California Courier Online, September 16, 2004
1 – Commentary
Jewish Writers Blast Israel, US
And Turkey for Denying Genocide
By Harut Sassounian
California Courier Publisher
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2 – Cookbook Review
Simply Armenian: Naturally Healthy Ethnic Cooking Made Easy
3 – Ceremony for Donation of Karabian Papers
Held Sept. 18 at CSUF’s Madden Library
4 – Bal Family Sets Up $100,000 Ph.D
Scholarship Fund at Zoryan Institute
5 – L.A. County
Honors Terzian
6 – Armen Will Exhibit Photos
At Oakland Church Bazaar
7 – Armenian Court Awards $460.
To Owner of Electrocuted Pig
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1 – Commentary
Jewish Writers Blast Israel, US
And Turkey for Denying Genocide
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
The Turkish government spends millions of dollars to deny the Armenian
Genocide. Yet, despite such intense Turkish efforts, and sometimes because
of them, the Genocide is becoming more widely known to the world. Scores of
countries and international organizations have officially acknowledged it
in recent years. The international media frequently refers to the Armenian
Genocide.
Despite the Israeli government’s shameful support for Turkish revisionism,
Jewish scholars and commentators have played a major role in reaffirming
the facts of the Armenian Genocide. In recent weeks, two more Jewish
writers have published very important articles on this issue.
Hillel Halkin, an Israel-based author, in an article published in the
August 17 issue of The New York Sun, castigated the “Republican
congressional leadership and the Department of State” for opposing
congressional resolutions “that do nothing more than express official
American acknowledgment of the pre-meditated murder, mostly in 1915, of an
estimated 1 to 1.5 million Armenians by the armies of the Ottoman Empire.”
He asserts: “this murder is a well-documented episode that only the rare
pro-Turkish historian bothers to challenge these days.”
Halkin points out that the Turkish government “for decades has conducted a
concerted campaign to deny that the Armenian Genocide took place. To this
day, what happened to the Armenians in World War I is a banned subject in
Turkey.” The writer describes as “utterly absurd” Turkey’s systematic
efforts “to censor its own history as if it were an article in a Stalinist
encyclopedia.” He suggests that “far from bringing shame on them, a frank
admission of what their armies did to a helpless population nearly a
century ago would only rebound to the Turks’ credit. Just think of the
esteem that the German Federal Republic, in the years after World War II,
earned in the world by its honest confronting of the Holocaust.”
The Turks, Halkin writes, have threatened other countries “with dire
consequences should they acknowledge the Armenian Genocide. Although some
governments stood up to such intimidation (most notably France which
officially recognized the Armenian Genocide in 2001), others have caved
into it. One of the saddest cases in this respect, apart from America, has
been that of Israel, where programs on what happened to the Armenians have
even been barred from state television.”
Halkin describes as “pathetic” those countries that have “yielded to
Turkish pressure on this issue.” He wonders: “What exactly is the Bush
administration afraid of?” He correctly points out that should the US
Congress adopt a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide, the Turks
would just “splutter and get over it, which is exactly what they did three
years ago vis-à-vis France.”
Halkin blasts the Israeli foreign ministry for being “chock-full of fearful
bureaucrats needlessly anxious about jeopardizing their country’s good ties
with Turkey.” He accuses both the Israeli government and “some Jewish
lobbies in America,” for having “collaborated shamefully with the Turks on
the Armenian issue.”
Halkin concludes his powerful article by pointing out that since the
“Jewish State does not recognize” the Armenian Genocide “for reasons of
realpolitik,” the Jews should then stop blaming other countries that for
their own reasons of realpolitik did not lift a finger while the Nazis were
slaughtering the Jews!
A second important article, written by Israeli attorney Nir Eisikovits,
appeared in the September 1, 2004 issue of “In the National Interest,” an
online weekly published jointly by The National Interest magazine and The
Nixon Center.
The writer points out that Israel’s denial of the Armenian Genocide is
based on two considerations: the belief in the “uniqueness” of the
Holocaust, and Israel’s self-perceived strategic interests or
“realpolitik.”
Eisikovits considers the first argument “both morally warped and
empirically unfounded.” By asserting that “Jews do not have a monopoly on
pain,” he emphatically states: “Jews cannot, simultaneously, attack those
who deny the Holocaust and assist others who deny the Armenian Genocide.”
The writer also points out that the Cambodian and Rwandan genocides have
not in any way diminished the Nazi atrocities.
As for the considerations of “realpolitik,” Eisikovits sadly concludes that
Israel’s appeasement of Turkey “does not seem to be working.”
Recalling that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently accused Israel
of “state terrorism,” he concludes that Israel has apparently sold its
“moral integrity in vain.” He also argues: “Realism in international
affairs, with all its merits, must be subordinate to a nation’s most basic
principles rather than dictate them.” By refusing to recognize other cases
of genocide, “Israel would have undermined the main reason for its own
existence,” Halkin states.
The courageous positions taken by these righteous Jewish writers, combined
with all other efforts by Armenians and non-Armenians worldwide would
eventually force the governments of the United States and Israel to stop
parroting the lies and start telling the truth on the Armenian Genocide.
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2 – Cookbook Review
Simply Armenian: Naturally Healthy Ethnic Cooking Made Easy
By Barbara Ghazarian, $17.95 Softcover, 296-page, illustrations ISBN:
1-931834-06-7 o Pub Date: August 2004
MONTEREY, CA -Armenian cooking is one of the world’s great culinary melting
pots. Veteran author, Barbara Ghazarian has created a masterful blend of
food and culture. Simply Armenian contains over 150 exiting and inspired
classic dishes (including favorites from family and friends) adapted for
North American home cooking. You will be delighted and amazed at the
authentic flavor of these easy-to-prepare recipes.
The context for Armenian cuisine in the United States is woven throughout
this collection with a light, almost invisible thread of historical,
geographic, cultural, linguistic, and religious elements. Her personal
reminiscences and anecdotes make it easy for the reader to join her on this
exceptional journey into this ancient yet ultra contemporary cuisine.
With justifiable ease, Ghazarian pairs foreign flavors like Syrian
“Mortadella” and Izmir Kufteh with Rice Pilaf made with College Inn chicken
broth and Uncle Ben’s rice. Remaining true to her own Armenian immigrant
family roots, which date back to the turn of the last century, Ghazarian
recommends lamb over beef and has included a generous and exotic array of
quince-based recipes (preserves, jelly, paste, stuffed with walnuts, and
cooked with lamb) because her aunt had three fruit-bearing trees in her
yard in Massachusetts and Armenians are frugal, thrift-driven cooks willing
to incorporate any accessible bounty.
Also in keeping with traditional Armenian cooking, there are a significant
number of vegetarian dishes-over 50, meeting Orthodox fasting requirements
(vegan), are clearly marked. Ghazarian promises that you will learn the
magic of creating a feast out of a basket of vegetables and a handful of
cracked wheat bulgur.
Admitting to wanting to please her 100%-Armenian, Syrian-born husband-who
like most husbands no matter what their nationality, prefers the tastes and
combination of foods traditional to his mother’s kitchen-she has included
“starter spreads” like Hummus and Baba Ghanoush that are not traditional to
the Armenian table but, rather, are additions assimilated from Arab
neighbors and brought to the United States by recent Armenian immigrants
from the Middle East.
What further sets this book apart from others is the generous sprinkling of
intriguing line drawings reprinted from Armenian manuscripts dating back to
antiquity. Living up to the promise of simplicity, Ghazarian has included a
good-sized glossary and gives mail-order sources for readers living outside
greater metropolitan areas who can’t find some of the more foreign
ingredients that are hard to substitute. Her well-written, readable text
gives detailed, step-by-step instructions ending with dish combination
suggestions for those new to the cuisine.
Ghazarian admits this collection is a labor of love, taking years to “get
it right,” and her effort shows on every page. No one has made the Armenian
table as accessible and user-friendly to home cooks as she has. This
cookbook ensures success for beginners while also making the cuisine
appealing to experienced home cooks.
About the Author
Barbara Ghazarian is an experienced cook and a natural teacher with a gift
for storytelling. This is her second cookbook (The Kindred Kitchen, 1996).
Barbara lectures from coast-to-coast on Armenian-related topics to both
Armenian and American audiences. She authored a long-running weekly
culinary column for a Los Angeles newspaper and has years of experience
teaching culinary writing to adults in greater Boston.
Simply Armenian, published by Mayreni Publishing (), can be
purchased from leading online bookstores or by sending $17.95 plus $4.00
shipping to P.O. Box 5881, Monterey, CA 93944-5881.
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3 – Ceremony for Donation of Karabian Papers
Held Sept. 18 at CSUF’s Madden Library
FRESNO – A ceremony for the donation of former California Assemblyman
Walter Karabian’s papers to the Central Valley Political Archive of the
Henry Madden Library at California State University, Fresno was held Sept.
18, at Fresno State.
Karabian, who was born and raised in Fresno, donated papers from his
1966-74 state Legislative service.
In addition, panel discussions were held focusing on Karabian’s career with
an emphasis on his opening the doors of politics to young Latinos, his
commitment to his Armenian heritage and his various legislative
contributions such as the Species Preservation Act, the ratification of the
Equal Rights Amendment and the California Invasion of Privacy Act.
Art Torres, Democratic Party chairman, as well as other former staff
members to Karabian participated in the panel discussions.
The Karabian papers received at the CVPA measure approximately 30 linear
feet and include correspondence, press files, photographs, campaign
material, articles, speeches, memorabilia and other records documenting
Karabian’s legislative and civic activities.
After leaving the Legislature, Karabian has practiced law and is a partner
in the Los Angeles law firm Karns & Karabian.
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4 – Bal Family Sets Up $100,000 Ph.D
Scholarship Fund at Zoryan Institute
TORONTO, CANADA – A new scholarship fund has been established at the Zoryan
Institute by the Bal family for PhD students preparing their thesis on the
Armenian Genocide or comparative genocide with a focus on the Armenian
Genocide.
The creation of this fund was the initiative of Dikran and Sonia Bal of
Montreal, who made it possible by their generous donation of $100,000 as a
seeding fund for this purpose.
The Bals have been regular supporters of the Zoryan Institute. In just the
last two years, in addition to this new scholarship fund, they have
contributed $200,000 for scholarly research and publication in general, and
the Genocide and Human Rights University Program in particular.
The scholarships will be awarded to a total of four candidates each year,
and are renewable, pending an annual review. Applicants must have completed
an MA in one of the social sciences, such as history, international law,
political science, psychology, or sociology and be enrolled full-time in an
accredited PhD program. Knowledge of the Armenian and Ottoman Turkish
languages will be considered an asset for applicants. The amount awarded
will vary according to the individual needs of each research project.
In explaining why they chose to create such a fund, Dikran Bal commented,
“It is important for people like us, who are not specialists but care about
this field of study, to support those who can make a scholarly
contribution. The fruits of their research go directly towards helping us
understand the Genocide and its impact on our history, the formation of
modern Armenian society, and on our identity.”
Sonia Bal stated: “I hope that this scholarship fund will be a catalyst for
drawing young scholars to pursue their academic dreams in this field. I
feel that the Zoryan Institute is the right organization to administer such
a fund, as it has a proven record of over twenty years of original
scholarship and a reputation for academic integrity, directed by board
members who are world-renowned scholars, such as Prof. Vahakn Dadrian, Dr.
Roger Smith, and Dr. Yair Auron, to name only a few.”
Professor Dadrian, Director of Genocide Research at the Zoryan Institute,
explained, “It is exciting to see people like the Bals get involved
actively and personally in the support of genocide studies. The
establishment of such a fund will definitely facilitate the recruitment of
interested and qualified candidates.”
For more information about the scholarship, contact the Zoryan Institute,
255 Duncan Mill Rd., Suite 310, Toronto, Canada M3B 3H9, E-mail
[email protected].
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5- L.A. County
Honors Terzian
LOS ANGELES – Carl R. Terzian and his associates have been honored by the
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on the occasion of the public
relations firm’s 35th anniversary for “dedicated service to the affairs of
the community and for the civic pride demonstrated by numerous
contributions for the benefit of all the citizens of the county.”
The resolution was recently offered by Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich.
Following graduation magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa and student body
president from USC in 1957, Terzian was a State Department Goodwill
Ambassador for President Eisenhower; public relations director for the
Lutheran Hospital Society of Southern California; dean and professor of
government at Woodbury University; and public affairs director for
architect Charles Luckman. In 1969 he started his own successful firm of
consultants in corporate, product, institutional, executive and crisis
marketing to more than 4,500 clients.
Terzian has been recognized for civic, philanthropic and professional
leadership by Congress, Her Majesty the Queen of England, California
Assembly and Senate, City and County of Los Angeles, USC, Boy Scouts,
California Junior Chamber of Commerce, Los Angeles Business Council,
Arthritis Foundation, Break the Cycle, Dubnoff Center, United Way,
California Lutheran University, Theta Chi Fraternity, The Jeffrey
Foundation, International Visitors Council, Woodbury University,
Exceptional Children’s Foundation, and the Freedoms Foundation at Valley
Forge.
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6 – Armen Will Exhibit Photos
At Oakland Church Bazaar
OAKLAND, CA – Southern California photographer Karine Armen will exhibit
her photographs from Armenia during the St. Vartan Armenian Church’s
Armenian Bazaar, Oct. 1 and 2, at the church grounds, 650 Spruce Street,
Oakland.
Armen — always on the go, always in search of the new, and the different –
takes her camera around the world, from China to Spain, from North American
to the southern borders.
She earned a M.A. in Educational Administration and a B.A. with a double
major in Photography and Social Work. She has traveled extensively and has
had several photography exhibitions in the Los Angeles area. She
participated in photography treks in Portugal, and China. Her work has been
published in “Armenian International Magazine,” Ararat Quarterly, The
Glendale News Press, Nor Gyank, Marmara, and Eighties.
Karine’s first trip to Armenia was a mental health counselor. She worked
with the earthquake survivors of Gyumri in March of 1990. She was impressed
and touched by the people’s hope to continue their lives with dignity.
Karine Armen has been teaching at an elementary public school in Glendale
for the past 14 years. Prior to that she worked as an Information
Specialist for a hotline. She has also worked as manager of a homeless
shelter. Her diverse interests and multi-cultural approach is reflected in
her photographs.
Some of Karine’s photographs can be viewed at her web site photo27.com. For
more information, contact the artist at [email protected].
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7 – Armenian Court Awards $460.
To Owner of Electrocuted Pig
ALAVERDI, Armenia – An Armenian court ordered a branch of the Armenian
Electricity Supply Network to pay about $460 to the owner of a pig which
was electrocuted while munching on an exposed underground electrical cable
earlier this year in the northern town of Alaverdi.
The pregnant sow was zapped after it had dug up a thin layer of dirt which
covered the electric cable in the backyard of a building.
The loss was especially heavy to the animal’s owner as the animal was
pregnant with 10 piglets and due in a week.
According to standards for power lines, underground cables must be laid at
a depth of at least 70 centimeters. A representative of the court who
visited the spot found out that the cable had been laid at a depth of 40
centimeters.
The court granted the owner partial damages, finding the plaintiff himself
at fault for having allowed his pig to wander into the yard of the
apartment building. Thus, the electric company was required to pay only 80
% of the damages – 240,000 drams (about $460).
The chief engineer of the Armenian Electricity Supply Network disagreed
with the ruling.
“The pig had no business in the yard; children would not have been able to
dig through that layer of soil,” said Misha Piruzyan. The company has taken
their case to the Court of Appeals, and hopes for a favorable ruling.
But, the animal’s owner, Samvel Tsatinyan, is determined to defend the
rights of his pig, her ten piglets, and the people who live in the
building, “even if I have to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.”
In the meantime, the electric company is working on its power lines.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Funeral or barbecue arrangements were not disclosed.
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