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Protest Against Suffolk Law School Commencement Speaker Foxman
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2014/05/16/protest-suffolk-law-school-commencement-speaker-foxman/
By Contributor on May 16, 2014
BOSTON, Mass.`A protest has been announced online against Abraham
Foxman, long-time Director of the Anti-Defamation League, who is
planned to speak at Suffolk University Law School's commencement
ceremony on Saturday, May 17th. The protest, organized by activists
within the Boston Armenian community, aims to bring attention to
Foxman's decades-long effort to thwart official US government
recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
Suffolk University President James McCarthy has come under fire for
the choice of Foxman as speaker, as well as Suffolk University Law
School's decision to award Foxman an honorary law degree. In spite of
a petition circulated by the National Lawyers Guild at Suffolk Law
advocating for Foxman's invitation to be revoked that garnered over
1,000 signatures and broad opposition in the community at large, the
school has shown no intention of reversing its decision. Suffolk's
administration issued a defensive statement instead, quoted in The
Boston Globe: `Mr. Foxman's body of work is well deserving of
recognition. . . .It is our hope that Mr. Foxman's personal story as a
Holocaust survivor and attorney who has dedicated his life to public
service will inspire our graduates as they embark on their
professional careers.'
When pressed in a 2007 interview with JTA if he had `done anything
wrong' by engaging in a concerted effort against the recognition of a
genocide, Foxman said, `It was also very clear to me that after the
United States, the most important ally Israel has is Turkey. It's a
country that not only has promised to provide Israel with water until
moshiach comes, but it's a country that permits Israel's pilots to do
maneuvers over its land. And so, to me, it was very clear that there
are two moral issues, but one trumps the other.'
Later in the same interview, Foxman offered his explanation for the
criticism that the ADL received for opposing recognition of the
Armenian Genocide from within the Jewish community. `That comes out of
a changed demography, sociology. When we talk about assimilation, when
we talk about intermarriage`you know what, that's what it is.'
Meanwhile, outrage over Suffolk's choice of commencement speaker has
spread beyond the Armenian community. Foxman's vocal support of the
racial profiling of Muslims has drawn additional condemnation from
students and the community, as has his stance on the Park 51 mosque
controversy, during which he argued that the mosque should not be
allowed to be built in the vicinity of Ground Zero. He was quoted in a
2010 article in Newsweek, explaining, `Their [the families of 9/11
victims] anguish entitles them to positions that others would
categorize as irrational or bigoted.'
The protest will be held beginning at noon on Saturday, May 17th,
outside Boston's Wang Theatre where the commencement is scheduled to
take place.
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2014/05/16/protest-suffolk-law-school-commencement-speaker-foxman/
By Contributor on May 16, 2014
BOSTON, Mass.`A protest has been announced online against Abraham
Foxman, long-time Director of the Anti-Defamation League, who is
planned to speak at Suffolk University Law School's commencement
ceremony on Saturday, May 17th. The protest, organized by activists
within the Boston Armenian community, aims to bring attention to
Foxman's decades-long effort to thwart official US government
recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
Suffolk University President James McCarthy has come under fire for
the choice of Foxman as speaker, as well as Suffolk University Law
School's decision to award Foxman an honorary law degree. In spite of
a petition circulated by the National Lawyers Guild at Suffolk Law
advocating for Foxman's invitation to be revoked that garnered over
1,000 signatures and broad opposition in the community at large, the
school has shown no intention of reversing its decision. Suffolk's
administration issued a defensive statement instead, quoted in The
Boston Globe: `Mr. Foxman's body of work is well deserving of
recognition. . . .It is our hope that Mr. Foxman's personal story as a
Holocaust survivor and attorney who has dedicated his life to public
service will inspire our graduates as they embark on their
professional careers.'
When pressed in a 2007 interview with JTA if he had `done anything
wrong' by engaging in a concerted effort against the recognition of a
genocide, Foxman said, `It was also very clear to me that after the
United States, the most important ally Israel has is Turkey. It's a
country that not only has promised to provide Israel with water until
moshiach comes, but it's a country that permits Israel's pilots to do
maneuvers over its land. And so, to me, it was very clear that there
are two moral issues, but one trumps the other.'
Later in the same interview, Foxman offered his explanation for the
criticism that the ADL received for opposing recognition of the
Armenian Genocide from within the Jewish community. `That comes out of
a changed demography, sociology. When we talk about assimilation, when
we talk about intermarriage`you know what, that's what it is.'
Meanwhile, outrage over Suffolk's choice of commencement speaker has
spread beyond the Armenian community. Foxman's vocal support of the
racial profiling of Muslims has drawn additional condemnation from
students and the community, as has his stance on the Park 51 mosque
controversy, during which he argued that the mosque should not be
allowed to be built in the vicinity of Ground Zero. He was quoted in a
2010 article in Newsweek, explaining, `Their [the families of 9/11
victims] anguish entitles them to positions that others would
categorize as irrational or bigoted.'
The protest will be held beginning at noon on Saturday, May 17th,
outside Boston's Wang Theatre where the commencement is scheduled to
take place.