Fourth Mass. town breaks with ADL

Published: 09/21/2007

A fourth Massachusetts municipality has ended its partnership with the
Anti-Defamation League because of its position on the Armenian
genocide.

The mayor of Newton, David Cohen, announced Tuesday that his city was
withdrawing from the ADL-sponsored No Place for Hate program until the
organization definitively recognizes the World War I massacres of
Armenians as genocide, the Boston Globe reported. Newton is an
affluent suburb with a large Jewish population.

The ADL reversed its longstanding position on the genocide question
last month under intense pressure from its New England regional
leadership. After years of claiming it could not make a judgment on
whether the massacres constituted a genocide, ADL National Director
Abraham Foxman said the consequences of the massacres were indeed
"tantamount to genocide." The ADL continues to oppose a congressional
resolution recognizing the genocide.

Communities in Boston’s western suburbs, home to one of the country’s
largest Armenian communities, have reacted with outrage. Three
Massachusetts towns — Watertown, Arlington and Belmont — moved to
sever ties with No Place for Hate, an anti-bigotry program.

On Sept. 11, the Newton Human Rights Commission voted unanimously to
recommend ending their city’s participation. The ADL is scheduled to
reconsider its position at a national meeting in November.

Source: ml