ADL¡¯S ABE FOXMAN PICKETED AT THE 92ND STREET Y
Blogger News Network
Sept 7 2007
NEW YORK, September 6, 2007¨CAbe Foxman¡¯s limo circled the 92nd Street
Y warily a couple of times to give him a chance to survey the scene
across the street. A group of 40 to 50 young Armenians and Jews were
protesting the Anti-Defamation League¡¯s continued lobbying to have
HR/SR 106 (a symbolic Congressional resolution that recognizes the
Armenian Genocide) die without a floor vote, at the behest of Turkey.
Finally, Foxman ducked into the building to participate in a
panel discussion on ¡°anti-Semitism in the modern world and its
implications.¡± Ironically, the discussion was moderated by Fordham Law
Professor Thane Rosenbaum, author of ¡°The Myth of Moral Justice: Why
Our Legal System Fails to Do What¡¯s Right.¡± The event had been sold
out for days, so The Stiletto does not know whether Rosenbaum asked
Foxman why he failed to do the right thing in recognizing the Armenian
Genocide until several communities in MA refused to accept the ADL¡¯s
tolerance promotion program, ¡°No Place For Hate¡± in their schools.
Some protestors were holding handmade signs demanding that the ADL
fire Foxman over his Armenian Genocide denial, others were holding
signs demanding that Foxman support HR/SR 106. Among the slogans they
chanted non-stop for more than an hour:
¡°Fox¡¯s bargain is a shame!
No more denial in our name.¡±
¡°Gars, Auschwitz, Rwanda Sudan.
Many a murder, when will it end?¡±
¡°What did Hitler say?
Who remembers the Armenians?
We do. We do. We do.¡±
¡°ADL must support Resolution 106¡å
And the ever-popular:
¡°What do we want? Justice.
When do we want it? Now.¡±
The Stiletto caught up with a woman who gave her age as ¡°60ish,¡± just
as she was about to enter the Y to hear Foxman. She was interested in
what Foxman had to say about ¡°contemporary anti-Semitism.¡± Asked what
she thought about the crowd protesting the ADL¡¯s Armenian Genocide
denial, she mused, ¡°Does ¡®never again¡¯ mean for everybody or just
for Jews?¡± She answered her own question: ¡°It is important for
Jews to recognize the Genocide. We are conscious of other people¡¯s
oppression, not just our own.¡±
As it was nearly 8:15 pm and the rest of the ticket-holders were
scurrying inside so they could take their seats before the evening¡¯s
program got under way, The Stiletto crossed the street to meet some
of the protesters and find out why they opposed Foxman¡¯s positions
on the Armenian Genocide and on HR/SR 106.
¡°I am Jewish,¡± said documentary filmmaker Lauren Kesner, 30, ¡°but
I have very strong Armenian connections because I lived in Armenia
for several years working on a film¡± about the 1994 war between
Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno Karabakh region. That film,
¡°A Story of People In War & Peace,¡± had its U.S. premiere (video
link) at the Tribeca Film Festival a few weeks ago.
Kesner believes the ADL¡¯s position on the Armenian Genocide is
realpolitik, plain and simple: ¡°Turkey is Israel¡¯s most important
ally in the Middle East. Because the Jewish community supports Israel,
they don¡¯t want to get on Turkey¡¯s bad side.¡± Recognizing that the
Armenian Genocide is ¡°a sensitive issue¡± for supporters of Israel,
she nevertheless insists that, ¡°Jews ¨C of all people ¨C need to
stand up to the injustice of genocide, because of how the Holocaust
traumatized the Jewish community worldwide.¡±
The Armenians she lived amongst are still haunted by the Genocide,
and ¡°it rubs salt in the wounds to deny it.¡±
The anti-Foxman protest is the first of many that will bring Armenians
and Jews together to fight for justice, said Doug Geogerian, 38, who
sits on the board of the Eastern Region of the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA), a grassroots lobby that promotes
Armenian-American issues. He marvels at how Foxman ¡°is using the
ADL and its reputation of having fought the KKK and neo-nazis,
to collaborate with the Turkish government and deny the Armenian
Genocide.¡±
Geogerian added, ¡°Supporting Turkey benefits Israel. But there is
also a cost – a cost in public integrity. Many Jews are starting to
feel that the cost is too great.¡±
Note: The Stiletto writes about politics and other stuff at The
Stiletto Blog.
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