Warming up in the fall

September 26th, 2007
by Steven Ryan

Now that folks have settled in from their summer vacations and kids
are back in school, town matters are beginning to heat up again, just
as temperatures cool (or at least are expected to, eventually.) Check
out what we have in store in The Needham Times this week.

Bowling for Needham: The Bowlaway will turn 90-years-old in October
and doesn’t look worse for the wear despite being the oldest bowling
alley in metro Boston. Read about the young couple who now own the
alley. They have some spooky stories to share. And some longtime
bowlers talk about working at the alley as teens, setting up the pins
for 10 cents a string before the arrival of pin setting machines.

Done with the Human Rights Committee?: Local Armenians say they are
fed up with the Human Rights Committee’s wait-and-see approach to the
national ADL’s stand on the Armenian Genocide and hope to go directly
to the Board of Selectmen, which has the final say on Needham’s No
Place for Hate participation.

Square up: Read about Needham’s square dance club, the Great Plain
Squares, who are holding classes for folks looking to become lords of
the dance. Check out what convinced one family to give square dancing
a whirl and take the classes.

Tearing down the language barrier: An increasing amount of students
who don’t speak any English are coming to Needham schools. Find out
what Needham schools are trying to do to meet their needs.

Not down with up: Needham Heights residents were thrown a curveball
when developers revealed plans for a parking garage at the Charles
River Landing project that would be even taller than the 40B apartment
complex. Read about the neighborhood’s reaction.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

ADL is guilty of denial

September 25th, 2007 by Deb Filcman

…according to, among others, Berge Jololian of Cambridge, who wrote this letter:

What does Abraham Foxman’s ADL have in common with Ahmadinnajad’s Iran?

Both are genocide deniers.

Genocide denial is the worst type of hate crime. Denial not only
murders the memories of the horrors and that of the victims, it
murders the victims twice.

We were and continue to be intensely offended by Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, president of Iran for his publicly denying the Holocaust
last November 2006.

We are similarly deeply offended by Foxman’s ADL for publicly
denying the Armenian genocide and actively working against
Congressional affirmation of it.

Foxman uses the same Turkish denial line calling the Armenian
genocide as "consequence" of World War I and describes it as similar
"tantamount to genocide." This is in breach of article II of UN
genocide treaty of 1948 which uses the word ‘intent’ and not
"consequence."

ADL board members playing delay tactics are asking in bad faith
human rights groups to wait until November hoping that the issue
dissipates.

To wait would buy the ADL additional time to lobby on behalf of
the Turkish government to defeat Congressional affirmation of the
Armenian genocide.

Corrupt and morally bankrupt, the ADL has lost its authority to
lecture on human rights.

Exposed for having the past fifteen years traded its human rights
agenda with that of a bizarre foreign policy agenda, human rights
groups are severing links with the ADL, refusing to be in the same
boat as that other high profile genocide denier, Ahmadinnajad
president of Iran.

The ADL was founded in 1913, the Armenian genocide started in
1915, it had 92 years to acknowledge it.

Turkey is guilty of genocide. The ADL is guilty of denial.

Posted in politics | No Comments »

The future of humanity is in jeopardy…

September 25th, 2007 by Deb Filcman

… or so says one letter-writer:

On Sept. 6, I attended "Modern Anti-Semitism: A Conversation with
Abraham Foxman and Stuart Eizenstat," held at the 92nd Street Y in New
York City.

Mr. Foxman is the national director of the Anti-Defamation League,
which not only denies the Armenian Genocide but continues to help
Turkey defeat Armenian Genocide resolutions in Congress.

Foxman, whom the ADL entrusts to "secure justice and fair
treatment to all," urged his audience "to be credible, to be careful,
but never be intimidated" when fighting anti-Semitism.

Perhaps Mr. Foxman should take his own advice and extend "justice
and fair treatment" to the Armenians. Marginalizing the pain of
another traumatized group is sacrificing moral credibility.

Working against Congressional resolutions (HR and SR 106) that
affirm genocide is being careless toward and fails to respect the
legacy and lessons of the Holocaust.

Acceding to the wishes of the perpetrators of genocide denial –
the Turkish government – is being intimidated. Genocide scholars and
holders of Holocaust chairs have consistently affirmed
the historical factuality of the Armenian Genocide, petitioned for
governments to recognize it, and categorically rejected the
politically motivated call from Turkey for a "joint commission" to
"study" the "events of 1915." These scholars have done their work.
It’s time for us to do ours. We cannot allow human rights
organizations such as the ADL to barter the memory of a genocide. If
we do, the future of humanity is in jeopardy.

Narini Badalian
Walnut Street
Watertown

What are your thoughts?

Posted in politics, Uncategorized | No Comments »

So, you’re saying you disagree?

September 25th, 2007 by Deb Filcman

Needham resident Sherman Grossman was less than pleased with last
week’s guest column by John DiMascio about the Anti-Defamation
League’s stance on the Armenian Genocide. And he wasn’t shy about
telling us. Or DiMascio.

Sir:

Your article represents some of the worst journalism I have ever
read. Clearly you never checked your information sources or the
veracity of their information. You use information sources that are
clearly biased (Arab denigration of a Jew isn’t likely to be biased?)
without researching others that may dispute the findings you chose to
use, i.e: you cherry-pick and use information to suit your own biased
intent. You draw illogical conclusions. You create false impressions.

You need to do more to legitimize your material than just
accepting as fact comments made to your remarks in "Jewcy."

I have no idea why the Community Newspaper Company keeps you as a
columnist other than to enrage their readers, create discord amongst
them, spread lies and fan the embers of hatred that may well erupt as
overt anti-Semitism.

Sherman H. Grossman

DiMascio, clearly not shy about his views either, fired this back:

Madam,

For the record I am a Zionist who refers to West Bank as Judea and
Samaria. I believe that Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state
and that state should include all the territory liberated in 1967. To
return Judea and Samaria makes about as much sense as France returning
Alsace and Lorraine to Germany. Israel fought a war in 1967 against
Jordan. It won that war. Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria were liberated
>From Jordanian control. They ought to keep all of it.

I have no agenda to promote anti-Semitism, nor do I seek to hurt Israel.

Moving on:

My article simply exegetes the convoluted statement issued by the
ADL. The media as a whole has not been able to diagram the phrase "the
consequences of those actions were tantamount to genocide".

This inability on the part of reporters to perform this elementary
school exercise has lead to reports that the ADL has recognized the
Armenian Genocide.

As for my references to the claims of an Arab American activist, I
did not make any claims about the veracity of the material. I simply
reported that those questions were raised at Watertown’s meeting. I
add that that the so long as questions like that linger, communities
ought to ask if the ADL is an appropriate sponsor for an anti-bias
program.

Finally, the ADL has stated that it has a dual mission.

1) To protect the interest of the Jewish People.

2) To promote human rights.

In this instance the ADL has places its first goal above the
interest of the second.

As a private organization it is free to do so. And I can’t say as
I blame them.

That said; by placing the needs of its first mission above the
needs of the second, the ADL has disqualified itself as an honest
broker of any anti-bias program.

Indeed, municipalities and the Mass Municipal Association should
reconsider the propriety of having any one special interest group
sponsor No Place for Hate or any similar program.

It seems pretty obvious that any group like, the ADL, the NAACP,
NOW or what have you, comes to table with a bias and that bias
prevents them from impartially promoting tolerance and diversity.

John DiMascio

And, of course, the dialogue continued:

For the record, I, Mr. Sherman H. Grossman, respond to your
response as follows:

You may call yourself a Zionist, but unless you are a Jew, you can
not recognize the signs of anti-Semitism and, indeed, you are
exhibiting them and fanning them. For example, every organization you
mentioned (NAACP, NOW) has bias towards their position on and interest
in various matters. One typical anti-Semitic action is to hold Jewish
organizations to a higher standard of "neutrality" and "morality" than
others. So what may be obvious to you about the ADL’s being unfit to
deal with bias is certainly not obvious to me unless I agree with your
premise that the ADL – but, apparently, no other organization – must
be a pure as Caesar’s wife to be allowed to do any good in local
communities. Indeed after what I see, Watertown needs NPFH more than
ever, given its inability to deal with this issue rationally without
finding someone/some non-supportive entity to scapegoat and given its
not embracing or endorsing any such program before the ADL offered its
initiative.

You ought to read the definition of "exegete," which, by the way,
is not a verb, but a noun that describes one who is skilled in
exegesis which is the critical interpretation of text, especially the
Bible. That you are not, given your lack of interpretation of or
investigation into the veracity of the remarks of the Arab American
activist.

And, while on the subject, isn’t your reporting of what you hear
without fact checking tantamount to yelling "FIRE!!!" in a crowded
theatre? Anger is high, tempers are short and frustration runs deep.
How badly do you want to be responsible for creating news/conflict
where there may be no need for that?

Finally, you are as guilty of misdirection/scapegoating as any
good magician/anti-Semite. You are focusing on the ADL, when the issue
of genocide recognition is in the hands of Congress and the Turkish
government. I suggest you read the op-ed by Deborah Lipstadt and Peter
Balakian and, perhaps, you might suggest that readers of the Community
Newspapers – especially in Watertown, Arlington and Belmont – do the
same.

This concludes our discourse. Thank you for taking interest in
responding to my concerns.

Mr. Sherman H. Grossman

What do YOU think?

Posted in politics | 1 Comment »

One Response to "So, you’re saying you disagree?"

DiMascio Says:

September 25th, 2007 at 6:13 pm

A note of apology to Mr. Grossman for referring to him as Madam.

I quickly read his email as I was leaving to attend the Needham
HRC meeting. In my haste, I misread his signature as Sherri Grossman.

It was an honest mistake and not intended to mock or offend him.

I would also like to point out that I don’t hold the ADL to any
higher standard than I do any other lobby primarily dedicated to
protecting the rights of one particular minority (for lack of a better
term).

That is why I believe that any such group ought to be
disqualified from running an anti-bias program.
They do, after all, have a natural bias and it’s almost
inevitable that a conflict of interest will arise.

Finally, I would invite the citizens of Needham to carefully
read the NPFH proclamation and ponder the Orwellian consequences of
the language itself.

While no rational human being could be against the concept of
fighting hatred and bigotry, it is the language of the NPFH
proclamation, which deeply concerns many including myself.

The language comes very close to criminalizing the free
expression of religious convictions and or other controversial
opinions.

For instance the first "Where as" mentions the subtle acts of
homophobia, anti-Semitism and so forth.

Who gets to define what these subtle acts are? Moreover who
defines whether or not they are homophobic or anti-Semitic?

Is it a subtle act of homophobia for any religious cleric to
espouse his or her views on sexual morality if they happen to believe
that homosexual acts are disordered?

Is it a subtle act of anti-Semitism for an Evangelical Christian
to hand out literature that says Jesus Christ is the Messiah and
everyone must accept Him to attain salvation?

This country was founded on freedom – the freedom to think, the
freedom to speak, and the freedom to believe as one’s conscience
dictates.

Yet the No Place for Hate proclamation in essence says that a
municipality will implement a zero tolerance towards certain types of
expression.

While I don’t believe the sponsors intend to create an Orwellian
oligarchy, the road to tyranny is traveled one step at a time. Hence,
it behooves officials to carefully read proclamations before they
adopt them.

I’ll leave you with someone else’s words that better express my
sentiments.

Aaron Sorkin wrote these words for Michael Douglas’s character in "The
American President": "America isn’t easy. America is advanced citizenship.
You’ve gotta want it bad, ’cause it’s gonna put up a fight. It’s
gonna say,
"You want free speech? Let’s see you acknowledge a man whose
words make your
blood boil, who’s standing center-stage and advocating at the top of his
lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours."

Source:

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress