TURKISH JEWS TO APPEAL US CONGRESS ON RESOLUTION

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
April 18 2007

Several Jewish groups are relaying to Congress a letter from the
Turkish Jewish community advocating against a resolution based on
Armenian allegations of genocide, according to reports.

The resolution was presented to the US House of Representatives
earlier this year, though the timing of the vote has yet to be
decided. Turkey has warned that passage of the resolution would harm
strategic relations with the US and undermine cooperation in key
regions across the world, in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere. "Turks
want Jewish groups to advocate against the resolution, but only one
group, the Jewish Institute of National Security Affairs, has done
so," an online news portal called The Global News Service of the
Jewish People (JTA) reported earlier this week.

"Other Jewish groups, mindful of the history of Holocaust revisionism,
do not want to deny Armenians the opportunity to commemorate their
own genocide, which Israeli researchers have said was a precursor to
the Holocaust. So in a compromise, the American Jewish Committee,
Anti-Defamation League and B’nai B’rith International will relay
the Turkish Jewish letter to Congress later this week, but will not
necessarily endorse it," the report said.

Meanwhile in Ankara Foreign Ministry spokesman Levent Bilman
dismissed certain criticism alleging that the Foreign Ministry was
not sufficiently active against recognition of Armenian allegations.

"Those criticisms are unfair," he said.

"Decisions made at local level, however, are achieved through policies
pursued by local interest groups," Bilman said in an apparent reference
to influential Armenian lobby’s efforts.