for the first time since their summer adjournment in
June. The committee, made of more than a dozen citizens and members
>From various community organizations, will hear from Armenian
residents who want the committee to cut its ties with the ADL.
In the last month, several surrounding communities including Belmont,
Arlington and Newton have either suspended or severed their ties with
the ADL's No Place for Hate program because of the ADL's stance.
"Until the ADL advocates recognition for the Armenian genocide in the
U.S. congress, I would advocate severing ties," said Roger Hagopian,
an Armenian-American resident who has lived in Lexington for 16 years.
"This is something that should be acknowledged."
Hagopian, an amateur filmmaker that has created several documentaries
on the subject, is a member of a group of Armenian-Americans living in
Lexington that feel the No Place for Hate program's affiliation with
the ADL are no longer appropriate. They recognize the great work that
No Place for Hate has done in town, but cannot reconcile the ADL's
position on the genocide.
"They really have done great work over the years," said Michael
Kouchakdjian, another Armenian-American resident. "The problem is not
with No Place For Hate. ... It's just that link [to the ADL] that has
really given rise to the hypocrisy. I would have expected the No Place
for Hate committee, once this issue came up, to quickly do an
evaluation and see that the link with ADL is inappropriate considering
the mission of the committee and do something about that."
Jill Smilow, the committee's chairman, said the group's response has
not been quick because it does not want to rush to judgment. According
to Smilow, the committee has been communicating internally and
gathering as much information as possible.
"There is a lot of conversation and questions going back and forth
[between the committee]," said Smilow. "We're trying to be deliberate
to figure out how best to have dialogue [with community members], and
how to respond, and to do what's right for our community."
Smilow is also on the regional board of directors for the ADL. She
said people should look at the fact that the New England regional ADL
has acknowledged the genocide, a move that got its director, Andrew
Tarsay, fired (he was later reinstated after much public pressure on
the ADL). She also said other communities, such as Duxbury, have
reaffirmed their support for the No Place for Hate program.
Smilow doesn't believe that ADL's national policy needs to affect how
Lexington's No Place For Hate committee conducts its business.
"The idea that there is the sort of death grip on all of us from
national ADL is false," said Smilow. "I don't feel it. What I do feel
is the need to hear from our Armenian residents. I'm grateful for the
Armenians in Watertown who brought this to the forefront. On the flip
side, I'm so sad that there isn't No Place For Hate in their community
[anymore]."
Without speaking for the rest of the group, Smilow felt Lexington's
committee could provide a forum for community discussion and education
about the Armenian genocide.
"At the heart of it is this incredible moral issue, and that to me the
most important thing is that in Lexington our community understands
why this is such an issue and why it hurts our Armenian-American
neighbors," she said.
Hagopian has tried to educate Lexington about the genocide through his
films. Last April, he showed a documentary called "Memory Fragments
>From the Armenian Genocide" to a group of 500 students at Lexington
High School.
Hagopian and Kouchakdjian both appreciate that the regional ADL has
acknowledged the genocide, and that Tarsay is to be commended for his
stand against the national position. However both still feel that any
connection to a national organization that denies the genocide is
unacceptable.
"I am very pleased with the support we have received from the Jewish
community and beyond on this issue," said Hagopian. "[But the ADL] is
not willing to go far enough and put themselves on a line where the
country of Turkey can see them as a supporter of recognition of this
in front the Congress. Tarsay is a good man, but the regional group is
tied to ADL, and the organization has not gone far enough."
Kouchakdjian feels that No Place for Hate in Lexington can continue
with its successes without its connection to the ADL.
"[Lexington has] got so many good people, and it's such a progressive
town," he said. "I'm not sure what ADL supplies here. It's not
organizations, it's people [that do the good work]."
The group will meet at 8 a.m. Friday, Sept. 21 in the Selectmen's
Meeting Room at Town Hall.
Source: http://www.townonline.com/lexington/homepage/x4283 63108
By Ian B. Murphy/Staff Writer
GateHouse News Service
New! Thu Sep 20, 2007, 05:43 AM EDT
Lexington -
To date, Lexington's No Place for Hate committee has not formally
addressed the Anti-Defamation League's (ADL) partial acknowledgement
of the Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Turks in the World War I era,
or the ADL's stance on a resolution in Congress to designate the
genocide as such.
That will change Friday morning, when Lexington's No Place for Hate
committee meets for the first time since their summer adjournment in
June. The committee, made of more than a dozen citizens and members
>From various community organizations, will hear from Armenian
residents who want the committee to cut its ties with the ADL.
In the last month, several surrounding communities including Belmont,
Arlington and Newton have either suspended or severed their ties with
the ADL's No Place for Hate program because of the ADL's stance.
"Until the ADL advocates recognition for the Armenian genocide in the
U.S. congress, I would advocate severing ties," said Roger Hagopian,
an Armenian-American resident who has lived in Lexington for 16 years.
"This is something that should be acknowledged."
Hagopian, an amateur filmmaker that has created several documentaries
on the subject, is a member of a group of Armenian-Americans living in
Lexington that feel the No Place for Hate program's affiliation with
the ADL are no longer appropriate. They recognize the great work that
No Place for Hate has done in town, but cannot reconcile the ADL's
position on the genocide.
"They really have done great work over the years," said Michael
Kouchakdjian, another Armenian-American resident. "The problem is not
with No Place For Hate. ... It's just that link [to the ADL] that has
really given rise to the hypocrisy. I would have expected the No Place
for Hate committee, once this issue came up, to quickly do an
evaluation and see that the link with ADL is inappropriate considering
the mission of the committee and do something about that."
Jill Smilow, the committee's chairman, said the group's response has
not been quick because it does not want to rush to judgment. According
to Smilow, the committee has been communicating internally and
gathering as much information as possible.
"There is a lot of conversation and questions going back and forth
[between the committee]," said Smilow. "We're trying to be deliberate
to figure out how best to have dialogue [with community members], and
how to respond, and to do what's right for our community."
Smilow is also on the regional board of directors for the ADL. She
said people should look at the fact that the New England regional ADL
has acknowledged the genocide, a move that got its director, Andrew
Tarsay, fired (he was later reinstated after much public pressure on
the ADL). She also said other communities, such as Duxbury, have
reaffirmed their support for the No Place for Hate program.
Smilow doesn't believe that ADL's national policy needs to affect how
Lexington's No Place For Hate committee conducts its business.
"The idea that there is the sort of death grip on all of us from
national ADL is false," said Smilow. "I don't feel it. What I do feel
is the need to hear from our Armenian residents. I'm grateful for the
Armenians in Watertown who brought this to the forefront. On the flip
side, I'm so sad that there isn't No Place For Hate in their community
[anymore]."
Without speaking for the rest of the group, Smilow felt Lexington's
committee could provide a forum for community discussion and education
about the Armenian genocide.
"At the heart of it is this incredible moral issue, and that to me the
most important thing is that in Lexington our community understands
why this is such an issue and why it hurts our Armenian-American
neighbors," she said.
Hagopian has tried to educate Lexington about the genocide through his
films. Last April, he showed a documentary called "Memory Fragments
>From the Armenian Genocide" to a group of 500 students at Lexington
High School.
Hagopian and Kouchakdjian both appreciate that the regional ADL has
acknowledged the genocide, and that Tarsay is to be commended for his
stand against the national position. However both still feel that any
connection to a national organization that denies the genocide is
unacceptable.
"I am very pleased with the support we have received from the Jewish
community and beyond on this issue," said Hagopian. "[But the ADL] is
not willing to go far enough and put themselves on a line where the
country of Turkey can see them as a supporter of recognition of this
in front the Congress. Tarsay is a good man, but the regional group is
tied to ADL, and the organization has not gone far enough."
Kouchakdjian feels that No Place for Hate in Lexington can continue
with its successes without its connection to the ADL.
"[Lexington has] got so many good people, and it's such a progressive
town," he said. "I'm not sure what ADL supplies here. It's not
organizations, it's people [that do the good work]."
The group will meet at 8 a.m. Friday, Sept. 21 in the Selectmen's
Meeting Room at Town Hall.
Source: http://www.townonline.com/lexington/homepage/x4283 63108