The Stubborn Myth of Jewish Involvement in the Armenian Genocide

By Khatchig Mouradian [1]

Jewcy.com ()
Feb 11 2008

On Nov. 30, Jewcy published an article titled `Are Armenians Angry at
Jews [2]?’ in which I argued that although the Armenian community is
upset that a prominent Jewish civil rights organization (ADL) supports
Turkey’s campaign to the deny the Armenian Genocide, it is also aware
of the Jewish-American writers, bloggers, and activists who speak out
against ADL’s hypocrisy. Armenians know, I said, that throughout the
20th century there was never a shortage of righteous Jews, individuals
who spoke out against the Armenian genocide. I then proceeded to name
three such righteous Jews: Henry Morgenthau, Franz Werfel (to whom I
dedicated an entire article later), and Raphael Lemkin.

I received dozens of comments – made either to me in person or posted
on Jewcy – immediately after the posting of the article. In one of the
emails, a reader advised Jewcy to continue `kicking Foxman’s ass.’

I will not dwell on the positive remarks and the many emails, some
from prominent academics, suggesting several other names of righteous
Jews (about whom I might write in the future). I will, however, bring
to the reader’s attention one point of view – from a fellow Armenian –
that I thought was outrageous and, I believe, is shared by some other
Armenians and non-Armenians.

`It is with great reluctance,’ my fellow Armenian said, `that I wish
to tell you that your article is oversimplified, very naïve and, at
bottom, worthless. The Jewish involvement in Armenian Genocide is much
complicated, intricate and perplexing.’ He went on to cite historians
who studied the `Zionist Jewish participation and their ominous role
in Armenian Genocide.’

The author of the email also advised me to read a book by Christopher
J. Bjerknes, who he’d cc’d, called The Jewish Genocide Of Armenian
Christians [3]. Bjerknes, he said, is `our really great Jewish
friend,’ who, he alleged, had the following to say about my article:

`Should Armenians grovel and lick Jewish boots, or should Jewry
apologize to the Armenians, stop obstructing Genocide recognition and
make reparations?’

Having written several articles on Jewcy about the bigotry and racism
of some Jews and Turks regarding the Armenians and their suffering, I
now feel obliged to address one of the conspiracy theories that has
been passed from generation to generation – and shared by some
Armenians – for a few decades at least. It goes something like this:

The plan to exterminate the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire was
conceived and implemented by Jews, Zionists and Freemasons. You want
proof? Several leaders of the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) –
that committed the genocide – were Jews converted to Islam (the
Turkish term used to refer to them is Donme) and freemasons. Those who
present these arguments, of course, set out several reasons that might
have prompted the Jews to exterminate the Armenians, ranging from
jealousy (for example, the Armenians were successful merchants, even
more so than the Jews) to greater geo-political schemes sometimes
involving the domination of the world. In some cases, this conspiracy
theory is amalgamated with a similar theory prevalent among some Arabs
that the Young Turk revolt of 1908 against the Ottoman Sultan
Abdulhamid II was also a Jewish and Freemasonic conspiracy because the
sultan was vehemently opposed the settling of Jews in Palestine, while
the Young Turks were allegedly more inclined to implement the Zionist
designs.

While no professional historian of the Armenian genocide has taken
this conspiracy theory seriously, there has unfortunately been no
separate academic analysis as well to expose its origins and the
reasons of its persistence, making it possible for this theory to
survive on the margins of Armenian life.

The truth is that Ottoman Empire was crumbling. The Turks were losing
huge chunks of land in Europe, while Russia was threatening their
empire from the East. Under these conditions, Anatolia, which hundreds
of thousands of Armenians had called home for thousands of years, came
to be regarded as the Turkish heartland – the vital space – that
needed to be cleansed of Armenians. Turkey used the cover of World War
I to annihilate the Armenians. It was the first major genocide of the
20th century. Dozens of historians and genocide scholars have
researched millions of archival documents and explained why and how
the Armenian genocide happened.

All the documentation and research has not stopped Turkey to fund a
multi-billion dollar campaign of genocide denial, it has not stopped
states like the U.S., the United Kingdom and Israel, and organizations
like the ADL, to support Turkey’s position of denial, and it may
possibly not stop conspiracy theorists from finding `alternative’
explanations to the why and how of the Armenian genocide.

But it is a shame when ordinary Armenians, Jews and Turks – out of
ignorance, convenience or gain – buy into the lies of the Turkish
state or anti-Semitic conspirators. This is where our role becomes
important: informing the public, even though some might consider that
`licking Jewish boots’ or `kicking Foxman’s ass.’

Links:
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