California Courier Online, February 3, 2005
1 – Commentary
American Jewish Group To Lobby
For Turkey’s EU Membership
By Harut Sassounian
California Courier Publisher
2 – Gift of Life Founder Gets
Second Transplant From Son
3 – Hye Shakar IV Feb. 17 Concert Will
Raise Funds for Juvenile Diabetes
4 – Cal Poly, Pomona Students
Win All-ASA Quiz Bowl
5 – Grammy Award-Winning Chakmakian
Performs Feb. 8 at Hollywood Jazz Spot
6 – USC Friends Host Concert-Tour
For Armenian Students, Feb. 7
7 – AGBU Replies to
Patriarch’s Lawsuit
8 – Commentary
Creating an Environment for Change
Through Turkish-Armenian Dialogue
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1 – Commentary
American Jewish Group To Lobby
For Turkey’s EU Membership
By Harut Sassounian,
Publisher, The California Courier
For several years now, the Israeli government and a few American-Jewish
groups have supported Turkey on various issues, some of which run counter
to Armenian interests.
In addition to denying the Armenian Genocide, lobbying the US Congress
against a commemorative resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide, and
backing Azerbaijan in the Karabagh conflict, these Jewish groups have now
added a new irritant to the existing disagreements with Armenians.
In a report issued last December, David A. Harris, the Executive Director
of the American Jewish Committee, wrote that the European Union’s decision
to start membership talks with Turkey was “truly momentous.” He stated that
Turkey is counting on the AJC and American Jews to lobby for its interests.
The enthusiastic and almost blind support by Israel and some American
Jewish groups for Turkey’s EU membership runs against Armenians’ intent to
force Turks to recognize the Armenian Genocide and open the border with
Armenia, as the price of admission to the EU.
In the following excepts from his lengthy report, Mr. Harris makes
abundantly clear the close partnership between Israel, the AJC and Turkey:
“…In the Turkish Jewish community, with which the American Jewish Committee
has a very close affiliation, last week’s news from Brussels will be
enthusiastically received. The 22,000-member community has long taken the
view that Turkey’s future anchored in Western institutions is the best
guarantee of national security, stability, and prosperity.
“And, in Israel, the EU’s announcement will also be welcomed. Israel has
publicly declared its support for Turkey’s accession….
“In a recent American Jewish Committee visit to Turkey, the European Union
was issue number one (and two and three) on the agenda of government
officials, including the prime minister and foreign minister. The October
EU Commission report had just been released, and the ensuing two months
were seen as the last chance to persuade European leaders to do the ‘right
thing’ at their fateful meeting in Brussels on December 16-17.
“Turkish leaders view the AJC as important to the political equation. Not
only have we been consistently regarded as a steady and reliable voice for
the Turkish-American relationship, but also, because of AJC’s wide-ranging
contacts throughout Europe, the Turks have counted on our support when we
meet with French, German, Greek, and other European leaders. Lacking a
well-organized Diaspora community, they’ve looked to American Jews to
fulfill that role….
“In the 1990s, the [Turkish-Israeli] bilateral relationship took off in
dramatic fashion, including defense cooperation, joint military exercises,
counter-terrorism measures, intelligence-sharing, a free trade agreement,
and tourism….
“Today, Israel regards its links with Turkey as vitally important and
mutually beneficial….
“And not least, Turkish Jewry, though diminished in size, largely due to
aliyah [exodus], continues to prosper and enjoy a full communal life,
including keeping alive the Judeo-Spanish language of Ladino. Anti-Semitism
exists, but is not regarded as a major threat, according to communal
leaders. What is a threat — and not only to Jews — is terrorism.”
By denying the Armenian Genocide, siding with Azerbaijan on the Karabagh
conflict, and lobbying the US Congress against recognition of the Armenian
Genocide, the Israeli government and some American Jewish groups have
deeply offended all Armenians. Nevertheless, both Jews and Armenians must
be mindful of the following key points.
Armenians must not forget that there are many prominent American Jewish
individuals and organizations as well as high-ranking Israeli officials and
scholars who fully support the Armenians on the foregoing issues. In their
frustration and anger, Armenians would be wrong to lash out at all Jews.
For example, when some ill-mannered Yeshiva students insult Armenian
clergymen in Jerusalem, Armenians should not react by accusing all Jews or
all Israelis of being anti-Armenian. To be sure, several Israeli officials
and Rabbis as well as Jewish-American organizations have condemned the
crude behavior of these Yeshiva students. Furthermore, many righteous Jews
have not shied away from severely criticizing the Israeli government for
its denial of the Armenian Genocide.
Similarly, Israelis and Jewish Americans should not blame Armenians of
being anti-Jewish, just because of prejudicial statements made by few
Armenian individuals. Armenians and Jews would be unnecessarily
antagonizing each other by indiscriminately condemning all members of both
groups for the sins of the few. Political differences should not be pursued
by exchanging insults, but through informed dialogue among Armenians and
Jews of good faith.
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2 – Gift of Life Founder Gets
Second Transplant From Son
By Jeff Hansel
Rochester Post-Bulletin
ROCHESTER, MN – Three decades ago, Ed Pompeian needed a kidney transplant.
His mother, Helen, offered one of hers. It was the early 1970s, and
transplantation was new.
“I was Mayo’s 167th transplant patient. Now they do about 250 a year, just
kidney transplants,” he said.
Today, at 53, Pompeian has been offered another kidney. This time it will
come from his son, Aaron, 20, a St. Olaf College student. But Pompeian is
more than a transplant recipient. He also is the founder of Rochester’s
Gift of Life Transplant House.
After his first transplant, Pompeian wanted to support other patients. So
he visited them at Rochester Methodist Hospital for 10 years. One patient
was sent to an unusual floor because of an infection. That’s how Pompeian
ended up meeting his wife, Jayne.
Patients inevitably asked him about affordable housing. “That was actually
the beginning, in my mind, of a transplant house,” he said.
He was from Michigan when he came to Mayo for his first transplant.
“It was hard finding housing, so we ended up staying in hotels,” he said.
Pompeian started a real estate career in Rochester in 1975 and always kept
the idea of housing for transplant patients in mind. Apartments and rooms
in buildings and motels were offered for them. He opened the first Gift of
Life House in the 1980s.
Eventually, he bought the current House in 1994. There are 48 bedrooms,
each with a private bathroom, and his mother still works there. The house
serves 30,000 people a year.
The elder Pompeian won’t stay at Gift of Life after the surgery because
he’s a Rochester resident. But he’s always an advocate for the house.
“We still need donations. We still have a mortgage that we’d like to
retire,” he said.
Pompeian says everything in his life “that has been wonderful” happened
after his first transplant. He married, had four children, and developed a
successful career.
Now he needs another successful transplant.
“I don’t worry too much because I know I am in good hands, between my
doctors and God and my family,” he said.
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3 – Hye Shakar IV Feb. 17 Concert Will
Raise Funds for Juvenile Diabetes
GLENDALE – The Juvenile Diabetes Project of the Armenian American Medical
Society of California will be sponsoring Hye Shakar IV at the Glendale High
School Auditorium on Feb. 17 at 3:30 p.m.
The concert will star the Zvartnots Dance Ensemble, the a capella singing
group Zulal from New York, and the amazing drums of Jacob Armen and his
band.
The project has been in operation since 1993, supplying all the juvenile
diabetics in Armenia, Artsakh and even the Armenian juvenile diabetics of
southern Georgia with human insulin, visual teststrips, supplies and
information to control their blood sugars. This has resulted in a dramatic
reduction in short and long term complications from this devastating
disease.
Before the start of the Juvenile Diabetes Project, juvenile diabetes in
Armenia meant a life of frequent short term complications from low blood
sugars (hypoglycemia) resulting in coma and even death, and long term
complications from high blood sugars (hyperglycemia) resulting in weight
loss, blindness, kidney disease, hypertension, nerve damage, stroke and
heart disease. By supplying all the children with visual blood test strips
(which they split to get several readings), human insulin, syringes,
lancets and the proper books in eastern Armenian, the Project has been able
to markedly reduce both the short and long term complications of the
disease resulting in a near normal lifestyle for all the children. No
program has made such a dramatic change in the life of children in Armenia,
and no program has made such a dramatic improvement in children with
diabetes in the former Soviet Union.
With the $12,000 raised by the Knights of Vartan Sevan Tahlij 50th
anniversary banquet in 2003 and the money raised by the Hye Shakar III
concert in 2004, two years of visual teststrips was purchased for the
children. The money raised from this concert will be used to purchase human
insulin. All supplies are given to the children without charge and are sent
to Armenia through the UAF. The project is under the guidance of Dr. Elmira
Pashinyan, Chief of Pediatric Endocrinology at Children’s Hospital #4 in
Yerevan. The 600 patients covered by this project range from under 1 year
of age to their late teens and early twenties.
Ticket prices are $50, $37.50, $25, $15 and there will be a separate
section for high school students for $10 with a valid school ID. For
tickets contact Hourig at 323-466-0497, Marina at 818-243-5731, or Seda at
818-790-7271.
All donations should be sent to the AAMSC at 834 Ida Ave., Solana Beach, CA
92075.
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4 – Cal Poly, Pomona Students
Win All-ASA Quiz Bowl
LOS ANGELES – On January 16, members of the All-ASA Committee came together
to compete for the Quiz Bowl trophy, in the 4th annual All-ASA Quiz Bowl
competition. It was hosted by USC’s Armenian Students’ Association, who was
the previous year’s winner. The game was organized by U.C. Berkeley, Loyola
Marymount University, UCLA, and UC, Riverside, who comprised the Quiz
Bowl’s official organizing committee.
This year’s participating teams included students from California
Polytechnic Institute at Pomona, California State University Northridge,
Loyola Marymount University, U.C. Berkeley, UCLA, U.C., Riverside and USC,
as well as members of the AEO fraternity, AGBA, and Usanogh. Each
organization was represented by a team of five members, as well as one
person that would be a judge on the judging panel. Cheering the teams on
from the audience were fellow members of their organizations as well as
other guests.
In the first round, teams would choose a category and the number of points
they wanted to play for, and the host, USC ASA’s Arpine Shakhbandaryan,
read the question aloud. All the teams had 10 seconds to discuss and write
their answer, which they handed to the judges. This year’s categories
included American history, psychology, math, Armenian literature, and
information technology as part of the first round.
The second round drew questions again from sports/entertainment, science,
Armenian history, art history, and English literature. The five teams with
the highest scores from the first round moved on to compete in a more
fast-paced second round of questioning. Cal Poly answered the last question
of the game correctly, winning the trophy, the title of 2005 All-ASA Quiz
Bowl winner, and the honor of hosting next year’s competition.
The interval between the two rounds provided everyone a chance to converse
with old friends, as well as get to know other young Armenians over a light
lunch. The real celebration however, began after the game. Amid receiving
some well-deserved congratulations from fellow participants, a member of
Cal Poly’s winning team joked, “Cal Poly is now accepting transfers from
other schools!”
The fun continued later that night in Glendale, at Maurizio’s Pizzeria for
an after-Quiz Bowl celebration put together by USC’s ASA to raise funds for
their upcoming events. The party was not only attended by members and
friends of all the connected organizations, but also by people who simply
wanted to be a part of the festivities.
The Quiz Bowl is just one of several events organized by the All-ASA, an
organization that has been active since 2003. As stated in its website,
(all-asa.org), “The primary goals of the All-ASA are to promote cooperation
between its Constituent Organizations and create a united front of Armenian
student organizations on the principles of democracy, equal opportunity,
responsibility, accountability, and transparency.”
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5 – Grammy Award-Winning Chakmakian
Performs Feb. 8 at Hollywood Jazz Spot
TruArt Records presents the exotic world of keyboardist, composer and
Buddha-Bar recording artist, Armen Chakmakian, formerly with the Grammy
Award-winning world fusion group “Shadowfax,” for one performance only on
Tuesday, Feb. 8, at the Catalina Bar & Grill beginning at 8:30 p.m.
As an artist, Chakmakian continues to break new ground and explore new
territory with his inventive and dramatic compositions, blending
Mediterranean and Middle Eastern sounds, Armenian and Arabic influences,
with contemporary jazz, hypnotic world rhythms and unforgettable melodies.
A native of Glendale, Chakmakian studied jazz with world-acclaimed music
educator John Novello and attended Berklee College of Music, UCLA, and USC
where he studied the “History of Armenian Music.” The break of a lifetime
occurred when Armen joined the Grammy Award-winning band, “Shadowfax” as
keyboardist.
The Feb. 8 concert will be his first since the release of his new CD,
“Caravans.” Also featured will be selections from his debut solo album,
“Ceremonies”which entered the radio charts at the #1 spot (NAV Top 100) and
spawned two tracks for the European compilation CD series, “Buddha-Bar” I &
IV, and have to date sold over 700,000 units.
Armen will be joined by his ensemble which includes oud and violin
virtuoso, John Bilezikjian (Leonard Cohen, Ofra Haza), percussionist Andre
Harutyunyan (Vas, Axiom of Choice), and Martin Flores (Manu Dibango, Joan
Sebastian,) on dumbek, djembe and drum set.
Doors open at 7 p.m. For ticket information, call Catalina Bar & Grill at
(323) 466-2210 or link to CatalinaJazzClub.com.
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6 – USC Friends Host Concert-Tour
For Armenian Students, Feb. 7
By Seda G. Marootian
LOS ANGELES – Middle and high school students attending private and
parochial Armenian schools in the Los Angeles area are invited to attend a
day on the campus of the University of Southern California on Feb. 7,
beginning at 10 a.m. Sonia Akian, board member of USC Friends of Armenian
Music is coordinator of the event.
The 280 teenagers, accompanied by teachers and parents, will be treated to
a concert in Newman Hall at noon. An Armenian jazz trio, head by Armenian
Chakmakian and accompanied by drums and bass will open the program. Lucina
Agbabian Hubbard, USC instructor in Armenian music courses is emceeing the
performance.
Also featured are USC Friends of Armenian Music scholarship recipient
Pepronia Pilibosian and Shoushanig Hovakimyan in a two-piano presentation
of Babajanian-Haroutunian’s “Armenian Rhapsody.” Pilibosian will accompany
saxophonist Michael Young in a medley of contemporary Armenian pieces.
Students from Armenian Sisters Academy, Chamlian, Mesrobian, Merdinian, St.
Gregory Hovsepian, AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian, Mekhitarist Fathers, Rose &
Alex Pilibos and Arshag Dickranian schools will be greeted at the various
gates of the USC campus by USC Friends Board members. This year, 15
exchange students from Argentina who are visiting AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian
School are among the guests.
“Touring the campus facilities, lunching in the student complex and
enjoying a program of Armenian music in the classical and popular genre is
an annual event that has become quite popular with our Armenian students,”
Akian said.
USC Friends of Armenian Music, founded in 1979 by the late Grant Beglarian,
Dean of Music at USC from 1962 to 1982, continues to support music courses
offered in the curriculum in addition to granting scholarships to Armenian
students and promoting the growth of the Armenian music collection housed
in Doheny Library.
7 – AGBU Replies to
Patriarch’s Lawsuit
NEW YORK, NY – The AGBU Central Board of Directors addressed the lawsuit
filed by Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul Archbishop Mesrob Mutafyan with a
communiqué last week. The text is reprinted below in its entirety.
“We regret the actions of His Beatitude in filing a lawsuit against the
Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU). We believe that His Beatitude has
not been fully informed of the true position with regard to AGBU’s
operation of the Melkonian Educational Institute. AGBU remains committed to
serve and pursue the best interests of the Armenian nation and not the
particular interests of the few, no matter how vocal. The decision to close
the Melkonian Educational Institute was carefully considered and is fully
permitted under the terms of the unconditional grant made to AGBU. In
addition, contrary to the allegations made, through the years AGBU has paid
to the Patriarchate of Constantinople, pursuant to Garabed Melkonian’s
wishes, all sums provided for by him and much more, as evidenced by
receipts and other documents. As throughout our history, AGBU will continue
to honor the vision of its many generous benefactors including the late
Garabed Melkonian, for the benefit of all Armenians worldwide.”
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8 – Commentary
Creating an Environment for Change
Through Turkish-Armenian Dialogue
By Kaan Soyak
Co-Chairman of TABDC
The Turkish-Armenian Business Development Council (TABDC) has been one of
the main advocates for creating official and unofficial dialogue between
the Turkish and Armenian governments, as well as expanding contacts between
the two communities.
Both governments were reluctant when first approached by TABDC in 1997 to
engage in such dialogue. Nevertheless, TABDC’s initiatives to sponsor
“people to people” exchanges have contributed to creating an environment
whereby many business leaders, journalists and government officials have
made significant contacts with each other.
In my opinion, it would never be a waste of time for the Armenian Diaspora
to talk directly to Turkish government officials and to the Turkish people.
Senior officials in Turkey want direct dialogue with Diaspora Armenians.
However, they need confidence and trust, which is currently absent.
In considering approaching both Turkish officials and private individuals,
Armenians must realize that the Turkish people are exactly the same as the
Armenian people. They are like twins in their behavior and in their way of
thinking. Many of my Armenian and Turkish friends’ ancestors used to live
together in the same hometowns. Turkey is the motherland of Armenians and
Turks, where they lived together for centuries.
Today, the soil is crying and waiting for Armenians to come back, talk with
the local people and live in peace. Why do I have to bring a handful of
soil from these lands to my Armenian friends in the US? Why don’t they come
and feel the soil with their own hands? I know Armenian-Americans will not
move back to Anatolia and start a new life there. But, why don’t they
consider visiting the land they once shared with Turks for centuries and
re-energize themselves? Perhaps we can all work together to bring our
common land back to its glorious days.
Recently, an exhibition was opened in Istanbul devoted to Armenians in the
Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century. A record number of visitors
attended this exhibition. It once again showed how a mature Armenian
community lived in the empire and what role it played in our collective
society.
The more Armenians get involved at all levels of discussions with Turks,
the more they will be able to help the Turkish public learn about the
contributions of Armenians in the past. I consider the absence of Armenians
from Turkey to be a loss in our quality of life. We were once a successful
community — a great nation — when we were together. We were such a mixed
society that no one in Turkey today even remembers the names of his or her
ancestors.
I don’t want Armenians to leave this dialogue to third parties. This is our
joint motherland. Armenians should go back there and tell all the Turks
about their story; explain to them the suffering of their families; and ask
openly the reason why so many innocent people were killed in 1915. This is
the hard road that we need to take to prepare the environment for our two
governments to take the politically difficult steps forward.
The Armenians’ hesitation for dialogue helps benefit third parties who
don’t care about our region and are only pursuing their own agendas and
personal interests under the guise of reconciliation between Armenians and
Turks.
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