Counte rPunch
August 27 2007
Abe Foxman’s Genocide Denial Roadshow, Part 2
ADL’s Foxman’s Forges Impossible Alliance of Armenians, Turks and
Boston-Area Jews
By JOHN V. WALSH
Last week CounterPunch was the only national outlet, to the best of
our knowledge, to report the disturbances caused in the Boston suburb
of Watertown over denial of the Armenian genocide by the national
Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and its director, Abe Foxman. The
brouhaha was set off by an investigation into Watertown’s
participation in "No Place for Hate," an "anti-bigotry" program of
uncertain origin. Mirabile dictu, the program turned out to be
sponsored by the national ADL which denies that the massacre of 1.5
million Armenians at the hands of the Turks from 1915 to 1923 amounted
to a genocide. This was quite disconcerting to the town mothers and
fathers since Watertown boasts an Armenian-American population in
excess of 8000. The town council met to consider the program and the
local director of ADL, one Andrew Tarsey, showed up to implore them
not to withdraw from the program. Met with boos and hisses by the duly
assembled Watertown citizenry, Tarsey beat a hasty retreat from the
Council chambers. The Watertown mothers and fathers then unanimously
voted to drop the ADL program.
The next day Tarsey, now in full rout, reversed his position, labeling
the killing of 1.5 million Armenians a genocide after all. Problem is
that this local ADL position contradicts the position of national ADL
headed by Abe Foxman, which persists in denying the Armenian genocide.
Foxman’s solution – fire local ADL leader Tarsey. And for good
measure, he labeled the Watertown position as "bigoted," thus playing
the "race card." Obviously the Watertownians must be anti-Semites, a
charge Foxman cannot resist, if they will not sponsor an ADL program.
However, in a challenge to Foxman, the local ADL and Jewish
establishment, seeing their credibility slip sliding away here in the
Athens of America, decided to affirm the Armenian genocide.
But the House of Reps. in US Congress has a resolution pending with
227 co-sponsors (a clear majority) recognizing the Armenian genocide,
much to the consternation of Turkey, an ally of Israel’s and also an
avid buyer of Israeli arms and an ally of the U.S. So what was Foxman
to do? Like Solomon, Foxman opted for a split decision, but unlike
Solomon, Foxman has tried to execute it. He said in Boston that he has
reversed his decision and the ADL now considers the Armenian massacre
"tantamount to genocide." ("Tantamount"?) But in Washington national
ADL will continue to oppose the Congressional resolution, recognizing
the Armenian genocide. So in Boston the massacre of Armenians is
genocide but in Washington it is not. What the status will be in NYC
or Baltimore, Foxman has yet to decide.
The Armenians, both locally and nationally, will have none of this.
They want the ADL to support the Congressional resolution recognizing
the Armenian genocide or else stand accused as genocide deniers. So
now both the Armenians and the local Boston ADL are at odds with
Foxman and national ADL.
Enter the Turks. They too have denounced Foxman for admitting genocide
in Boston even if he has not done so in Washington. And they are angry
about it. Foxman laid his original genocide denial at the feet of the
Turks, saying he feared for the safety of Jewish Turks if he crossed
the Turks. Friday the Turkish Foreign Ministry responded, "The Jewish
community in Turkey is part of our society, and its members do not
have any reason to worry." Clearly the Turks do not like Foxman’s
accusations of anti-Semitism, any more than the Watertownians did. The
Turks then one-upped Foxman, claiming that his Boston recognition of
the Armenian genocide denies the special nature of the Holocaust. "We
consider the statement of the ADL as an injustice to the unique
character of the Holocaust, as well as to the memories of its
victims," the Turkish Foreign Ministry in Washington said in a
statement. "We expect it to be rectified." There you have it, Abe
Foxman, Holocaust denier! So Foxman now has accomplished what has
eluded diplomats for nearly a century, bringing Armenians and Turks
together – in this case in opposition to national ADL. And he has even
brought down a Turkish charge against his own proper respect for the
Holocaust!
Foxman of course is little more than an intellectual bully, sliming
with charges of anti-Semitism whomever dares challenge the policies of
Isreal. But his defamatory, anti-defamation league is in trouble.
Foxman’s actions now put the fabled and hitherto invincible Isreali
Lobby on the line. The Turks certainly must have thought that the
Lobby could "deliver" Congress on genocide denial, and Foxman’s ADL is
a key component of that Lobby. The Turks have already complained to
Israel about the ADL’s Boston-Washington split decision. This is very
important to them, having hired both Dick Gephardt, former House
Majority Leader and Bob Livingston (Remember him?) former Speaker of
the House at considerable cost to get Congress on their side. So the
battle lines are drawn. CounterPunch will keep you posted.
John V. Walsh can be reached at [email protected].