JEWISH ORGANIZATION ADL INSISTENT ON "GENOCIDE" CLAIM

The New Anatolian, Turkey
Aug 28 2007

Abraham Foxman, the National Director of the Anti-Defamation League
(ADL), who earlier said in a statement that his organization had come
to share the view that the 1915 incidents "were indeeded tantamount
to genocide," continues to maintain its position.

ADL, an influential American Jewish organization fighting against
anti-Semitism, earlier said that it would acknowledge Armenian
allegations on the 1915 incidents in Ottoman Turkey.

In his latest article issued in a Jewish magazine "The Jewish
Advocate", Foxman once again opposed to bringing the issue to
Congressional floor.

Foxman said, "we continue to firmly believe that a Congressional
resolution on such matters is a counterproductive diversion and will
not foster reconciliation between Turks and Armenians. (However)
We will not hesitate to apply the term ‘genocide’ in the future."

Following the negative impacts of the issue in Turkey, Foxman had sent
a letter to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week
and said, "I feel deeply sorry over discussions that erupted after
ADL changed its stance on the 1915 incidents. We had no intention to
put the Turkish people or its leaders in a difficult position. I am
writing this letter to you to express our sorrow over what we have
caused for the leadership and people of Turkey in the past few days."

In his latest article in The Jewish Advocate, Foxman said, "we have
been in close contact with The Turkish Jewish community for decades.

We have heard repeatedly from its leaders how concerned they are
about the impact of American Jewish involvements in efforts to
label as genocide Turkish actions against Armenians during World War
I. For us, as a Jewish defense organization, such concern can not
go unheeded. Still, we had a dilemma. As an organization committed
to educating people on the dangers not only of anti-Semitism but
of hatred of all kinds, we could not ignore the terrible tragedy
that befell at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. And we have not. In
meetings with high-level Turkish officials, we have pressed them to
come to grips with the past and speak to what happened. We have done
that again and again and we will continue to do so."

"We have come to share the assessment that incidents in 1915-18 were
indeed tantamount to genocide," Foxman added.

Foxman said, "as long as ADL is an organization committed first to the
safety and security of the Jewish people, we can not in good conscience
ignore the well-being of 20,000 Jews in Turkey. We will, however,
continue to push the Turkish government in the right direction."

On the other hand, ADL recruited again Andrew Tarsy, who was
dismissed after causing the ADL to change stance as regards to 1915
incidents. Tarsy was responsible for the region including northeastern
provinces.
From: Baghdasarian