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Beware the Hornet's Nest
Editorial 5-24-2014
By Edmond Y. Azadian
Armenian-Jewish relations have a very special significance and are
expressed in a variety of dimensions. The basic tenet that binds the
two groups is falling victim to mass murder. The two groups understand
each other and they are poised better than other groups to empathize
with each other, having experienced the horrors of ethnic cleansing or
extermination.
However, those relations may manifest in many different ways when
political considerations weigh in. The fact that the state of Israel
is not among the 20-some nations that that have recognized the
Armenian Genocide is a sore point in those relations. But the saving
grace is that bona fide scholars and legislators in Israel articulate
better than any other group Israel's moral obligation to recognize the
Armenian Genocide in the face of political expediency.
It does not take a conspiratorial mind to observe the influence of
Israel and its lobbying arm in the US and in this country's
legislature. Therefore, as the Armenians take up the challenge of
extracting Genocide recognition from the US government, first and
foremost, they have to capitalize on the sympathies of these lobbying
groups.
Also, it is an important factor to harmonize and coordinate Armenian
interests with the political interests of those groups. Working at
cross-purposes guarantees defeat.
In recent years, a controversy has been introduced in these delicate
relations, that of the Armenian Genocide policy of the Anti-Defamation
League (ADL), reflected mainly in the actions and words of its
national director, Abraham Foxman.
A vigorous campaign was conducted mostly in New England and to a
smaller extent, nationally, to expose the ADL's active participation
with Turkey in defeating all resolutions in the US Congress
recognizing the Armenian Genocide. That campaign yielded some positive
results, especially in discrediting the ADL's anti-bias program, No
Place for Hate, as a hypocritical façade for the organization's
disingenuous and active campaign against other human rights causes,
including the Armenian Genocide.
Certainly it was an indirect victory when on the eve of the 2014
Genocide memorial day, the American Jewish Committee released an
unequivocal statement of support, which said, in part, "In a month of
solemn remembrance of the atrocities of the last century -- from the
20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide to the annual commemoration
in Israel and the Untied States of the Holocaust -- we pause in
mournful tribute to the memories of the estimated 1.5 million victims
of the Medz Yeghern, the genocide of the Armenians, committed in the
final years of the Ottoman Empire."
We may also consider partial victory in defeating the nomination of
Joseph Berman by Gov. Deval Patrick to the Massachusetts Superior
Court as a result of a sustained and well-orchestrated campaign,
although Mr. Berman's case was only tangentially germane to the
Genocide issue. A number of negative factors were used against his
nomination: his lack of criminal experience, slight knowledge of drug
issues, his attempts to buy political influence through hefty campaign
contributions and his representation of a Guantanamo inmate. Perhaps
his affiliation with the ADL was the straw that broke the camel's
back.
The campaign against the ADL and its leader, Foxman, has not abated
for the last few years. On the contrary, it has been gaining momentum,
which culminated in the confrontation between the Ad Hoc Greater
Boston Committee for Human Rights and the Suffolk University
Administration. Mr. Foxman was invited to deliver the commencement
address at Suffolk Law School graduation. The protest against Mr.
Foxman's presence began in April by Suffolk's student chapter of the
National Lawyers' Guild. The main reason for the initiative was Mr.
Foxman's and the ADL's long-standing collusion with Turkey, a major
human rights violator, in campaigning to defeat US congressional
resolutions on the Armenian Genocide.
Anti-Foxman actions also included a call to Sen. Edward Markey (D-Ma),
another invitee to the Suffolk ceremony, to boycott the affair.
It was a valiant campaign and an effective exercise of political
activism, which unfortunately did not achieve its intended results.
Mr. Foxman delivered his commencement address, and was awarded an
honorary Juris Doctor degree. And in the melee, he also referenced the
Armenian Genocide.
But the defeat will be more instructive if we are prepared to study
its lessons. Mr. Foxman would not have stood behind the podium had the
Suffolk administration not felt strong on its grounds. It looks also
as if this campaign has reached its point of saturation. In economics
and in politics, there is something called a law of diminished
returns, which warns us not to overstep our boundaries. The fact that
some Jews have also joined the anti-ADL and anti-Foxman campaign
indicates that some internal policy issues or personal quarrels are
involved, which may entangle the Armenians unnecessarily.
Mr. Foxman is a power broker in Washington and the ADL is equally
powerful and no Armenian organization can match their influence should
push come to shove.
The writing is already on the wall; on May 13, 2014, the ADL issued a
statement trying to clarify its position on the Armenian Genocide.
However, the angry tone of the statement is more of a warning than an
apology or clarification. By reiterating its statement of August 22,
2008, the new statement says, "We are deeply concerned by ongoing
questions about our organization's position with regard to the
Armenian Genocide. The ADL has never denied the tragic and painful
events perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire against the Armenians and we
have referred to those massacres as genocide. All of the ADL's
anti-hate programs classify genocide as the ultimate crime against
humanity."
Although there is an explicit acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide,
there is no denial of Mr. Foxman's or the ADL's active role against
Armenian Genocide resolutions in Congress. Instead, there is a stern
warning which should be taken very seriously: "There is simply no
basis for the false accusation that we engage in any form of denial
and we believe this characterization of the ADL crosses the boundary
of acceptable criticism into the category of demonization."
A more ominous echo comes all the way from Jerusalem. Normally the
press in Israel is very favorable to the Armenian cause but an article
published in the Jerusalem Post on May 18 by a novice called Tal
Buenos is vitriolic. Under the title of "Abraham Foxman's Good Name,"
the writer not only defends his mentor but also attacks virulently the
basic facts of the Armenian Genocide, generously borrowing words and
statements from the official Turkish denialist lexicon.
One of the writer's laughable statements goes like this: "Foxman is
not a denier. He has never refused to recognize existing facts about
the Armenian tragedy of World War I. On the contrary, he has expressed
genuine interest in learning more facts about what has happened."
If Mr. Foxman has yet to learn the facts about the Armenian Genocide
after 126 Holocaust and Genocide scholars affirmed the
incontrovertible fact of the Armenian Genocide on June 6, 2007, it is
too late for him to catch up. Besides, if he does not have all the
facts about the issue, why is he campaigning against a cause that he
does not know enough about?
It is very difficult to isolate a single quote statement from Mr.
Buenos' article, because he offers many gems. The following statement
seems to have been borrowed from Prof. Ahmet Davutoglu's history
lessons: "It is only through the study of authentic documents that one
may formulate an informed opinion on whether the Ottoman government
acted with the intention to destroy the Armenian people -- as the
genocide label would warrant --or in consideration of wartime
necessities to clear vulnerable areas within its territory of a
population whose leaders were colluding with the enemy."
Mr. Buenos, as a PhD candidate in political science, does not have
enough sense that his same argument may turn against him and may be
used by unscrupulous people in the Holocaust narrative.
One scathing view is the following: "In a dramatic twist, the term
genocide has become a burden on the memory of the Holocaust."
Then he continues his denials by upholding the uniqueness of the
Holocaust and accuses the Armenians of the very sin that he is in the
process of committing: that the Armenians are politicizing the
Genocide agenda.
Ironically, there is not much about Mr. Foxman in the entire article,
which seems to have been ordered by the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
With Israel's participation, the confrontation has been turning very
ugly and certainly counterproductive. The debate must not pit Jews
against Armenians, genocide against the Holocaust, because then we
will be the certain losers.
Spearheading a political movement is healthy. The fact that we do not
generate enough mobilization undermines the strength of the leaders.
Comparing and contrasting the Genocide and the Holocaust is a
dangerous game. Each case should be analyzed based on their own
circumstances. Otherwise, the exercise undermines the moral foundation
of each case. Both have to be elevated to a universal realm in order
to uphold their lessons for a global audience.
There is an old saying in Armenian which is still topical: Sahman
kachats zenen yuriants, in the classical Armenian, which literally
means, the boundary of the valiants is the extent of their weapons.
Interpreted, it says that overextension may be counter productive but
above all, let's not stir the hornet's nest.
http://www.mirrorspectator.com/current-issue/
Editorial 5-24-2014
By Edmond Y. Azadian
Armenian-Jewish relations have a very special significance and are
expressed in a variety of dimensions. The basic tenet that binds the
two groups is falling victim to mass murder. The two groups understand
each other and they are poised better than other groups to empathize
with each other, having experienced the horrors of ethnic cleansing or
extermination.
However, those relations may manifest in many different ways when
political considerations weigh in. The fact that the state of Israel
is not among the 20-some nations that that have recognized the
Armenian Genocide is a sore point in those relations. But the saving
grace is that bona fide scholars and legislators in Israel articulate
better than any other group Israel's moral obligation to recognize the
Armenian Genocide in the face of political expediency.
It does not take a conspiratorial mind to observe the influence of
Israel and its lobbying arm in the US and in this country's
legislature. Therefore, as the Armenians take up the challenge of
extracting Genocide recognition from the US government, first and
foremost, they have to capitalize on the sympathies of these lobbying
groups.
Also, it is an important factor to harmonize and coordinate Armenian
interests with the political interests of those groups. Working at
cross-purposes guarantees defeat.
In recent years, a controversy has been introduced in these delicate
relations, that of the Armenian Genocide policy of the Anti-Defamation
League (ADL), reflected mainly in the actions and words of its
national director, Abraham Foxman.
A vigorous campaign was conducted mostly in New England and to a
smaller extent, nationally, to expose the ADL's active participation
with Turkey in defeating all resolutions in the US Congress
recognizing the Armenian Genocide. That campaign yielded some positive
results, especially in discrediting the ADL's anti-bias program, No
Place for Hate, as a hypocritical façade for the organization's
disingenuous and active campaign against other human rights causes,
including the Armenian Genocide.
Certainly it was an indirect victory when on the eve of the 2014
Genocide memorial day, the American Jewish Committee released an
unequivocal statement of support, which said, in part, "In a month of
solemn remembrance of the atrocities of the last century -- from the
20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide to the annual commemoration
in Israel and the Untied States of the Holocaust -- we pause in
mournful tribute to the memories of the estimated 1.5 million victims
of the Medz Yeghern, the genocide of the Armenians, committed in the
final years of the Ottoman Empire."
We may also consider partial victory in defeating the nomination of
Joseph Berman by Gov. Deval Patrick to the Massachusetts Superior
Court as a result of a sustained and well-orchestrated campaign,
although Mr. Berman's case was only tangentially germane to the
Genocide issue. A number of negative factors were used against his
nomination: his lack of criminal experience, slight knowledge of drug
issues, his attempts to buy political influence through hefty campaign
contributions and his representation of a Guantanamo inmate. Perhaps
his affiliation with the ADL was the straw that broke the camel's
back.
The campaign against the ADL and its leader, Foxman, has not abated
for the last few years. On the contrary, it has been gaining momentum,
which culminated in the confrontation between the Ad Hoc Greater
Boston Committee for Human Rights and the Suffolk University
Administration. Mr. Foxman was invited to deliver the commencement
address at Suffolk Law School graduation. The protest against Mr.
Foxman's presence began in April by Suffolk's student chapter of the
National Lawyers' Guild. The main reason for the initiative was Mr.
Foxman's and the ADL's long-standing collusion with Turkey, a major
human rights violator, in campaigning to defeat US congressional
resolutions on the Armenian Genocide.
Anti-Foxman actions also included a call to Sen. Edward Markey (D-Ma),
another invitee to the Suffolk ceremony, to boycott the affair.
It was a valiant campaign and an effective exercise of political
activism, which unfortunately did not achieve its intended results.
Mr. Foxman delivered his commencement address, and was awarded an
honorary Juris Doctor degree. And in the melee, he also referenced the
Armenian Genocide.
But the defeat will be more instructive if we are prepared to study
its lessons. Mr. Foxman would not have stood behind the podium had the
Suffolk administration not felt strong on its grounds. It looks also
as if this campaign has reached its point of saturation. In economics
and in politics, there is something called a law of diminished
returns, which warns us not to overstep our boundaries. The fact that
some Jews have also joined the anti-ADL and anti-Foxman campaign
indicates that some internal policy issues or personal quarrels are
involved, which may entangle the Armenians unnecessarily.
Mr. Foxman is a power broker in Washington and the ADL is equally
powerful and no Armenian organization can match their influence should
push come to shove.
The writing is already on the wall; on May 13, 2014, the ADL issued a
statement trying to clarify its position on the Armenian Genocide.
However, the angry tone of the statement is more of a warning than an
apology or clarification. By reiterating its statement of August 22,
2008, the new statement says, "We are deeply concerned by ongoing
questions about our organization's position with regard to the
Armenian Genocide. The ADL has never denied the tragic and painful
events perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire against the Armenians and we
have referred to those massacres as genocide. All of the ADL's
anti-hate programs classify genocide as the ultimate crime against
humanity."
Although there is an explicit acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide,
there is no denial of Mr. Foxman's or the ADL's active role against
Armenian Genocide resolutions in Congress. Instead, there is a stern
warning which should be taken very seriously: "There is simply no
basis for the false accusation that we engage in any form of denial
and we believe this characterization of the ADL crosses the boundary
of acceptable criticism into the category of demonization."
A more ominous echo comes all the way from Jerusalem. Normally the
press in Israel is very favorable to the Armenian cause but an article
published in the Jerusalem Post on May 18 by a novice called Tal
Buenos is vitriolic. Under the title of "Abraham Foxman's Good Name,"
the writer not only defends his mentor but also attacks virulently the
basic facts of the Armenian Genocide, generously borrowing words and
statements from the official Turkish denialist lexicon.
One of the writer's laughable statements goes like this: "Foxman is
not a denier. He has never refused to recognize existing facts about
the Armenian tragedy of World War I. On the contrary, he has expressed
genuine interest in learning more facts about what has happened."
If Mr. Foxman has yet to learn the facts about the Armenian Genocide
after 126 Holocaust and Genocide scholars affirmed the
incontrovertible fact of the Armenian Genocide on June 6, 2007, it is
too late for him to catch up. Besides, if he does not have all the
facts about the issue, why is he campaigning against a cause that he
does not know enough about?
It is very difficult to isolate a single quote statement from Mr.
Buenos' article, because he offers many gems. The following statement
seems to have been borrowed from Prof. Ahmet Davutoglu's history
lessons: "It is only through the study of authentic documents that one
may formulate an informed opinion on whether the Ottoman government
acted with the intention to destroy the Armenian people -- as the
genocide label would warrant --or in consideration of wartime
necessities to clear vulnerable areas within its territory of a
population whose leaders were colluding with the enemy."
Mr. Buenos, as a PhD candidate in political science, does not have
enough sense that his same argument may turn against him and may be
used by unscrupulous people in the Holocaust narrative.
One scathing view is the following: "In a dramatic twist, the term
genocide has become a burden on the memory of the Holocaust."
Then he continues his denials by upholding the uniqueness of the
Holocaust and accuses the Armenians of the very sin that he is in the
process of committing: that the Armenians are politicizing the
Genocide agenda.
Ironically, there is not much about Mr. Foxman in the entire article,
which seems to have been ordered by the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
With Israel's participation, the confrontation has been turning very
ugly and certainly counterproductive. The debate must not pit Jews
against Armenians, genocide against the Holocaust, because then we
will be the certain losers.
Spearheading a political movement is healthy. The fact that we do not
generate enough mobilization undermines the strength of the leaders.
Comparing and contrasting the Genocide and the Holocaust is a
dangerous game. Each case should be analyzed based on their own
circumstances. Otherwise, the exercise undermines the moral foundation
of each case. Both have to be elevated to a universal realm in order
to uphold their lessons for a global audience.
There is an old saying in Armenian which is still topical: Sahman
kachats zenen yuriants, in the classical Armenian, which literally
means, the boundary of the valiants is the extent of their weapons.
Interpreted, it says that overextension may be counter productive but
above all, let's not stir the hornet's nest.
http://www.mirrorspectator.com/current-issue/