WATERTOWN PULLS OUT OF NO PLACE FOR HATE PROGRAM

Bostonist, MA
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Aug 16 2007

Watertown has been the site of an intense debate over whether or not
to halt its participation in the "No Place for Hate" program. The
Anti-Defamation League is a sponsor of the program, which helps
communities fight hate crimes. The "No Place for Hate" program sounds
like a good thing – who doesn’t want to stop hate crimes?

Unfortunately, to many Watertown residents, the Anti-Defamation
League is indeed a place for hate. Many Armenian Americans live in
Watertown, and the Armenian Library and Museum of America is right
on Main Street. The fact that the Anti-Defamation League will not
acknowledge the Armenian genocide, when Ottoman Turks slaughtered
up to 1.5 million Armenians in 1915, was not going to go over well
in Watertown.

The Watertown city council, including the infamous Marilyn Devaney,
voted unanimously last night to get out of the No Place for Hate
program. However, the town wants to keep fighting hate crimes –
without the help of the Anti-Defamation League.

According to Chris Helms at the Watertown TAB, the city council
meeting was "packed" with people. Andy Tarsy, the regional director
for the Anti-Defamation League, tried to defend the group’s position
and met with "hisses and boos and cat calls."

The TAB notes that the "No Place for Hate" sign outside Town Hall has
already been taken down. Some residents of other towns participating
in the No Place for Hate program, like Arlington, want to follow in
Watertown’s footsteps.

As H20Town points out, the ADL’s refusal to recognize the genocide
is a "bizarre and disappointing stance for an organization formed to
protect the rights of Jewish people from bigotry." The ADL clearly
has a lot to work out, only they won’t be doing it in Watertown.