“We find the ADL’s position unacceptable...By not fully recognizing the slaughter of the Armenian people as genocide, and by not working to influence all nations of the world to set the historical record straight, the ADL is ignoring a clear moral imperative.”
Will Twombly
Co-chair, Watertown, Massachusetts No Place for Hate Committee
August 14, 2007
“Whenever I saw the word Armenian [in the ADL’s August 21 statement on the Armenian Genocide], in my mind I substituted the word Jewish. And whenever I saw the word genocide, I substituted the word Holocaust. And I said, would I be satisfied if this were the response of my leaders? And the answer was no!
[We] want to see justice for the Armenian people, [we] want to see a full and complete recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the ADL and the ADL becoming one of the active supporters of legislation to have the U.S. recognize the historic fact of the Armenian Genocide. We are all prepared to go as far as we need to make sure that those things are realized.”
Newton, Massachusetts Mayor David B. Cohen
August 21, 2007
“The Newton Human Rights Commission agreed that the following must happen:
• National ADL must follow ADL New England, and fully and unequivocally recognize the Armenian Genocide
• National ADL must actively support Congressional resolution HR106
• National ADL must immediately reinstate Andrew Tarsy as Director of ADL New England
While the NPFH program parallels the ideals and values of our community, and while we have been involved from the beginning, we shall reassess our participation with ADL and this program based on what actions, or lack of actions, are taken by the national ADL.”
Newton, Massachusetts Human Rights Commission
Excerpts from letter to the ADL
August 21, 2007
“The members of Newburyport’s Commission for Diversity and Tolerance are distraught and dismayed by Mr. Foxman’s and the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) stance on the Armenian Genocide. Not only has the ADL failed to support the Armenian people by advocating for congressional recognition with HR 106, but also, in fact, it has lobbied against the legislation.
We find that the ADL’s logic that led to the statement that a “Congressional resolution on such matters is a counterproductive diversion … and may put at risk the Turkish Jewish community and the important multilateral relationship between Turkey, Israel and the United States” fatally flawed, and contrary to the spirit of ‘Never Again.’”
Newburyport, Massachusetts Commission for Diversity and Tolerance
Excerpts from open letter to the ADL and Abraham Foxman
August 31, 2007
“Many people who partnered with the ADL . . . including many people in the Jewish community itself, have been profoundly disturbed to discover two things: a placement of politics above principle; a reality of genocide denial. I think the organization has to answer to these two very pointed questions. I am disappointed.”
Rev. John Buehrens
Needham, Massachusetts Human Rights Commissioner
September 5, 2007
“I come from a family of Holocaust survivors and I know that for them, the recognition of the Holocaust by the world and the recognition of Germany as being responsible for it was very important for them in the process of healing and moving forward.”
Liora Harari
Needham, Massachusetts Human Rights Commissioner
September 5, 2007
“ADL and the No Place for Hate® program emphasize that the “tip of the pyramid of hatred” is genocide. How can we, in good faith, ask our community to work at the base of this same pyramid while the No Place for Hate® sponsor is actively working against congressional, international recognition of the Armenian genocide?”
Belmont, Massachusetts Human Rights Commission
Excerpt from letter to ADL
September 6, 2007
“Hearing the voices of the Armenian community and my own Jewish conscience, I cannot say that we are able to be in the same boat with [the ADL]. To associate a human rights campaign with one that is so awry is the problem, and I feel that would damage what we’re trying to do too much.”
David Fisher
Student Advisory Council, Newton, Massachusetts Human Rights Commission
September 11, 2007
“The recognition of the Armenian Genocide is an important step along the path of freedom and justice, and crucial in combating other genocides now and in the future."
Newton, Massachusetts Mayor David B. Cohen
September 11, 2007
“The MMA has issued a strong and unequivocal statement on the importance of recognizing the Armenian Genocide and supporting passage of the Congressional Resolution. We applaud the Executive Committee of the New England Region of the ADL for taking this position, and the MMA has called on the national ADL organization to do the same. We will continue to review and monitor this matter, recognizing that while progress has been made, we will subsequently re-evaluate our official sponsorship of NPFH after the national ADL determines whether to adopt this position.”
Board of Directors, Massachusetts Municipal Association
Letter to Massachusetts Town Officials
September 12, 2007
“We, like you in your mission statement, believe it is our responsibility "to secure justice and fair treatment for all." We are surprised and disappointed therefore that the national board of the ADL has not stood with the Armenians as they seek justice and fair treatment.
The national board's unwillingness to fully support recognition of the Armenian genocide is in our view undermining the excellent work of our regional ADL board and our community efforts to be "No Place for Hate."
We strongly support the positions of the New England regional ADL board and therefore call on the national board of the ADL to:
•acknowledge the Armenian genocide as a genocide, not “tantamount to genocide;”
•support the resolution before Congress which officially recognizes the Armenian genocide;
•make these policy changes promptly.
In our opinion, the longer the national board waits, the more credibility the organization loses, and the more difficult it is for us as a committee for human rights to carry on our work in partnership with the ADL.”
Needham, Massachusetts Human Rights Commission
Excerpts from letter to ADL
September 12, 2007
“It was impossible to continue our committee’s work, and to regain our credibility in the community, while affiliated with the ADL under these circumstances . . . We cannot fully believe the sincerity of the ADL’s stated goals – to work for the fair and equal treatment of all – until you have completely and wholeheartedly supported the Armenian people in their quest to have their history acknowledged by all nations of the world.”
Will Twombly and Sargeant David Sampson
Former co-chairs of Watertown’s No Place for Hate
Letter to ADL
September 27, 2007
“Many Jews were outraged by the hypocrisy of ADL for choosing to place political expediency above their commitment to human justice, knowing that if any group played that game with the Holocaust, the ADL would be the first to call them for what they were, genocide deniers.”
Cambridge, Massachusetts Human Rights Commission
Excerpt from letter to Lexington, Massachusetts Board of Selectmen
October 2007
“WHEREAS the national Anti-Defamation League has failed to recognize unambiguously the Armenian Genocide and has opposed efforts in Congress to do so;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the full recognition and honest discussion of past atrocities – such as the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust – are requisite to understanding and responding to contemporary genocidal crimes against humanity – such as the atrocities in Darfur -- and that legislative measures such as H. Res. 106 constitute an important part of this process.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Arlington Human Rights Commission [supports] the decision to suspend Arlington's involvement in the No Place for Hate® program.”
Arlington, Massachusetts Human Rights Commission
Excerpts from Arlington HRC Resolution Rescinding Endorsement of ADL
October 15, 2007
“As commissioners, we appreciate the difficulty of living with a genocide and how much harder it is living with denial.”
David Harris
Chair, Medford, Massachusetts Human Rights Commission
October 2007
“At its October 15, 2007 meeting, the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to rescind its endorsement of the Town’s formal relationship with the ADL’s No Place for Hate Program . . . We have several concerns, but the most important is the failure of the National ADL to quickly resolve the debate surrounding the recognition of the Armenian genocide.”
Lexington, Massachusetts Board of Selectmen
Letter to the ADL
October 17, 2007
“The town of Westwood has concluded that our ability to carry out the founding principles of the No Place for Hate program is seriously compromised by the ADL’s position on the Armenian genocide and the House and Senate resolution.”
Westwood, Massachusetts Board of Selectmen
Excerpt from Letter to the ADL
October 2007
“While we may sympathize with the complexities of current international relations, we cannot in conscience continue a relationship with an organization that claims to stand for full accountability for genocide, yet stops short of endorsing a Congressional resolution acknowledging the Armenian genocide. We cannot endorse selective recognition of hate by an organization that claims leadership in creating a world where there is no place for hate.
This is an issue of direct relevance to citizens of our city and region who include survivors of the genocide as well as descendents of Armenian victims. Acknowledging the truth about the Armenian genocide not only has an impact on survivors and their families, it also has an impact on our ability to address other acts of hate.”
Northampton, Massachusetts Human Rights Commission
Excerpt from letter to ADL’s Abraham Foxman
September 28, 2007
WHEREAS, the Northampton Human Rights Commission has investigated the situation whereby the Anti Defamation League® continues to deny the facts of the horrific Armenian Genocide. From 1915 to 1923 the premeditated, systematic and deliberate murders of more that one and one half million Armenians occurred; and
WHEREAS, the Armenian people continue to be deprived of the right to their history through the denial that this genocide ever took place; and
WHEREAS, The City of Northampton must not continue its affiliation with such an organization as ADL that promotes such a grievous denial.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED
That the City of Northampton hereby rescinds its partnership in the "No Place for Hate" Campaign co-sponsored by the Anti Defamation League®.
“Upon the recommendation of Mayor Mary Clare Higgins”
Excerpts from Northampton, MA resolution withdrawing from ADL program
October 4, 2007
Clearly we were hoping for a different response from the National ADL [following their November 2 meeting]. We believe that their position on this issue is in conflict with the basic values of the ADL’s own mission statement which reads…”Its ultimate purpose is to secure justice and fair treatment to all citizens alike”… After due and thoughtful consideration, the Violence Prevention Coalition now recommends that Bedford suspend its participation in the ADL program. We believe that the ADL’s position has undermined its own program. We believe that organizations and communities cannot pick and choose when to be “No Place for Hate” and when not to be. We see this as an opportunity to demonstrate a non-violent response to an action that we find in conflict with our values.
Bedford, Massachusetts Violence Prevention Coalition (VPC)
Excerpt from letter to Bedford Selectmen regarding Bedford’s Participation in “No Place For Hate” program
November 14, 2007
Taking up the recommendation of the Human Rights Committee, the [Needham, MA] Board of Selectmen decided Dec. 4 to suspend the town’s participation in the Anti-Defamation League co-sponsored No Place for Hate program, citing the organization’s refusal to unequivocally recognize the Armenian Genocide.
“That is denial from my point of view,” said Selectman Jack Cogswell. “It doesn’t comply with my concept of No Place for Hate.”
“It’s heartbreaking we have to do this,” Wasserman said, citing it was a “moral decision” for him. “This is an organization that has lost sight of its mission. I have great hopes they correct that mistake. I hope we can have similar programs until such time.”
Excerpts from Needham Times article
December 6, 2007
WHEREAS: The national ADL held a meeting on November 2, 2007 and officially voted to take no further action on recognizing the Armenian genocide; and,
WHEREAS: The Town of Watertown and other cities and towns have withdrawn their support for the No Place for Hate program; and,
WHEREAS: The MMA Board had previously voted to reevaluate its official sponsorship of the No Place for Hate program after the national ADL determined whether to recognize unequivocally the Armenian genocide and support the congressional resolution;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: That the Town Council of the City known as the Town of Watertown urges the MMA immediately withdraw is sponsorship of the No Place for Hate program and notify all cities and towns of its withdrawal.
Excerpts from Watertown, MA resolution urging the Massachusetts Municipal Association to withdraw sponsorship of ADL program
December 11, 2007
The MMA Board of Directors expresses its strong disapproval that the National ADL did not use the opportunity of its November meeting to clarify and strengthen its earlier statements concerning recognition of the Armenian Genocide. The Board believes that unequivocal recognition of the Armenian Genocide is both a matter of basic justice to its victims as well as essential to efforts to prevent future genocides.
The inconsistency between the National ADL’s position on the Armenian Genocide and the human rights principles underlying NPFH is a matter of great concern to MMA Board members and the municipalities they represent. The MMA feels strongly that it is imperative to speak with absolute clarity on genocide and that, due to the NPFH program’s association with the National ADL, the Association will no longer be a sponsor of the program.
Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA)
Excerpt from MMA Statement Ending Sponsorship of ADL Program
April 8, 2008
As Mayor of Somerville, as a parent and as a person, I believe that ensuring the basic human rights of all people is essential. We must promote tolerance and understanding in our communities every day. That is why today, when we commemorate the Armenian Genocide, I am announcing that the City of Somerville is taking the steps to officially rescind our support of the No Place for Hate program.
Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone of Somerville, Massachusetts
Excerpt from letter rescinding support of ADL Program
April 24, 2008
Cambridge Human Rights Commission Letter on ADL
Dear Selectmen of Lexington,
As a member of the Massachusetts Association of Human Rights and Relations Commissions, we are writing to our colleagues and neighbors in Lexington to support the efforts of those working to make the ADL accountable to its commitment of justice for all. We urge Lexington to join Watertown, Belmont, Newton and Arlington in suspending or severing ties with the ADL until they do the right thing.
First, contrary to the opinion piece by Andrew Tarsy and James Rudolph, “ADL critics go too far,” we have found no one questioning the work of the No Place for Hate (NPFH) committees. In fact those communities that have severed ties with the ADL admire the work of the local grassroots organizing by NPFH and seek to continue the work under different auspices. Second, Tarsy and Rudolph have turned the situation on its head. They claim that those challenging the ADL have turned a moral issue (the “acknowledgment” of the Armenian genocide) into a political issue (support for the Congressional resolution that would publicly and officially recognize it by the US). On the contrary, Tarsy and Rudolph’s view would make morality hollow, subsumed to the political interests the ADL is promoting.
Indeed, Abraham Foxman, director of the national ADL, wrote that they are torn between support for Israel—ADL “has been a leader in promoting Turkish-Israeli relations” and “recognizing human injustice.” The Bush administration and other politicians likewise oppose recognition of the genocide because of their political relationship with Turkey which refuses to acknowledge the scholarship of researchers from all over the world that have said the genocide is “an incontestable fact.” These scholars, including Elie Wiesel and Turkish Nobel Laureate, Orhan Pamuk, call on all nations to recognize it as such. Should not a group like No Place for Hate that is based on civil and human rights for all, and stands against hate and bigotry, join with those scholars to stand for what is morally right? It is ADL’s prerogative to prioritize their view of Israeli interests over considerations of human justice, in this instance with regard to Armenians. But then they have lost the moral credibility to sponsor No Place for Hate. They cannot represent safety and recognition for all the town’s residents.
Many Jews were outraged by the hypocrisy of ADL for choosing to place political expediency above their commitment to human justice, knowing that if any group played that game with the Holocaust, the ADL would be the first to call them for what they were, genocide deniers.
Late last fall, the diversity committee of Cambridge employees and the Human Rights Commission considered whether Cambridge should join NPFH. Some commissioners, a few civil rights attorneys including one who had worked for the ADL, argued strongly that the behavior of the ADL over the past two decades towards Arabs, Muslims, anti-Apartheid activists, as well as their activism against any kind of affirmative action policy, was not the behavior of a civil rights/human rights organization.
While the ADL has worked on important issues, e.g., related to discrimination, it has been a leader in the fight against affirmative action, contradicting the policies of Cambridge. They filed an amicus brief in the University of Michigan case in 2003 against the University’s admissions policies that sought to create a diverse student body. The ADL was the only civil rights or Jewish organization to file an amicus brief in the Michigan cases.
For all these reasons, those committed to human rights and diversity in Cambridge did not think it appropriate for the ADL to have any authority over our diversity and human rights projects. Now the public has become aware of the political opposition of the ADL to US recognition of the Armenian genocide.
We urge Lexington Selectmen to consider these issues, and to know that severing ties with the ADL should not stop the important work of the “No Place for Hate” committee.
Respectfully,
Charles Kavanagh, Susan Ostrander and Marla Erlien for the
The Cambridge Human Rights Commission
As a member of the Massachusetts Association of Human Rights and Relations Commissions, we are writing to our colleagues and neighbors in Lexington to support the efforts of those working to make the ADL accountable to its commitment of justice for all. We urge Lexington to join Watertown, Belmont, Newton and Arlington in suspending or severing ties with the ADL until they do the right thing.
First, contrary to the opinion piece by Andrew Tarsy and James Rudolph, “ADL critics go too far,” we have found no one questioning the work of the No Place for Hate (NPFH) committees. In fact those communities that have severed ties with the ADL admire the work of the local grassroots organizing by NPFH and seek to continue the work under different auspices. Second, Tarsy and Rudolph have turned the situation on its head. They claim that those challenging the ADL have turned a moral issue (the “acknowledgment” of the Armenian genocide) into a political issue (support for the Congressional resolution that would publicly and officially recognize it by the US). On the contrary, Tarsy and Rudolph’s view would make morality hollow, subsumed to the political interests the ADL is promoting.
Indeed, Abraham Foxman, director of the national ADL, wrote that they are torn between support for Israel—ADL “has been a leader in promoting Turkish-Israeli relations” and “recognizing human injustice.” The Bush administration and other politicians likewise oppose recognition of the genocide because of their political relationship with Turkey which refuses to acknowledge the scholarship of researchers from all over the world that have said the genocide is “an incontestable fact.” These scholars, including Elie Wiesel and Turkish Nobel Laureate, Orhan Pamuk, call on all nations to recognize it as such. Should not a group like No Place for Hate that is based on civil and human rights for all, and stands against hate and bigotry, join with those scholars to stand for what is morally right? It is ADL’s prerogative to prioritize their view of Israeli interests over considerations of human justice, in this instance with regard to Armenians. But then they have lost the moral credibility to sponsor No Place for Hate. They cannot represent safety and recognition for all the town’s residents.
Many Jews were outraged by the hypocrisy of ADL for choosing to place political expediency above their commitment to human justice, knowing that if any group played that game with the Holocaust, the ADL would be the first to call them for what they were, genocide deniers.
Late last fall, the diversity committee of Cambridge employees and the Human Rights Commission considered whether Cambridge should join NPFH. Some commissioners, a few civil rights attorneys including one who had worked for the ADL, argued strongly that the behavior of the ADL over the past two decades towards Arabs, Muslims, anti-Apartheid activists, as well as their activism against any kind of affirmative action policy, was not the behavior of a civil rights/human rights organization.
While the ADL has worked on important issues, e.g., related to discrimination, it has been a leader in the fight against affirmative action, contradicting the policies of Cambridge. They filed an amicus brief in the University of Michigan case in 2003 against the University’s admissions policies that sought to create a diverse student body. The ADL was the only civil rights or Jewish organization to file an amicus brief in the Michigan cases.
For all these reasons, those committed to human rights and diversity in Cambridge did not think it appropriate for the ADL to have any authority over our diversity and human rights projects. Now the public has become aware of the political opposition of the ADL to US recognition of the Armenian genocide.
We urge Lexington Selectmen to consider these issues, and to know that severing ties with the ADL should not stop the important work of the “No Place for Hate” committee.
Respectfully,
Charles Kavanagh, Susan Ostrander and Marla Erlien for the
The Cambridge Human Rights Commission
Arlington HRC Resolution Rescinding Endorsement of ADL
WHEREAS the Town of Arlington has witnessed frequent and disturbing hate incidents; and
WHEREAS numerous residents of Arlington have worked together over the past years to form an umbrella organization dedicated to combating hatred, celebrating diversity, and making our town a welcoming community; and
WHEREAS the Arlington Human Rights Commission is charged with implementing its goals under Title II, Article 9, Section 3, Paragraph A.1. of the Bylaws of the Town of Arlington, “Improving the life of the Town by enlisting community-based groups in educational programs and campaigns to increase mutual respect, harmonious intergroup relations and the peaceful enjoyment of life in our community”; and
WHEREAS the Human Rights Commission held an inaugural meeting of the Campaign for Understanding on June 28, 2006, drawing the participation of religious organizations, schools, and groups dedicated to promoting diversity; and
WHEREAS more recent efforts to form an umbrella group to network between concerned organizations and with other communities, and to gain public recognition of our town's diversity initiatives, have been pursued under the auspices of the Anti-Defamation League's No Place for Hate® program; and
WHEREAS the Arlington Human Rights Commission did endorse the local No Place for Hate® effort and provided representatives to its steering committee; and
WHEREAS Arlington is home to many residents of Armenian descent and serves as the headquarters location of the Armenian Cultural Foundation; and
WHEREAS the national Anti-Defamation League has failed to recognize unambiguously the Armenian Genocide and has opposed efforts in Congress to do so; and
WHEREAS the Town of Arlington, on August 20, 2007, suspended its process of certification under the Anti-Defamation League's No Place for Hate® program in protest of said denial of the Armenian Genocide; and
WHEREAS several other area communities -- including Watertown, Belmont, and Newton -- have severed their ties with the No Place for Hate® program; and
WHEREAS the Arlington Human Rights Commission maintains an active means of networking with other communities through its membership in the Massachusetts Association of Human Rights and Relations Commissions; and
WHEREAS alternate public recognition campaigns, such as the Not In Our Town Campaign promoted by the Public Broadcasting System, are available to interested communities,
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Arlington Human Rights Commission that the Commission does commend all local residents who have worked together to make Arlington a more welcoming community; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the full recognition and honest discussion of past atrocities -¬such as the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust -- are requisite to understanding and responding to contemporary genocidal crimes against humanity – such as the atrocities in Darfur -- and that legislative measures such as H. Res. 106 constitute an important part of this process; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Arlington Human Rights Commission does join in protest of any form of genocide denial and commits to facilitating educational activities related to genocide; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Arlington Human Rights Commission does support the decision to suspend Arlington's involvement in the No Place for Hate® program; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Arlington Human Rights Commission does encourage the local No Place for Hate® steering committee and advisory council to reconstitute themselves; to avail themselves of statewide networking opportunities through the Massachusetts Association of Human Rights and Relations Commissions; and to explore alternate recognition programs; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Arlington Human Rights Commission does hereby rescind its endorsement of the Town's formal relationship with the Anti-Defamation League; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Arlington Human Rights Commission does reserve the right to review this decision should the Anti-Defamation League reconsider its position on the Armenian Genocide and H. Res. 106; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Arlington Human Rights Commission stands ready to support actively the establishment of alternative programs and activities that are in concert with the goals of the No Place for Hate® program; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this resolution shall be transmitted to the Arlington No Place for Hate® steering committee, the Arlington Board of Selectmen, the ADL New England Regional Board, and the ADL National Commission.
Adopted this 19th day of September, 2007.
JOSEPH A. CURRO, JR.,
Chair Arlington Human Rights Commission
WHEREAS numerous residents of Arlington have worked together over the past years to form an umbrella organization dedicated to combating hatred, celebrating diversity, and making our town a welcoming community; and
WHEREAS the Arlington Human Rights Commission is charged with implementing its goals under Title II, Article 9, Section 3, Paragraph A.1. of the Bylaws of the Town of Arlington, “Improving the life of the Town by enlisting community-based groups in educational programs and campaigns to increase mutual respect, harmonious intergroup relations and the peaceful enjoyment of life in our community”; and
WHEREAS the Human Rights Commission held an inaugural meeting of the Campaign for Understanding on June 28, 2006, drawing the participation of religious organizations, schools, and groups dedicated to promoting diversity; and
WHEREAS more recent efforts to form an umbrella group to network between concerned organizations and with other communities, and to gain public recognition of our town's diversity initiatives, have been pursued under the auspices of the Anti-Defamation League's No Place for Hate® program; and
WHEREAS the Arlington Human Rights Commission did endorse the local No Place for Hate® effort and provided representatives to its steering committee; and
WHEREAS Arlington is home to many residents of Armenian descent and serves as the headquarters location of the Armenian Cultural Foundation; and
WHEREAS the national Anti-Defamation League has failed to recognize unambiguously the Armenian Genocide and has opposed efforts in Congress to do so; and
WHEREAS the Town of Arlington, on August 20, 2007, suspended its process of certification under the Anti-Defamation League's No Place for Hate® program in protest of said denial of the Armenian Genocide; and
WHEREAS several other area communities -- including Watertown, Belmont, and Newton -- have severed their ties with the No Place for Hate® program; and
WHEREAS the Arlington Human Rights Commission maintains an active means of networking with other communities through its membership in the Massachusetts Association of Human Rights and Relations Commissions; and
WHEREAS alternate public recognition campaigns, such as the Not In Our Town Campaign promoted by the Public Broadcasting System, are available to interested communities,
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Arlington Human Rights Commission that the Commission does commend all local residents who have worked together to make Arlington a more welcoming community; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the full recognition and honest discussion of past atrocities -¬such as the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust -- are requisite to understanding and responding to contemporary genocidal crimes against humanity – such as the atrocities in Darfur -- and that legislative measures such as H. Res. 106 constitute an important part of this process; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Arlington Human Rights Commission does join in protest of any form of genocide denial and commits to facilitating educational activities related to genocide; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Arlington Human Rights Commission does support the decision to suspend Arlington's involvement in the No Place for Hate® program; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Arlington Human Rights Commission does encourage the local No Place for Hate® steering committee and advisory council to reconstitute themselves; to avail themselves of statewide networking opportunities through the Massachusetts Association of Human Rights and Relations Commissions; and to explore alternate recognition programs; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Arlington Human Rights Commission does hereby rescind its endorsement of the Town's formal relationship with the Anti-Defamation League; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Arlington Human Rights Commission does reserve the right to review this decision should the Anti-Defamation League reconsider its position on the Armenian Genocide and H. Res. 106; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Arlington Human Rights Commission stands ready to support actively the establishment of alternative programs and activities that are in concert with the goals of the No Place for Hate® program; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this resolution shall be transmitted to the Arlington No Place for Hate® steering committee, the Arlington Board of Selectmen, the ADL New England Regional Board, and the ADL National Commission.
Adopted this 19th day of September, 2007.
JOSEPH A. CURRO, JR.,
Chair Arlington Human Rights Commission
Mayor Cohen's Statement on Newton as No Place for Hate
On September 11, 2007, the Newton Human Rights Commission unanimously approved a motion recommending that the City of Newton to “cease participation in the (Anti Defamation League’s) No Place For Hate program until national ADL takes definitive action consistent with the objectives stated in the Commission’s letter to Mr. Foxman dated August 24, 2007.”
After careful consideration I will adopt the Newton Human Rights Commission’s recommendation. I will ask the Human Rights Commission to meet in November, after the national ADL meeting, to determine whether their objectives have been met.
The recognition of the Armenian Genocide is an important step along the path of freedom and justice, and crucial in combating other genocides now and in the future.
The City of Newton recognizes all that the New England chapter of the ADL has done to bring about a change national ADL policy on the Armenian Genocide, and we stand behind their efforts to change their policy at the national ADL meeting in November.
Over the last seven years, the ADL’s No Place For Hate program has helped bring informative forums and events to our citizens that have strengthened our ties with one another, and made our City a better place. We hope for the day when national ADL leadership fully and unequivocally embraces the objectives stated in the August 24th letter, and the City of Newton can again participate in the No Place For Hate program.
David B. Cohen
Mayor of Newton, Massachusetts
September 18, 2007
After careful consideration I will adopt the Newton Human Rights Commission’s recommendation. I will ask the Human Rights Commission to meet in November, after the national ADL meeting, to determine whether their objectives have been met.
The recognition of the Armenian Genocide is an important step along the path of freedom and justice, and crucial in combating other genocides now and in the future.
The City of Newton recognizes all that the New England chapter of the ADL has done to bring about a change national ADL policy on the Armenian Genocide, and we stand behind their efforts to change their policy at the national ADL meeting in November.
Over the last seven years, the ADL’s No Place For Hate program has helped bring informative forums and events to our citizens that have strengthened our ties with one another, and made our City a better place. We hope for the day when national ADL leadership fully and unequivocally embraces the objectives stated in the August 24th letter, and the City of Newton can again participate in the No Place For Hate program.
David B. Cohen
Mayor of Newton, Massachusetts
September 18, 2007
Letter to ADL by Belmont HRC
The Human Rights Commission of the Town of Belmont unanimously voted on Tuesday, September 6, 2007, to recommend to the town’s Board of Selectmen, that Belmont withdraw from No Place for Hate®, a program that has constructively engaged this community for two years.
Although No Place for Hate® in, an of itself, is a positive program with a commendable mission statement, we cannot justify supporting it if the program’s creator and sponsor, the ADL, continues to support what we regard as genocide denial.
ADL and the No Place for Hate® program emphasize that the “tip of the pyramid of hatred” is genocide. How can we, in good faith, ask our community to work at the base of this same pyramid while the No Place for Hate® sponsor is actively working against congressional, international recognition of the Armenian genocide?
We applaud Andrew Tarsy’s courage and conviction in speaking out on the issue of the Armenian genocide, our commission fully supports No Place for Hate® and has great respect for the staff who have coordinated the program. However, until there is a radical change in position and reversal in action on this issue at the ADL national leadership level, we as a commission, cannot participate in a program that is registered in its name.
Respectfully,
Laurie Graham
Chair, Belmont Human Rights Commission
Although No Place for Hate® in, an of itself, is a positive program with a commendable mission statement, we cannot justify supporting it if the program’s creator and sponsor, the ADL, continues to support what we regard as genocide denial.
ADL and the No Place for Hate® program emphasize that the “tip of the pyramid of hatred” is genocide. How can we, in good faith, ask our community to work at the base of this same pyramid while the No Place for Hate® sponsor is actively working against congressional, international recognition of the Armenian genocide?
We applaud Andrew Tarsy’s courage and conviction in speaking out on the issue of the Armenian genocide, our commission fully supports No Place for Hate® and has great respect for the staff who have coordinated the program. However, until there is a radical change in position and reversal in action on this issue at the ADL national leadership level, we as a commission, cannot participate in a program that is registered in its name.
Respectfully,
Laurie Graham
Chair, Belmont Human Rights Commission
Newburyport Commission for Diversity and Tolerance Letter to Abraham Foxman and the ADL
August 31, 2007
An open Letter to Abraham Foxman and the ADL,
The members of Newburyport’s Commission for Diversity and Tolerance are distraught and dismayed by Mr. Foxman’s and the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) stance on the Armenian Genocide. Not only has the ADL failed to support the Armenian people by advocating for congressional recognition with HS 106, but also, in fact, it has lobbied against the legislation.
The ADL’s charter states in part, “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.” There is nothing either fair or just in ADL’s failure to recognize the horrific events of 1915 to 1918 and again from 1920 to 1923 as anything but genocide.
We find that the ADL’s logic that led to the statement that “Congressional resolution on such matters is a counterproductive diversion and will not foster reconciliation between Turks and Armenians and may put at risk the Turkish Jewish community and the important multilateral relationship between Turkey, Israel and the United States” fatally flawed, and contrary to the spirit of “Never Again.”
Raphael Lemkin coined the word genocide in 1944. By his definition, it means the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group. Genocide is directed against the national group as an entity, and the actions involved are directed against individuals, not in their individual capacity, but as members of the national group. Mr. Foxman’s recent statement regarding the actions of the Ottoman Empire against the Armenians “the consequences of those actions were indeed tantamount to genocide” is ambiguous and insufficient. Those actions were not tantamount to genocide, they were genocide.
Because of the ADL’s and Mr. Foxman’s actions and failure to act, the Newburyport Commission for Diversity and Tolerance is currently discussing an end to our participation as a No Place for Hate community.
The following actions on the part of the ADL will greatly influence our decision:
• Complete support for HS 106 Resolution acknowledging the Armenian Genocide.
• Public acknowledgement in unambiguous terms that events of 1915-1918 and 1920-1923 perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire against the Armenian people were genocide.
In “Never Again” Mr. Foxman is described as a person who “fights against the menace of intolerance every day.” The question is will he fight today?
About the Commission for Diversity and Tolerance
The Commission for Diversity and Tolerance supports community based efforts to promote peace, diversity and tolerance. The commission was established by Newburyport City ordinance in September, 2006. The nine member commission is charged with fulfilling its mission of “promoting a sense of welcome, inclusion and worth for all and to eliminate prejudice, intolerance, discrimination, and acts of hate in our community,” by developing events and recognition of individuals and organizations in the community supporting these ideals. The Commission subsumed the former Partnership for Peace which began the Peace prize and Mini-grants more than 10 years ago. It also replaced the No Place for Hate Committee efforts which began in 2000, when Newburyport was qualified by the Anti-defamation League (ADL) as a “No Place for Hate” Community.
Sincerely,
Rev. Beth Horne
Lt. Rick Siemasko
Jan DeSantis
Sam Szabo
Kathleen Shaw
An open Letter to Abraham Foxman and the ADL,
The members of Newburyport’s Commission for Diversity and Tolerance are distraught and dismayed by Mr. Foxman’s and the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) stance on the Armenian Genocide. Not only has the ADL failed to support the Armenian people by advocating for congressional recognition with HS 106, but also, in fact, it has lobbied against the legislation.
The ADL’s charter states in part, “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.” There is nothing either fair or just in ADL’s failure to recognize the horrific events of 1915 to 1918 and again from 1920 to 1923 as anything but genocide.
We find that the ADL’s logic that led to the statement that “Congressional resolution on such matters is a counterproductive diversion and will not foster reconciliation between Turks and Armenians and may put at risk the Turkish Jewish community and the important multilateral relationship between Turkey, Israel and the United States” fatally flawed, and contrary to the spirit of “Never Again.”
Raphael Lemkin coined the word genocide in 1944. By his definition, it means the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group. Genocide is directed against the national group as an entity, and the actions involved are directed against individuals, not in their individual capacity, but as members of the national group. Mr. Foxman’s recent statement regarding the actions of the Ottoman Empire against the Armenians “the consequences of those actions were indeed tantamount to genocide” is ambiguous and insufficient. Those actions were not tantamount to genocide, they were genocide.
Because of the ADL’s and Mr. Foxman’s actions and failure to act, the Newburyport Commission for Diversity and Tolerance is currently discussing an end to our participation as a No Place for Hate community.
The following actions on the part of the ADL will greatly influence our decision:
• Complete support for HS 106 Resolution acknowledging the Armenian Genocide.
• Public acknowledgement in unambiguous terms that events of 1915-1918 and 1920-1923 perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire against the Armenian people were genocide.
In “Never Again” Mr. Foxman is described as a person who “fights against the menace of intolerance every day.” The question is will he fight today?
About the Commission for Diversity and Tolerance
The Commission for Diversity and Tolerance supports community based efforts to promote peace, diversity and tolerance. The commission was established by Newburyport City ordinance in September, 2006. The nine member commission is charged with fulfilling its mission of “promoting a sense of welcome, inclusion and worth for all and to eliminate prejudice, intolerance, discrimination, and acts of hate in our community,” by developing events and recognition of individuals and organizations in the community supporting these ideals. The Commission subsumed the former Partnership for Peace which began the Peace prize and Mini-grants more than 10 years ago. It also replaced the No Place for Hate Committee efforts which began in 2000, when Newburyport was qualified by the Anti-defamation League (ADL) as a “No Place for Hate” Community.
Sincerely,
Rev. Beth Horne
Lt. Rick Siemasko
Jan DeSantis
Sam Szabo
Kathleen Shaw
Newton HRC Letter to ADL
Dear Board Members of ADL New England,
We the Newton Human Rights Commission (NHRC), a No Place For Hate (NPFH) community since its inception, write to strongly support the recent actions taken by the current Board of ADL New England and former Director Andrew Tarsy in recognizing the Armenian Genocide and having the courage to present this to the national ADL.
We have been closely monitoring the recent developments and were very distressed by the firing of Andrew Tarsy. While we welcomed today’s lukewarm announcement by national ADL Director Foxman that they finally recognize the Armenian Genocide, we were disappointed by his stance about the Congressional resolution.
Tonight we held a special meeting of NHRC with Mayor David Cohen. It was attended by an overflow crowd of more than fifty people from Newton and surrounding communities. At this meeting, the NHRC agreed that the following must happen:
• National ADL must follow ADL New England, and fully and unequivocally recognize the Armenian Genocide
• National ADL must actively support Congressional resolution HR106
• National ADL must immediately reinstate Andrew Tarsy as Director of ADL New England
While the NPFH program parallels the ideals and values of our community, and while we have been involved from the beginning, we shall reassess our participation with ADL and this program based on what actions, or lack of actions, are taken by the national ADL. Mayor Cohen has espoused the same beliefs in his recent letters and he supports our decisions as well.
We understand you are meeting tomorrow, August 22, and we write to strongly urge you to maintain the principled position you have stated in ADL New England’s support of the Armenian Genocide and in support of the Congressional resolution.
We know it is a difficult time for you but please know that citizens everywhere are depending on your strong resolve. Please keep us posted and also let us know if there is some way we can be of assistance.
In peace,
Marianne Ferguson, NHRC Chair
Beverly Droz, NHRC Staff Director
Human Rights Commissioners: Jane Brown, Peter Brown, Muriel Esdale, Brenda Krasnow, Sheila Mondshein, Sona Petrossian, Susan Thomas
We the Newton Human Rights Commission (NHRC), a No Place For Hate (NPFH) community since its inception, write to strongly support the recent actions taken by the current Board of ADL New England and former Director Andrew Tarsy in recognizing the Armenian Genocide and having the courage to present this to the national ADL.
We have been closely monitoring the recent developments and were very distressed by the firing of Andrew Tarsy. While we welcomed today’s lukewarm announcement by national ADL Director Foxman that they finally recognize the Armenian Genocide, we were disappointed by his stance about the Congressional resolution.
Tonight we held a special meeting of NHRC with Mayor David Cohen. It was attended by an overflow crowd of more than fifty people from Newton and surrounding communities. At this meeting, the NHRC agreed that the following must happen:
• National ADL must follow ADL New England, and fully and unequivocally recognize the Armenian Genocide
• National ADL must actively support Congressional resolution HR106
• National ADL must immediately reinstate Andrew Tarsy as Director of ADL New England
While the NPFH program parallels the ideals and values of our community, and while we have been involved from the beginning, we shall reassess our participation with ADL and this program based on what actions, or lack of actions, are taken by the national ADL. Mayor Cohen has espoused the same beliefs in his recent letters and he supports our decisions as well.
We understand you are meeting tomorrow, August 22, and we write to strongly urge you to maintain the principled position you have stated in ADL New England’s support of the Armenian Genocide and in support of the Congressional resolution.
We know it is a difficult time for you but please know that citizens everywhere are depending on your strong resolve. Please keep us posted and also let us know if there is some way we can be of assistance.
In peace,
Marianne Ferguson, NHRC Chair
Beverly Droz, NHRC Staff Director
Human Rights Commissioners: Jane Brown, Peter Brown, Muriel Esdale, Brenda Krasnow, Sheila Mondshein, Sona Petrossian, Susan Thomas
Watertown Proclamation Ending Ties with ADL
TOWN COUNCIL
TOWN OF WATERTOWN
ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, WATERTOWN, MA 02472.4410
(617)972-6470, FAX (617)972-6485
PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS: the Town Council on July 12, 2005 voted unanimously to proclaim
Watertown a "No Place for Hate" municipality; and,
WHEREAS: The Town Council committed to fulfill the criteria in good faith, to join with its sponsors: the anti-defamation league, (ADL) Massachusetts Municipal Association and other coalition members to take specific actions to combat bias and promote respect for people, and
WHEREAS: The Town Council has become aware that the ADL, denies the facts of the horrific Armenian Genocide, that occurred from 1915 to 1923, in which the premeditated, systematic and deliberate murders of more that one and one half million Armenians from 1915 to 1923 took place, as well as continuing to deprive the Armenian people of a right to their history - The Town Council can not continue to join with such an organization.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Council of the City known as the Town of Watertown hereby rescinds its partnership of the "No Place for Hate" co-sponsored by ADL.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Town Council of the City known as the Town of Watertown, although it withdraws from the aforementioned group of municipalities, hereby proclaims that Watertown will continue to celebrate its diversity and continue to honor its tradition of tolerance and respect for all people for which it has always been known.
TOWN OF WATERTOWN
ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, WATERTOWN, MA 02472.4410
(617)972-6470, FAX (617)972-6485
PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS: the Town Council on July 12, 2005 voted unanimously to proclaim
Watertown a "No Place for Hate" municipality; and,
WHEREAS: The Town Council committed to fulfill the criteria in good faith, to join with its sponsors: the anti-defamation league, (ADL) Massachusetts Municipal Association and other coalition members to take specific actions to combat bias and promote respect for people, and
WHEREAS: The Town Council has become aware that the ADL, denies the facts of the horrific Armenian Genocide, that occurred from 1915 to 1923, in which the premeditated, systematic and deliberate murders of more that one and one half million Armenians from 1915 to 1923 took place, as well as continuing to deprive the Armenian people of a right to their history - The Town Council can not continue to join with such an organization.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Council of the City known as the Town of Watertown hereby rescinds its partnership of the "No Place for Hate" co-sponsored by ADL.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Town Council of the City known as the Town of Watertown, although it withdraws from the aforementioned group of municipalities, hereby proclaims that Watertown will continue to celebrate its diversity and continue to honor its tradition of tolerance and respect for all people for which it has always been known.
SPONSORED BY: ____________________________________________
MARILYN M. PETITTO DEVANEY, COUNCILLOR-AT-LARGE
MARILYN M. PETITTO DEVANEY, COUNCILLOR-AT-LARGE
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the Town of Watertown to be affixed on this fourteenth day of August, 2007.
________________________________________
CLYDE L. YOUNGER, COUNCIL PRESIDENT
IAGS Letter on calls for "Impartial Study"
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GENOCIDE SCHOLARS
President
Israel Charny (Israel)
First Vice-President
Gregory H. Stanton (USA)
Second Vice-President
Linda Melvern (UK)
Secretary-Treasurer
Steven Jacobs (USA)
June 13, 2005
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
TC Easbakanlik
Bakanlikir
Ankara, Turkey
FAX: 90 312 417 0476
Dear Prime Minister Erdogan:
We are writing you this open letter in response to your call for an “impartial study by historians” concerning the fate of the Armenian people in the Ottoman Empire during World War I.
We represent the major body of scholars who study genocide in North America and Europe. We are concerned that in calling for an impartial study of the Armenian Genocide you may not be fully aware of the extent of the scholarly and intellectual record on the Armenian Genocide and how this event conforms to the definition of the United Nations Genocide Convention. We want to underscore that it is not just Armenians who are affirming the Armenian Genocide but it is the overwhelming opinion of scholars who study genocide: hundreds of independent scholars, who have no affiliations with governments, and whose work spans many countries and nationalities and the course of decades. The scholarly evidence reveals the following:
On April 24, 1915, under cover of World War I, the Young Turk government of the Ottoman Empire began a systematic genocide of its Armenian citizens – an unarmed Christian minority population. More than a million Armenians were exterminated through direct killing, starvation, torture, and forced death marches. The rest of the Armenian population fled into permanent exile. Thus an ancient civilization was expunged from its homeland of 2,500 years.
The Armenian Genocide was the most well-known human rights issue of its time and was reported regularly in newspapers across the United States and Europe. The Armenian Genocide is abundantly documented by thousands of official records of the United States and nations around the world including Turkey’s wartime allies Germany, Austria and Hungary, by Ottoman court-martial records, by eyewitness accounts of missionaries and diplomats, by the testimony of survivors, and by decades of historical scholarship.
The Armenian Genocide is corroborated by the international scholarly, legal, and human rights community:
1) Polish jurist Raphael Lemkin, when he coined the term genocide in 1944, cited the Turkish extermination of the Armenians and the Nazi extermination of the Jews as defining examples of what he meant by genocide.
2) The killings of the Armenians are genocide as defined by the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
3) In 1997 the International Association of Genocide Scholars, an organization of the world’s foremost experts on genocide, unanimously passed a formal resolution affirming the Armenian Genocide.
4) 126 leading scholars of the Holocaust including Elie Wiesel and Yehuda Bauer placed a statement in the New York Times in June 2000 declaring the “incontestable fact of the Armenian Genocide” and urging western democracies to acknowledge it.
5) The Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide (Jerusalem), and the Institute for the Study of Genocide (NYC) have affirmed the historical fact of the Armenian Genocide.
6) Leading texts in the international law of genocide such as William A. Schabas’s Genocide in International Law (Cambridge University Press, 2000) cite the Armenian Genocide as a precursor to the Holocaust and as a precedent for the law on crimes against humanity.
We note that there may be differing interpretations of genocide—how and why the Armenian Genocide happened, but to deny its factual and moral reality as genocide is not to engage in scholarship but in propaganda and efforts to absolve the perpetrator, blame the victims, and erase the ethical meaning of this history.
We would also note that scholars who advise your government and who are affiliated in other ways with your state-controlled institutions are not impartial. Such so-called “scholars” work to serve the agenda of historical and moral obfuscation when they advise you and the Turkish Parliament on how to deny the Armenian Genocide. In preventing a conference on the Armenian Genocide from taking place at Bogacizi University in Istanbul on May 25, your government revealed its aversion to academic and intellectual freedom—a fundamental condition of democratic society.
We believe that it is clearly in the interest of the Turkish people and their future as a proud and equal participants in international, democratic discourse to acknowledge the responsibility of a previous government for the genocide of the Armenian people, just as the German government and people have done in the case of the Holocaust.
Approved unanimously at the Sixth biennial meeting of
THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GENOCIDE SCHOLARS (IAGS)
June 7, 2005, Boca Raton, Florida
Contacts: Israel Charny, IAGS President; Executive Director, Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide, Jerusalem, Editor-in-Chief, Encyclopedia of Genocide, 972-2-672-0424; encygeno@mail.com
Gregory H. Stanton, IAGS Vice President; President, Genocide Watch, James Farmer Visiting Professor of Human Rights, University of Mary Washington; 703-448-0222; genocidewatch@aol.com
President
Israel Charny (Israel)
First Vice-President
Gregory H. Stanton (USA)
Second Vice-President
Linda Melvern (UK)
Secretary-Treasurer
Steven Jacobs (USA)
June 13, 2005
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
TC Easbakanlik
Bakanlikir
Ankara, Turkey
FAX: 90 312 417 0476
Dear Prime Minister Erdogan:
We are writing you this open letter in response to your call for an “impartial study by historians” concerning the fate of the Armenian people in the Ottoman Empire during World War I.
We represent the major body of scholars who study genocide in North America and Europe. We are concerned that in calling for an impartial study of the Armenian Genocide you may not be fully aware of the extent of the scholarly and intellectual record on the Armenian Genocide and how this event conforms to the definition of the United Nations Genocide Convention. We want to underscore that it is not just Armenians who are affirming the Armenian Genocide but it is the overwhelming opinion of scholars who study genocide: hundreds of independent scholars, who have no affiliations with governments, and whose work spans many countries and nationalities and the course of decades. The scholarly evidence reveals the following:
On April 24, 1915, under cover of World War I, the Young Turk government of the Ottoman Empire began a systematic genocide of its Armenian citizens – an unarmed Christian minority population. More than a million Armenians were exterminated through direct killing, starvation, torture, and forced death marches. The rest of the Armenian population fled into permanent exile. Thus an ancient civilization was expunged from its homeland of 2,500 years.
The Armenian Genocide was the most well-known human rights issue of its time and was reported regularly in newspapers across the United States and Europe. The Armenian Genocide is abundantly documented by thousands of official records of the United States and nations around the world including Turkey’s wartime allies Germany, Austria and Hungary, by Ottoman court-martial records, by eyewitness accounts of missionaries and diplomats, by the testimony of survivors, and by decades of historical scholarship.
The Armenian Genocide is corroborated by the international scholarly, legal, and human rights community:
1) Polish jurist Raphael Lemkin, when he coined the term genocide in 1944, cited the Turkish extermination of the Armenians and the Nazi extermination of the Jews as defining examples of what he meant by genocide.
2) The killings of the Armenians are genocide as defined by the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
3) In 1997 the International Association of Genocide Scholars, an organization of the world’s foremost experts on genocide, unanimously passed a formal resolution affirming the Armenian Genocide.
4) 126 leading scholars of the Holocaust including Elie Wiesel and Yehuda Bauer placed a statement in the New York Times in June 2000 declaring the “incontestable fact of the Armenian Genocide” and urging western democracies to acknowledge it.
5) The Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide (Jerusalem), and the Institute for the Study of Genocide (NYC) have affirmed the historical fact of the Armenian Genocide.
6) Leading texts in the international law of genocide such as William A. Schabas’s Genocide in International Law (Cambridge University Press, 2000) cite the Armenian Genocide as a precursor to the Holocaust and as a precedent for the law on crimes against humanity.
We note that there may be differing interpretations of genocide—how and why the Armenian Genocide happened, but to deny its factual and moral reality as genocide is not to engage in scholarship but in propaganda and efforts to absolve the perpetrator, blame the victims, and erase the ethical meaning of this history.
We would also note that scholars who advise your government and who are affiliated in other ways with your state-controlled institutions are not impartial. Such so-called “scholars” work to serve the agenda of historical and moral obfuscation when they advise you and the Turkish Parliament on how to deny the Armenian Genocide. In preventing a conference on the Armenian Genocide from taking place at Bogacizi University in Istanbul on May 25, your government revealed its aversion to academic and intellectual freedom—a fundamental condition of democratic society.
We believe that it is clearly in the interest of the Turkish people and their future as a proud and equal participants in international, democratic discourse to acknowledge the responsibility of a previous government for the genocide of the Armenian people, just as the German government and people have done in the case of the Holocaust.
Approved unanimously at the Sixth biennial meeting of
THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GENOCIDE SCHOLARS (IAGS)
June 7, 2005, Boca Raton, Florida
Contacts: Israel Charny, IAGS President; Executive Director, Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide, Jerusalem, Editor-in-Chief, Encyclopedia of Genocide, 972-2-672-0424; encygeno@mail.com
Gregory H. Stanton, IAGS Vice President; President, Genocide Watch, James Farmer Visiting Professor of Human Rights, University of Mary Washington; 703-448-0222; genocidewatch@aol.com
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