Regional Board urges ADL National to reinstate Tarsy
By Raphael Kohan <[email protected]> – Thursday August 23 2007
Committee also calls for vote to address congressional resolution
The New England Region of the Anti-Defamation League adopted two resolutions
in an early-morning meeting Wednesday to address the rift between its office
and national headquarters.
The resolutions, adopted unanimously – apart from one abstention – called
for the reinstatement of fired Executive Director Andrew H. Tarsy and urged
the national office to address whether it should take a "pro-active
position" in a congressional resolution acknowledging the Armenian genocide.
Neither Tarsy nor National Director Abraham H. Foxman were present at the
meeting, which was attended by about 70 board members.
"Everyone wants to move on," Regional Board Chairman James Rudolph told the
Advocate. "Our board is clear that we want to have Andy reinstated, if
that’s possible."
Speaking to the Advocate from Israel prior to Wednesday’s meeting, Combined
Jewish Philanthropies President Barry Shrage said reinstating Tarsy would
restore unity to the community.
"I think it will help the healing process in Boston, especially because the
issue it stemmed from has been resolved," he added.
Earlier this week, Foxman said Tarsy "fired himself" when he publicly
dissented from national policy. Foxman also described Tarsy’s future with
the organization as a management decision and "nobody’s business."
Wednesday’s resolutions mark the latest development in the ongoing
controversy that began in Watertown last month. On Tuesday, after mounting
criticism and a community backlash, national ADL reversed its position on
the massacre of Armenians during World War I, recognizing the events as
genocide. Foxman explained in a statement that the organization changed its
stance after he consulted with Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel and other
historians.
The move came after dozens of Boston Jewish organization, spearheaded by the
Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, signed onto a
community statement that called on the ADL national office to "reconsider
their position on this issue."
Many local Jewish leaders welcomed the change from national ADL.
"This is a huge step forward," said Nancy K. Kaufman, executive director of
the JCRC. "The key issue here was the issue of genocide, and the change is
important and positive."
Those close to the matter said it was unusual for Jewish organizations to
break ranks and publicly condemn a fellow Jewish group. JCRC’s community
statement represented a shift in handling ideological disputes.
"I thought that was so hurtful and destructive," said Foxman of the
community statement. "I didn’t know any other way to stop this avalanche,
which will undermine the Jewish community."
Foxman’s new position on the term genocide, however, did not include a shift
in the organization’s stance on a congressional resolution surrounding the
genocide, which Foxman described as "counterproductive."
"The significance of putting [the congressional resolution] on the national
agenda is it provides an opportunity to discuss the resolution," said
Rudolph. "Personally, I’ve learned that the resolution is a very complex
issue. It will be debated nationally."
One of the recent challenges for the ADL has been reconciling its mission
statement, which reads, "To stop the defamation of the Jewish people =85 to
secure justice and fair treatment to all," with its real-life policy. Prior
to his dramatic reversal, critics called Foxman’s stance hypocritical, since
he protects the memory of the Holocaust but refused to acknowledge the
genocide of another people.
"Sometimes these missions are in conflict," said Foxman.
Board Member Jason Chudnofsky suggested that Foxman needs to clarify the
mission of the ADL.
"He’s gotten himself into a real challenge right now on his own mission
statement," said Chudnofsky.
Regardless of how Wednesday’s resolutions are handled by the national
office, this controversy represented a blow to the ADL, according to
Jonathan Sarna, professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University.
"I think this issue will weaken both the local and national organizations
and will be looked upon as a case study of how not to deal with an issue of
this sort," said Sarna.
Meanwhile, Newton, Lowell and Arlington may follow Watertown’s lead in
severing ties with the ADL-sponsored program No Place for Hate.
Khatchig Mouradian, editor of the Armenian Weekly Newspaper, said ADL’s new
stance will have little impact on improving relations between the Armenian
community and the human rights organization.
"There’s still a lot of outrage," said Mouradian.
But what shouldn’t go unnoticed, he added, is the role of the Jewish
community in prompting ADL’s changed stance.
"This recognition would not have been possible without the support of many
righteous Jews and the Jewish community in general," said Mouradian. "I hope
this support continues until the ADL starts working for the resolution or at
least stops working against it. I don’t want to give Abe Foxman a medal for
recognizing the Armenian genocide after so many years of denying it."
For a full list of organizations that signed the community statement and to
read additional op-eds, visit
Source:
jewishadvocate.com/this_weeks_issue/news/?content_ id=3D3543
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
