No Place for Undeserved Credit

By Guest Commentary /John DiMascio
GateHouse News Service
New! Tue Sep 11, 2007, 12:25 PM EDT

Newton –

On Aug. 14, Watertown severed ties with No Place for Hate and its
sponsor, the Anti-Defamation League.

In the aftermath, the ADL has waged a relentless and disingenuous
damage control campaign. Indeed, the edict to stop the bleeding has
been heard round the world. Ambassadors have cut short vacations.
Ministers and diplomats have convened special sessions. All of them
are trying to decipher the following statement issued by ADL national
director Abraham Foxman:

"We have never negated but have always described the painful events of
1915-1918 perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire against the Armenians as
massacres and atrocities. On reflection, we have come to share the
view of Henry Morgenthau Sr. that the consequences of those actions
were indeed tantamount to genocide."

The media response to this statement has been mixed. Some outlets are
simply giving the ADL underserved credit for recognizing the Armenian
Genocide. Other reporters have fixated on the phrase "tantamount to
genocide," questioning if the statement falls short of full
recognition. However, no one seems to be keying in on the real
operative phrase; that being "consequences of those actions". Allow me
to explain.

According to the UN Genocide Treaty, "intent" to destroy is requisite
for genocide. It has been Turkey’s longstanding position that while
people were killed on both sides, no one intended to destroy the
Armenians. Hence, whatever the result, it was not genocide.

Foxman’s use of the word "consequences" leaves open the question of
"intent." Therefore, his statement is "tantamount" to paraphrasing
Turkey’s own genocide denial.

Subsequent statements by the ADL leader also lead me to believe that
this feigned epiphany is nothing more than damage control.

Boston’s leading daily reported the following on Aug. 22:

"Foxman said that for some time he has privately believed that the
mass killings constituted a genocide, but thought that describing them
as atrocities or massacres was enough. Yesterday, he said, he realized
this description was dividing the Jewish community and the ADL changed
its position.

"So if that word [genocide] brings the community together, that’s fine."

Translation: We will use the word genocide simply to shut up our critics!

It only gets worse for Foxman when you read the international coverage
of the story.

The Turkish news source "The New Anatolian" (8/24/07) reported that
Foxman sent an apologetic letter to the Turkish Premier. In said
letter, Foxman practically prostrated himself, in an effort to
minimize the so-called shift in position.

Foxman writes: "We have utmost respect for you and the Turkish people.
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."

Amazingly, Foxman felt an overwhelming need to apologize to Turkey.
Yet, he offers the Armenians no apology for decades of genocide
denial. Instead, Foxman only issues carefully parsed statements, which
he hopes will allow him to straddle the fence.

Reading further on in this same article, we discover this interesting tidbit.

"Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier that the
American-Jewish lobby had corrected its "mistake" by sending the new
letter, saying that the ADL shared Turkey’s sensitivities over the
issue"

What "mistake" were the Turks referring to and how exactly did
Foxman’s letter correct it? Did the ADL say: We were for genocide
denial, before we were against it. (But we’re actually still really
for it.)

It’s time for the ADL to stop the wordplay and answer this question,
yes or no. Was it a genocide by the accepted United Nations definition
of the word?

Finally, when considering ADL sponsored programs, there are also other
serious concerns to be weighed. These were briefly mentioned during
Watertown’s Council Meeting. According to Merri Najimi, an Arab
American Activist, the ADL paid for illegal surveillances of more than
950 groups and nearly 10,000 activists. Among these groups, Najimi
claims, were the NAACP, the ACLU, and the United Auto Workers.

Najimi went on to say: "…In 1999 Federal Judge Richard Paez issued an
injunction permanently enjoining ADL from engaging in further illegal
spying…."

In the light of this disconcerting information, other communities must
now ask themselves the same question Watertown asked. Is the ADL a
suitable partner and an appropriate sponsor for programs such as No
Place for Hate?

John DiMascio is a regular columnist for the Watertown TAB and Press
and can be reached at irevbacon@worlnet.att.net

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